by Thomas (K4SWL) For many of us here in North America, it’s been a pretty brutal winter–bitter cold temperatures, snow, ice, and all the things that tend to keep us from hitting the field as often as we’d like. I know quite a few operators who simply put their radios back in their field kits […]
Month: February 2026
Strategies Beyond Recruitment–a Plan to Engage Newly Licensed Hams
The ham radio community as a whole recognizes the urgent need for more young faces and youth operators to help our hobby thrive and grow. In my conversations with others, I realize that both clubs and individuals understand the need to recruit. The issue is not with spreading awareness; we need to share ideas and […]
Ham Radio and Morse Code in Popular Culture: From Zombies to Bringing Hope
Ham radio always seems to find its way into popular culture, and we here at OnAllBands love every single minute of it. To us, it’s a great reminder of just how important the hobby is. So, with that in mind, we found three ways amateur radio has recently made it into the pop lexicon. “The […]
W8TMI: SOTA & POTA in the Bay Area with the Travel-Friendly Elecraft KH1
by Tim (W8TMI) I have been meaning to get to this write up for some time. Around Christmas 2024, my wife declared we would visit our friends in Hayward, CA, sometime in spring 2025. Our friends indicated that we should come in April to hopefully avoid the rainy season. This got my gears turning. I […]
Ham Radio Youth Insights: How to Help Your Peers Get Licensed
Getting your amateur radio license is quite a feat, especially if you’re a young person with little (to potentially no) technical background. You had to find out about the hobby and be motivated enough to learn about RF theory and other complex technical topics. You probably had to teach yourself how to study as well. […]
How to Build a Base Station for Operating Amateur Radio Satellites Around the Icom IC-9700 Transceiver (Video)
Plus, find links to more amateur radio satellite videos from DX Engineering. *** If want to work the “birds” from the comfort of your shack, the Icom IC-9700 VHF/UHF/1.2 GHz Transceiver is the satellite-friendly rig you’ll want to handle the job. (Image/DX Engineering) The Icom IC-9700 features full-duplex operation, simultaneous dual-band reception, and an integrated […]
Ham Radio Youth Insights: How to Get the Most Out of Remote Station Access
Hams of any age know amateur radio can be a rather expensive endeavor, especially when you think about how quickly the equipment costs can pile up. This can be a major obstacle for young hams just starting to explore the hobby, but fortunately there are solutions to this problem and resources to take advantage of. […]
The Perfect Afternoon: Coffee, CW, and 0.1 Watts at William B. Umstead State Park
by Thomas (K4SWL) On Friday, January 16, 2026, after a morning of running errands around Raleigh, my wife and I grabbed lunch at the condo. As we were wrapping up, I glanced outside—cold and breezy, but sunny—and thought, “This is a perfect afternoon to activate a park.” (In truth, pretty much anytime is the perfect […]
Elecraft KH1 3D-Printed Protective Caps by PD5GL
Many thanks to Gos (PD5GL), who shares the following: Hi Thomas, For my upcoming PCT hike I want to have more to do on the trail, so I’ll be activating some SOTAs along the way. For that I purchased the KH1 and a Pelican case. The case is great, but it’s quite heavy and I […]
Field Radio Kit Extras: What Do You Pack?
This morning, I was repacking my main field radio backpack and taking a close look at what I carry. As I was doing that, I added something new to my main field pack: three bandpass filters — one each for 40m, 30m, and 20m. I purchased these from Dan (K9DP). Honestly, this is not something […]