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Choosing a Ham Radio HF Antenna—DX Commander Signature 18 Nebula Part 1, Making the Selection and Prepping for Installation
As some of you may remember from my previous articles, I have always been a wire antenna kinda guy. In fact, you could say I’ve been the poster child for “100 watts and a wire.” But I stalled out between 100 and 200 countries DXing. I started asking, “Self, what can we do to get […]
SOTA On Mount Mitchell: A Low-Impact Summit Activation Option with the Elecraft KH1
On Monday, October 13, 2025, my family took a trip we hadn’t been able to take in over a full year. Finally, the Blue Ridge Parkway had been repaired enough (post-Hurricane Helene) that the entire route to Mount Mitchell State Park (US-2747) was open again. It’s actually been open for a few weeks, but we’ve […]
Ham Radio Contesting 101: Top Ten “Rookie” Mistakes, Plus Bonus—Because This List Goes to 11
A while back while operating a contest, I realized that I was hearing certain types of mistakes made over and over throughout the contest. I thought that it might be useful to share a few of these and offer some suggestions on how to avoid them. Hopefully some of these suggestions will help increase the […]
NM3A’s Elecraft KX2 Trunk Go Kit
Many thanks to Dan (NM3A) who shares the following article about his portable field radio kit which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, read this post. Dan writes: Elecraft KX2 Go Kit by Dan (NM3A) We have two vehicles. The one my […]
A New Way to View RBN Data: K5OHY’s Interactive Mapping Tool
Many thanks to Paul (WA1VEI) who writes: I wanted to share this very cool tool I found that has been developed by Tim (K5OHY). I am always interested in how my signal is getting out on any given activation. I subscribe to QSOMap.com, so I can plot my contacts. I find the RBN an extremely […]
Getting in Tune with Your Antenna: What Do Antenna Matching Devices Do?
If you’ve ever spent time tinkering with radios—whether ham, shortwave, CB, or even more exotic setups—you’ve probably heard about antenna matching devices. These gadgets, often referred to as antenna tuners (or more accurately, antenna coupling networks), play a crucial role in ensuring your radio and antenna work together in harmony. But what exactly do they […]
K8MDB: An Ultra-Light POTA Kit Built Around a Classic Mountain Topper
By Chuck (K8MDB) What a great idea to explore field kits for fall! The October prompt had me digging through bins and drawers to locate all my small CW field radios and to weigh them for the first time. I was surprised by the results. My original 2012 two-band Mountain Topper from KD1JV came in […]
New Yaesu FTX-1 Transceivers at DX Engineering
What’s that buzz you hear? Don’t worry—it’s not emanating from your station. It’s the good kind of buzz—the sound of amateur operators talking about the latest transceivers from Yaesu. Visit DXEngineering.com to get your hands on the FTX-1 Series HF/50/144/430 MHz SDR All Mode Base/Portable Transceiver in “Field” and “Optima” models. Be sure to check […]
Bug-Out Month Begins! My First Field Activation with the Vibroplex Original Deluxe
As I mentioned in a previous post, I declared October, 2025 to be my Bug-Out Month. I did this primarily to motivate myself to get comfortable using a bug—a semi-automatic key—not just in the shack, but in the field as well. I was inspired by several things that happened over the past few months: my […]