So many gift ideas, so little time.
With more than 30,000 products available at DXEngineering.com and the holidays rapidly approaching, OnAllBands simply doesn’t have enough time to cover all the possibilities for delighting the amateur operators in your life.
So, we’ve made this entry of the 2024 Ham Radio Holiday Gift Guide a mishmash of some of our favorites, from ways to enhance your Morse code capabilities to a shack addition that’s visually stunning and highly practical to boot.
Reference Books
We start with an excellent gift for hams who ask the question, “Okay, I just got my license. Now what?”
50 Things You Can Do with Amateur Radio by Mike Bedford, G4AEE, is sure to answer the above query and then some. This publication from the Radio Society of Great Britain (one of nearly 100 references from the RSGB) also makes a great gift to persuade an operator-to-be that ham radio offers something for just about everyone. For operators who think they’ve done it all, the book offers plenty of fresh activities that may not have been on their radar.
The RSGB also publishes “Radio Today Guides” for popular transceivers, including the Icom IC-705, IC-7300, IC-7610, IC-R8600 (below), IC-9700 and IC-905, and Yaesu FTDX10, FTdx101, FT-710, and FT-911A. These guides from Andrew Barron, ZL3DW, go beyond the manufacturer-provided manuals to help operators get the most out of their rigs.
While we’re on the subject of excellent reference books, OnAllBands also recommends Grounding and Bonding for the Radio Amateur, 2nd Edition, by Ward Silver, N0AX. It’s a practical gift any ham will surely appreciate.
DX Engineering PaddlePads
For the Morse code fans on your list, DX Engineering PaddlePads make a stocking stuffer they’ll truly appreciate. Here’s what a few satisfied operators have said after adding these ingenious accessories to their CW setups:
- “Great product for any CW ops. These mats do exactly what they are supposed to do. My bug, paddles, and straight key don’t move at all anymore. I don’t know why I waited so long.”
- “I expected a good pad for the desktop, but this one is amazing. It will not budge while in use but is easily moved around on the desk. A great item!”
- “Nice. Works like it’s bolted to the desk!”
For those needing encouragement to learn CW (or as a gift to yourself to improve your coding speed), we recommend Vibroplex Code Practice Oscillator Kits, which one customer called “a vital tool for learning Morse code and a simple construction project for the newcomer.”
Available in two models, these affordable kits include a circuit board and speaker. You provide the code key, a two-wire keying cable for the basic model, and a 9V battery. They produce a pleasing 700 Hz tone from an LM386 audio chip with 350 mW audio output. The CPO-Plus model (below) includes the two-wire cable for your key connection.
Geochron Digital Atlas 2 4K
The Digital Atlas 2 4K provides hams with a significantly more affordable version of the company’s mechanical World Clock, which Geochron began producing in 1964. In the words of its creators, the Digital Atlas 2 4K “takes the terrestrial beauty of our mechanical clocks into the digital realm in glittering 4K resolution…constantly evolving with more mapsets, layers, and live data than ever before.”
Far beyond its visual appeal, the Digital Atlas provides serious amateur radio operators with world-class tools and real-time data to thrive on the air.
The size of the Digital Atlas’s display is only limited by the size of the UHD 4K TV you provide. No other computer is needed. Connect the Digital Atlas 2 4K wirelessly to the internet via your Wi-Fi router for perfect, real-time displays of the day-night gray line, night lights of cities, weather, travel routes, satellite tracking, and more.
The atlas’s Amateur Radio mapset features include:
- Display of the “gray line” (the band around the Earth separating daylight from darkness) in real-time—a huge benefit for optimizing long-distance communication
- DX and international prefixes
- Country names and borders
- Equatorial, latitude and longitude, and tropic points of reference
- Major topographical features
- The gray line against a mercator projection
- The analemma, showing the sun’s position at relative noon
- The month, day, and hour of every time zone on Earth, including Zulu time
Through Geochron, you can add on a monthly/yearly subscription-based Ham Radio Premium Bundle that takes the Digital Atlas’ functionality to a whole other level. It includes DX Cluster and Beacon Activity, Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF), AMSAT Satellites, Solar and Ionospheric Conditions, and ADIF Log, QRZ Sync, and Callsign.
“Five stars: A fantastic and useful addition to any ham shack. I love the rich look of the display and the usefulness of the Ham Shack add-on. There is so much information that can be used when doing DX and contests. This is one of the best products that I have purchased for my shack for operating!”
Jeff, DX Engineering Customer
Bioenno Power Solar Panel Package
For your ham friends who have gone all in on the Parks on the Air (POTA) adventure, surprise them with a combo from Bioenno Power that includes a foldable and portable solar panel, LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery, and solar charge controller. Choose from nine packages, featuring solar panels from 28 to 100 watts.
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If you haven’t made your ham radio holiday decisions yet, it’s probably a good time to consider your best option for a gift with zero downsides—a DX Engineering Gift Card. Click the link or call 800-777-0703 to order in denominations from $25 to $500.
