Q-Section Feed Line Transformers
What the heck is a Q-section? Long a tool of antenna system designers, the Q-section is a handy way to make a single-band match between a feed line and an […]
An Amateur Radio Blog by DX Engineering Articles written by: Ward Silver, N0AX
Technical Articles
Technical Articles
Receivers and Busy Bands
Beginning in early fall, weekends start to fill up with “the majors”—contests that attract thousands of stations which fill the bands with strong signals. November and December are the most […]
Technical Articles
Ham Radio Tech: When 450 Is Not 450
450…where have I heard that number before? Seems familiar…Oh, right…450Ω window line! Yes, that’s the nominal characteristic impedance of the black plastic-coated parallel conductor transmission line like DX Engineering’s DXE-LL450-CTL. […]
Antenna Tech / Technical Articles
Dipoles–A Domestic Secret Weapon
The dipole is the oldest antenna—Herr Professor Heinrich Hertz used a dipole in his 1888 experiments that confirmed Maxwell’s predictions of electromagnetic waves. The dipole (the word means “two voltage […]
Technical Articles
Ham Radio Tech: Ground Screens–the “Magic Carpet”?
Operating portable is always a challenge, particularly with HF antennas that are usually close to the ground and quite a bit smaller than a full quarter- or half-wave. Verticals, especially […]
Events / HAM Radio 101
State QSO Parties–Great HF Practice
Once you get your Technician license, the next step is the General. Congratulations, you just earned access to almost every HF frequency amateurs have! (Techs, you have some 10 meter […]
Technical Articles
Passive RFI Generators Inside and Outside Your Station
It is not unusual to be able to hear the harmonics of a nearby transmitter, amateur radio or not. No signal is a perfect sine wave and it’s easy to […]
Field Day / Technical Articles
HF Summertime Propagation…with Propagation Advice for Field Day
SummertimeOperatin’ is easySunspots jumpin’Your antenna’s up highThe openings switchThose bands just keep changin’The regions and seasonsTell you why(apologies to George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward) It seems like just a few […]
Technical Articles
Getting the Most from Portable HF Antenna Systems
Portable operating—in parks, on islands, atop summits—has become delightfully popular over the past few years. It’s not hard to figure out why, either. You get to combine visiting new places, […]
Uncategorized
Baluns and Common-Mode Impedance: How Much is Enough?
There is a lot of interest in baluns these days—that’s good. There is also a lot of confusion about baluns these days—that’s not so good. This article starts by defining […]
