Do you have a favorite? I know I do. Stick with me as I count down the top ten most popular ham radio videos of 2023
Looking at the numbers for 2023, I published 102 videos and hosted 15 livestreams last year. At a rate of about two a week, I can’t believe I’ve kept up that aggressive production schedule. All that content adds up to 1.6 million views with over 123 thousand hours of watch time. That’s pretty amazing but I always feel it’s you the viewer I need to thank.
Because I couldn’t do it without you and I’m thankful for your continued support of this channel. I always feel I have the best viewers as their comments are insightful and I’m not plagued with those sad hams that every other channel bemoans. This quality level of viewer gives me the incentive to continue on and I’ll maintain my schedule of producing high quality videos at a rate of about twice a week.
With that being said, let’s look at the top ten videos for the last year. One subject dominated this year. I think we can all guess that it was the window screen ground network or magic carpet videos. Four of those videos made the top ten list and accounted for over 15% of my viewer traffic. Those were some real heavy hitters. But without further adoo, here are the top ten amateur radio videos for 2023.
10 The Magic Carpet Rides Again https://youtu.be/ryCv2HN9sE0
As I said, the magic carpet videos have been the runaway hit this year. Starting off the list at number 10 is this one where Dave, KZ9V shows how you can use a couple of window screens to turn your 40 meter end fed half wave antenna into an 80 meter quarter wave radiator.
9 Digirig Digital Interface https://youtu.be/afpvK8UrftU
Digital operations were never my strong suit as I always found it putzy in the field. The Digirig digital interface totally changed that and now I love adding FT8 and the other digital modes to my parks on the air activations. This video shows you how easy it can be for you to do the same.
8 Shark HF Stick Extenders https://youtu.be/BAv2suGhUnE
I love my Shark HF sticks as a fast setup antenna. This is especially true in the winter months when I don’t want to spend a lot of time tuning and adjusting my antenna. In this video I show you how you can get two more bands out of your shark sticks for just pennies.
7 REZ Ranger 80 Antenna https://youtu.be/X5eAMEWfADE
2023 must be the year of the vertical antenna. Wolf River released their Sporty 40, Chameleon announced a loaded vertical, Rez Antenna Systems released the Ranger 80, a super durable high quality alternative to the Wolf River Silver Bullet 1000. I demonstrate the Ranger 80 in this video.
6 Hamfest Finds https://youtu.be/tRoe7Ta6oWU
People love gear haul video and I had a particularly good haul at the recent Fox Cities Amateur Radio Clubs hamfest where I found an awesome FT-817 QRP transceiver setup.
5 My Parks on the Air Antenna Kit https://youtu.be/5-Fc1kv19-w
I get so many questions on what I use out in the field for transceiver, antenna, battery, and accessories. This video breaks down my current HF transceiver kit.
4 Faraday Cloth, the new magic carpet https://youtu.be/cVRkRVlTgp0
The window screen ground plane is such a success that some hams asked if Faraday cloth, a metallized fabric used for electro magnetic protection, could be used as a ground network. The short answer is yes, and this video proves it.
3 Build a 10 meter band dipole antenna https://youtu.be/1BkUozb-zgo
Just a week ago I released a video on a 10 meter J-Pole antenna, but it was too new to be counted in this years list. Last year’s 10 meter antenna, a dipole you can make for just a few bucks checked in with over 25,000 views this years
2 How to do FCC exposure calculations https://youtu.be/0g8XmR9qVh0
After two years of easing us into this, the date has finally come for amateur radio operators to do exposure calculations for their antenna transmission systems. The FCC rule change isn’t onerous, but it sure raised a lot of questions. This video shows you how to do it.
1 The Window Screen ground plane. https://youtu.be/UadUg5H8KO8
The original magic carpet video is the runaway best video of this past year with over 117,000 views in its first 30 days and 160,000 total views for the year. It’s an old concept, but it has totally revolutionized portable operations with its fast vertical antenna setup. I’ve gotten some pretty amazing contacts using the window screen as a ground network and I know other hams are using it with great success.
So there you go, the top ten amateur radio videos of 2023. Did your favorite make the list? Let me know what you think in the comments below. You can also find a playlist of the top ten videos in the description below.
Not mentioned in this top ten list are my Parks on the Air activation videos. For those I decided to do a little montage of all the great scenery that appeared in those videos. That video will be released next week.
Here are some plans for the coming year. We’re in the middle of season 11, and I have some really exciting antenna reviews that are coming out in the next few weeks, Dave and I will be mobiling for the Minnesota and Wisconsin QSO parties, so expect those videos in February and March and of course Hamvention is coming up in May and I will be in attendance, so save that date.
Along with that you can expect more Parks on the Air activation videos, product reviews, ham radio how toos, and our monthly livestream. And of course the normal cast of characters will appear: Joe, Dave, and Travis for some wacky adventures.
But I think the biggest addition this year will be more web based content. I’m not one to put all my eggs in one basket so more blog articles and written content will be featured on my website.
Is there a topic you’d love to see, Let me know and I’ll add it to the list.
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