by Micah (N4MJL) I strategically suggested to my family a camping trip to Cloudland Canyon State Park in Georgia (US-2169). It is located in northwestern Georgia, just south of Chattanooga, TN. I sold the idea to the family under the premise that it was centrally located for everyone. Cloudland Canyon State Park was about six-ish […]
Author: KK7XU
Ham Radio Tech: What Does a Common-Mode Choke Do?
You’re hosting a party and someone arrives who probably wouldn’t have made your invite list. Maybe someone brought them along, your XYL said you had to invite them, or they asked themselves. Do you try to ignore them? Tolerate them? Get them to leave? Common-mode current (CMC) is much like that unwanted guest and just as […]
Putting the New Radioddity HF-009 Portable Vertical Antenna on the Air — QRP Style!
by Thomas (K4SWL) The day before I left on my week-long FDIM/Hamvention trip, I received a package in the mail from Radioddity containing their soon-to-be-released HF-009 vertical antenna. In the spirit of full disclosure: Radioddity is not only a sponsor of QRPer, but we’re also an affiliate—meaning that if you purchase items via our affiliate […]
New Product Spotlight: DX Engineering Window Feed-Through Panel
As DX Engineering celebrates 25 years of service to the amateur radio community, OnAllBands will be showcasing the company’s team of product developers and engineers—hams like you who are always looking for ways to smartly upgrade your stations, operate with greater efficiency, and have more fun on the air. DXE’s ability to design, test, and […]
Youth Ham Radio Insights: My Experiences at YOTA Camp Ottawa
As a young ham, it can be challenging to know how to get more involved with the hobby. Even if you’re interested in exploring unfamiliar aspects of the amateur radio world, it often feels hard to break into each specific realm. Youth On The Air (YOTA) is a group that aims to help young people […]
New Summer, New Radio: Field Testing the Thunderbird
by Sam Duwe (WN5C) I really like homebrew radio. I’m also seeing a pattern: I build through the winter and the spring, get rusty at CW, and then spend the summer operating POTA until my ears bleed. So it’s good to be back! Here’s a quick report of a new radio I built and its […]
Take Advantage of 6 Meter Season: Learn What 6-Meter Antennas Other Hams Are Using
Hams have described 6-meter operating the same way Forrest Gump waxed folksily about life’s parallels to a box of chocolates: “You never know what you’re going to get.” OnAllBands blogger Mark, K8MSH, compared sudden and unexpected 6-meter flurries to a “flash mob.” And that’s what intrigues and excites operators about this most unpredictable of VHF […]
It’s All in the Cards! QSL Cards from Top Ten Most Wanted DXCC Entities, Part 4: Peter I Island
DX Engineering is a Major Equipment Sponsor of the February 2027 Peter I DXpedition. Today, OnAllBands’ global tour of the top-ten Most Wanted DXCC Entities per Clublog takes us to our first cold-weather location: Peter I Island, an uninhabited, glacier-covered rock 240 nautical miles from continental Antarctica. Ranked #7 on the list, this Norwegian dependency […]
A Peaceful POTA Stop at Lake James with the Penntek TR-45L
by Thomas (K4SWL) On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, I was on the final leg of my trip back home from Dayton. After spending some time with my father—who was in the hospital at the time (happy to report he’s now home and doing much better!)—I performed a pedestrian mobile activation of Tuttle Educational State Forest […]
Oh Canada! Looking forward to spending time on the air with you…
Over the next few weeks, you won’t see my US callsign, K4SWL, out there in the spots—but you will see my Canadian callsign, VY2SW! Yesterday, we finished packing the Subaru, handed our keys to a friend who’s house-sitting, and hit the road! We’ll be in Canada through the rest of June and most of July […]