What better way to end 2025 than with a sleigh-full of new amateur radio equipment available at DX Engineering! Consider this post a bonus to our Ham Radio Holiday Gift Guides. It’s your opportunity to shop, at a glance, for the latest items to upgrade your station in the coming year. Just click on the […]
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From Attempt to Activation: K1PAP’s Second SOTA Outing Pays Off
Many thanks to Paolo (K1PAP) for sharing the following field report–a follow-up to this one–which was also published on his blog: Second Attempt to Activate SOTA for the First Time by Paolo (K1PAP) Well, 2nd time lucky! As always, I will start with the thank-yous! This time, a huge thank-you goes to Mike K6STR and […]
Looking for the Perfect Ham Radio Holiday Gift? You Can’t Go Wrong with the Icom IC-7300
Order from DX Engineering today and get your IC-7300 delivered fast to your door in plenty of time for the holidays. The IC-7300 HF Plus 50 MHz Transceiver—Icom’s first RF Direct Sampling System entry-level SDR—changed the HF transceiver landscape in 2015 with a highly affordable, high-performance base/portable HF radio. Ten years later, it still delivers […]
It’s All in the Cards! QSL Cards from French Guiana
OnAllBands will be winding down 2025 with QSL card articles featuring a couple of DXCC entities we’ve never covered before: French Guiana and, later this month, Lakshadweep Islands. If you’ve never reached French Guiana, an overseas department of France on the northern coast of South America bordering Suriname and Brazil, here’s an excellent opportunity. The […]
Starting a Multi-Park Day Right: Lake James State Park (US-2739) with VA3EKR
On Monday, November 17, 2025, my buddy Scott (VA3EKR) was still visiting us here in Western North Carolina. You might recall that the previous Friday, Scott, Vlado (N3CZ), and I activated Dogback Mountain together. After that activation, Scott and I plotted out a full day of Parks on the Air for Monday. Vlado would have […]
A First SOTA Attempt: K1PAP Shares Hard-Earned Lessons
Many thanks to Paolo (K1PAP) for sharing this very honest and thoughtful field report from what was meant to be his first SOTA activation. I especially appreciate Paolo’s willingness to be so open about a non-ideal situation–one that could have become serious very quickly–and to share it publicly so others can learn from the experience. […]
QRV: A Mac/iOS Mobile-Friendly Operating Companion for the Field
Many thanks to Adam (K2CAT), who recently reached out to let me know about a new iOS/macOS app he’s developed for amateur radio operators called QRV. Adam designed QRV as a sort of Swiss Army Knife app for operating, with a strong emphasis on mobile and field use — quick in, quick out, and all […]
Ham Radio Operating Accommodations for Seniors Part 2: Retirement Communities
We aren’t getting any younger—according to the ARRL, the average age of ham members is 68. It’s likely many of us are retired and will eventually consider downsizing. This might mean a move to a smaller space such as a condo, apartment, retirement community, or assisted-living facility. For many amateur radio operators, moving into a […]
A Quick Update on the QRPer.com 2026 Calendar
Many thanks to everyone who ordered this year’s QRPer.com calendar — 53 copies have already shipped out! Unfortunately, Zazzle has now removed the calendar from their marketplace after flagging one of my photos for a supposed trademark issue. Just to be clear: there was no violation on my part. My calendar design and field photos […]
Learning CW on an iPad: Any Suggestions for Joel?
Many thanks to Joel (KR4GEL) who reached out to me over email with the following question. He’s very kindly allowing me to share it here on QRPer.com so the wider community might share advice that could help him on his CW journey: Hi Thomas, I need your advice please. I am trying to learn CW […]