Top 10 Posts from the KB9VBR Antennas Blog

In my annual retrospective, I get a chance to look back at all my articles on this blog and highlight the most popular selections. In publishing a new article every 1-2 weeks, there was plenty of content to choose from. What I find interesting are the types of...

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from KB9VBR Antennas. May your holiday season be filled with peace and joy and plenty of rare DX. Did you get a new radio for the holidays? Don’t forget the antennas. The KB9VBR 2 meter J-Pole antenna or 2 Meter Slim Jim Antenna are...

Amateur Radio Holiday Gift Ideas

Shopping for your friend, family member, or significant other bitten by the ham radio bug can be challenge. Ham radio is such an encompassing field, that if you’re not in tune with their particular interests, you run the risk of getting them the wrong thing....

Hamfest Shopping Tips

Hamfests, the flea market of the amateur radio world, are part buying expedition and part social affair. Shopping a hamfest can be great way to outfit your shack, plus if you’ve been involved with ham radio more than a few years, a great way to connect and reconnect...

Get a better signal out of your handheld radio

We’ve all done it. Standing on our tippy toes. The dance, slowly swiveling around, alternating holding our arms up in the air and hands close to our ears. I’m talking about the weird contortions we do until we get the best signal out of our handheld radio. HTs bring...

Scanning local Fire and EMS services

I love listening to the scanner. In fact, it was a scanning around in the late 1990’s that led me to find the amateur radio frequencies and my eventual getting my ham radio license. But I certainly haven’t let go of my scanner roots, I’ll often have...

2014 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference Recap

Every year in mid October, Wisconsin ARES/RACES, the state’s amateur radio emergency communications group holds its annual conference. While open to anyone with an interest in Emergency Communications, the conference gives ARES leadership an opportunity to...