by Michael Martens | Dec 17, 2011 | Antennas, Land-Mobile, News, Scanner
Our community, Wausau and Marathon County, Wisconsin is in the process of converting their analog radio system over to a narrow band digital radio system. Marathon County has about 130,000 residents and covers an area about the size of the state of Connecticut, so...
by Michael Martens | Dec 11, 2011 | 2 meter, Amateur Radio, emcomm, slidedeck, UHF, VHF
I often receive inquiries if my antennas can be used with handheld or HT radios. The simple answer is that if your radio has a detachable antenna, then yes you can connect it to my J-Pole antennas or another style of antenna. Connecting your HT to an external antenna...
by Michael Martens | Dec 3, 2011 | Antennas, Land-Mobile, MURS, News, VHF
MURS or the Multi Use Radio Service is a license free radio service designated by the FCC for short range business and family communications. MURS has five channels in the 151 – 154 VHF MHz range that can be used. MURS has some distinct features that makes it...
by Michael Martens | Nov 26, 2011 | 2 meter, Amateur Radio, Antennas, News
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! My antennas make great Christmas gifts and I will drop ship them to any US address. Wouldn’t you love to see a KB9VBR J-Pole Antenna under your Christmas tree? If you want your antenna shipped as a gift to a friend, just...
by Michael Martens | Nov 6, 2011 | 2 meter, Amateur Radio, News, Reviews, VHF
I recently received a Kenwood TM-281A two meter amateur radio transceiver as a door prize at last month’s state ARES/RACES conference. Well, last week I finally got the radio hooked up and put a few frequencies into it. General impressions: this is a very nice...
by Michael Martens | Oct 30, 2011 | LPFM, News
It’s hard to believe that the Christmas holiday season is right around the corner. But the intrepid people that put together holiday lights displays for their homes have already been busy for months designing the concept and pulling together the lights and...
by Michael Martens | Oct 23, 2011 | Amateur Radio, emcomm, News
I had the privilege of once again attending the annual Wisconsin State ARES/RACES Conference. I can’t believe that this annual event has been going on for 13 years now, and of those 13 years, I’ve only missed two conferences, the first one, held in 1999...
by Michael Martens | Oct 2, 2011 | 2 meter, UHF
October 1, 2011 marks the date for the 2011 ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET). The SET is a readiness exercise to test the capabilities of ARES/RACES emergency communications groups. Unlike Field Day which is more points based and social, the SET drill is usually...
by Michael Martens | Sep 9, 2011 | Antennas, Aviation, News
A big segment of the scanner community is centered around listening to aircraft communications that happen on the ground and in the air. Living near a major airport, these transmissions can be quite numerous; but even in less populated area you can hear a plethora of...
by Michael Martens | Sep 2, 2011 | News
The other day I was listening to the scanner and I heard a page out for the fire department. The address was about a block away from our house, so I popped outside and was surprised to see the box factory near our house was on fire. As the fire trucks got closer, a...
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