Ham Radio Grounding and Bonding and RFI
Over the past few years, a lot of attention has been developed regarding grounding and bonding. I am pleased that my ARRL book Grounding and Bonding for the Radio Amateur […]
An Amateur Radio Blog by DX Engineering Articles written by: Ward Silver, N0AX
Technical Articles
Events
Ham Radio and the April 8 Solar Eclipse QSO Party
Hams being quite focused on solar phenomena, so to speak, many are getting ready for the total solar eclipse coming on April 8. This is the second of two eclipses […]
Technical Articles
CW Pileups for Beginning Ham Radio Contesters
In just two weeks (February 17-18) one of the biggest CW contests in the world will fill the bands from 160–10 meters (except for 60, 30, 17, and 12 meters, […]
HAM Radio 101
After DXCC—Now What?
Congratulations! You’ve finally logged and confirmed country number 100, joining the ranks of radio amateurs who have gained DX Century Club status. This is a great achievement, and you should […]
Technical Articles
Q-Section Feed Line Transformers
What the heck is a Q-section? Long a tool of antenna system designers, the Q-section is a handy way to make a single-band match between a feed line and an […]
Technical Articles
Receivers and Busy Bands
Beginning in early fall, weekends start to fill up with “the majors”—contests that attract thousands of stations which fill the bands with strong signals. November and December are the most […]
Technical Articles
Ham Radio Tech: When 450 Is Not 450
450…where have I heard that number before? Seems familiar…Oh, right…450Ω window line! Yes, that’s the nominal characteristic impedance of the black plastic-coated parallel conductor transmission line like DX Engineering’s DXE-LL450-CTL. […]
Antenna Tech / Technical Articles
Dipoles–A Domestic Secret Weapon
The dipole is the oldest antenna—Herr Professor Heinrich Hertz used a dipole in his 1888 experiments that confirmed Maxwell’s predictions of electromagnetic waves. The dipole (the word means “two voltage […]
Technical Articles
Ham Radio Tech: Ground Screens–the “Magic Carpet”?
Operating portable is always a challenge, particularly with HF antennas that are usually close to the ground and quite a bit smaller than a full quarter- or half-wave. Verticals, especially […]
Events / HAM Radio 101
State QSO Parties–Great HF Practice
Once you get your Technician license, the next step is the General. Congratulations, you just earned access to almost every HF frequency amateurs have! (Techs, you have some 10 meter […]
