Technical Articles

ham radio FT8 software screen shot
FT8 / Technical Articles

FT8: What is JTAlert Software and How Can it Help with FT8 Mode?

So you’re getting the hang of this FT8 thing. You have almost all of the states and are just a few countries away from DXCC. You are learning these callsigns […]

Icom IC-705 ham radio transceiver
Technical Articles

A Change of Scenery: Portable Operating for Every Ham

The convenience of having a ham station at home is tough to beat. Being able to work stations at any time of day or night, without worrying about the cold […]

FT8 ham radio settings screen shot
FT8 / Technical Articles

FT8: Fox and Hound Mode

Fox and Hound mode, often shown as Fox/Hound or F/H, is also known as the DXpedition mode. This mode is a special operating feature that enables DXpeditions to make FT8 […]

a small portable wire antenna
Technical Articles

Going on Vacation? Great Options for Bringing Ham Radio Along for the Trip (Part 3)

In our first two posts offering suggestions for vacation-ready ham radio equipment, we looked at the AlexLoop HamPack Portable Magnetic Loop Antenna System and TransWorld Antenna Packages —excellent choices for […]

AlexLoop Ham Pack
Technical Articles

Going on Vacation? Great Options for Bringing Ham Radio Along for the Trip (Part 2)

In Part 1 of our series on great gear to take along on a vacation, we looked at HF Portable TransWorld Antennas—a proven option that’s ideal if you’re operating from […]

ARRL Grounding and Bonding Book
Technical Articles / Weatherproofing and Grounding

Grounding and Bonding for Portable Amateur Radio Stations

Operating from a temporary setup—in a park, on a summit, from a rare grid or county, or for a special event—has become very popular. This is a great thing for […]

Emergency Training Sign
EMCOMM / Technical Articles

EMCOMM: What is the Simulated Emergency Test (SET)?

The annual Simulated Emergency Test (SET) is a training exercise involving the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the National Traffic System (NTS), a message-handling service of amateur radio. The […]

FT8 ham radio spectrum operating chart
FT8 / Technical Articles

FT8: Tech Licensees Can Join, Too

So you want to get into FT8, but you only have a Technician license? No problem! FT8 exists on VHF and up as well. Six meters is really quite popular, […]

Icom IC-7300 ham radio transceiver
FT8 / Technical Articles

FT8: Choosing a Radio and Interface

So you want to get into FT8: What’s the best way to proceed and what equipment is required? To use FT8 you need four things: HF transceiver with data or […]

Screwdriver antenna base
Antenna Tech / Technical Articles

What is a Screwdriver Antenna?

When I first heard the term screwdriver antenna, I thought it was a joke. I immediately thought of stories about loading wet noodles, bedsprings, and random trees in the forest […]