Recent Posts
HF Etiquette: Being a Pleasant Operator
The world of HF voice communications can be exciting, especially for a new operator. To ensure that everyone has a pleasant experience on HF radio, it’s important to note some general etiquette.
APRS Off-Road: An Important Tool for Your Off-Road Rig
Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) is a mode that can be used to transmit data and text messages via radio. There are a myriad of uses for APRS in off-road applications. Let’s take a look at some of them!
Spotlight: South Coast Amateur Radio Service (SouthCARS)
The South Coast Amateur Radio Service (SouthCARS) Net is an ARRL recognized service net available every day of the year. Let’s take a look at the history of the net and the service it provides!
Amateur Radio Off-Road: An Introduction
Whether for emergency use or simply to have fun making contacts, using Amateur Radio off-road can be a great option. It can be fun to try to make radio contacts from remote locations and useful to stay in contact with friends or family members. But Amateur Radio can also be useful to have on board in case of emergency situations. Here are some tips and tricks for making the most of utilizing Amateur Radio off-road.
Using Ham Radio in an Off Road Emergency
This past weekend I experienced first hand how Amateur Radio can be used in an emergency situation when other methods of communications fail. A routine off road trip turned into a rescue situation as I came across a rollover accident on a trail. Special thanks go to the Alford Memorial Radio Club and the participants of the “Turnip Truck Net” on their W4BOC repeater.
Is Amateur Radio Still Relevant in 2019?
Amateur Radio often conjures the image of an individual sitting in a dark room, surrounded by antique equipment making ominous beeping sounds, trying to hear another voice through a wall of static. With the advent of Social Media, Smartphones, and online chat rooms, isn’t this method of communication obsolete? What keeps Amateur Radio relevant?
Contesting Tips
Contesting in Ham Radio is a great way to test your station setup, and see how well your signal is getting out. It can give great experience in both managing pile-ups and getting through to a station in pile-up situations, depending on whether you’re calling CQ or hunting for stations. This article lays out some general operating tips for successful contesting.
Government Shutdown and Amateur Radio
With the US Government still in shutdown, and no end in sight, how does this affect Amateur Radio operators, or new operators looking to start in the hobby?
Russian ISS SSTV Event
The International Space Station is currently running a special SSTV event to celebrate the Russian Cosmonautics Day. Amateur Radio operators are able to receive images from the ISS with nothing more than a VHF radio.
FT8 Operating and Important Notes
So I started playing around with FT8 the other day, and have had pretty good success with contacts in North America and out towards Europe. Noticed a few little quirks that I thought I’d address for anyone looking to get into this mode.