Ham Radio Christmas Holiday Gift Ideas

Welcome to a special holiday edition of Ham Radio Q&A, it’s the holiday season and I have a pile of Christmas gift ideas to share with you. Today we’re going to look at some items that would be ideal gifts for any ham, both new and seasoned. This year’s selection...

Building an Ultra Portable Go-Box

You may have seen my previous video in which I reviewed the Luiton (Leixen) LT-898UV 10 watt mobile radio. In this episode I build an ultra portable go-kit around the rig, and share my experiences after using it a few weeks. Parts Used (available on Amazon) Luiton...

W9BVX’s Helium Balloon Vertical Antenna

At the young age of 9, Bob W9BVX, visited an ARRL Field Day site with his dad and saw the most amazing thing; an HF antenna lifted into the air by a helium balloon. Ever since that day, his life’s dream was to do the same. Fast forward almost 70 years and that...

2016 Wisconsin State ARES/RACES Conference

Every year in October, dedicated ARES/RACES members and emergency communicators meet for the annual Wisconsin ARES/RACES conference. This event, in it’s 18th year, was held at the McMillan Public Library in Wisconsin Rapids. For those that took time out of their day...

My NPOTA Adventure

Taking the radio out of the shack and operating in the field can be a great learning experience. Our home stations tend to be optimized for the location, with reliable power, working antennas, and a comfortable environment. But go outdoors and all bets can be off....

The ITU Phonetic Alphabet

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Today we’re talking about the phonetic alphabet If you ever spent time on the HF bands, you’ve surely heard stations using words to spell out their callsigns or other pieces of information. This phonetic alphabet is one way amateur radio...

Visiting the oldest radio station

It was a rainy Saturday morning. I knew a whole lot wouldn’t get accomplished today, so when I was the posting from Wisconsin Public Radio reminding me about their open house that afternoon, it became the perfect opportunity to jump into the car and take a road trip....