Articles written by: Troy Blair, AC80W

HAM Radio 101

Five Mistakes I Made as a New Ham (Part 4): Having Unrealistic Expectations of My Abilities and Gear

by × on April 14, 2023 at 8:14 pm × 0 comments

I have always been the guy with big dreams and high hopes. Because of this, I also have high expectations. This is true of anything I have been involved in, […]

HAM Radio 101

Five Mistakes I Made as a New Ham (Part 3): Skimping on Quality Equipment

by × on March 30, 2023 at 8:46 pm × 0 comments

There is an old tale that states the origin of stranded copper wire resulted from two hams fighting over a penny found on the ground at a hamfest. I totally […]

HAM Radio 101

Five Mistakes I Made as a New Ham, Part 2: Having a Lack of Focus

by × on March 24, 2023 at 3:04 pm × 0 comments

Editor’s Note: Troy Blair, KE8DRR, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, enjoys sharing personal stories about his involvement in amateur radio so others can learn from his experiences in the true spirit […]

HAM Radio 101

Five Mistakes I Made as a New Ham, Part 1: Going it Alone

by × on March 24, 2023 at 1:03 pm × 0 comments

Editor’s Note: Troy Blair, KE8DRR, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, enjoys sharing personal stories about his involvement in amateur radio so others can learn from his experiences in the true spirit […]

mobile ham radio backpack kit
Technical Articles

QRP Operation: How Low Can You Go?

by × on February 22, 2023 at 10:47 pm × 0 comments

This game could go on forever. In my previous articles I talked about portable operations. We looked at things like Field Day, International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend, Parks on the […]

man operating a field day ham radio station at a lighthouse
Events

Operating from a Lighthouse on International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend, August 2022

by × on December 22, 2022 at 7:58 am × 0 comments

Editor’s Note: Troy Blair, KE8DRR, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, enjoys sharing personal stories about his involvement in amateur radio so others can learn from his experiences in the true spirit […]

yaesu mobile ham radio
Products & Product Reviews

Lightening Your Go-Kit

by × on November 2, 2022 at 9:02 pm × 0 comments

Editor’s Note: Troy Blair, KE8DRR, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, enjoys sharing personal stories about his involvement in amateur radio so others can learn from his experiences in the true spirit […]

a screen shot of a digital ham radio logbook
Events

Diving into Parks on the Air (POTA)

by × on October 20, 2022 at 9:32 pm × 0 comments

Editor’s Note: Troy Blair, KE8DRR, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, enjoys sharing personal stories about his involvement in amateur radio so others can learn from his experiences in the true spirit […]

man working at a ham radio portable field day station
Technical Articles

Building a Field Expedient Amateur Radio Kit

by × on October 18, 2022 at 6:13 pm × 0 comments

Editor’s Note: Troy Blair, KE8DRR, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, enjoys sharing personal stories about his involvement in amateur radio so others can learn from his experiences in the true spirit […]

Yaesu FT-991 ham radio transceiver, front
Technical Articles

Transitioning to HF Portable Ham Radio Operations

by × on October 4, 2022 at 9:10 pm × 0 comments

Editor’s Note: Troy Blair, KE8DRR, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, enjoys sharing personal stories about his involvement in amateur radio so others can learn from his experiences in the true […]

1 2 3