What Is an Antenna System?
“System” is a word that gets thrown around a lot. What does it mean from the perspective of an amateur radio operator? Generally, I think of a system as a […]
An Amateur Radio Blog by DX Engineering Articles written by: Ward Silver, N0AX
Antenna Tech / Technical Articles
Products & Product Reviews
Extra Gear That Should Be Standard Equipment
It wasn’t so long ago that RF power meters weren’t included in transceivers (or transmitters). You got plate current, grid current, high voltage (maybe), and S units for the received […]
Antenna Tech / Technical Articles
Troubleshooting Antenna Systems
After the previous couple of articles about troubleshooting (“Maintaining and Troubleshooting an HF Station” and “Troubleshooting Your Transceiver”), it’s time to move outside the station. An antenna system may not […]
Technical Articles
Troubleshooting Your Transceiver
Uh-oh, the radio’s broken! It’s either doing something it’s not supposed to or not doing something it’s supposed to. The natural response will always be to change a few things, […]
Technical Articles
Maintaining and Troubleshooting Your HF Station
There is a fine line between maintenance and troubleshooting, whether it’s a Ham station, a car, an audio system, or any bit of technology with several “moving parts.” One often […]
Events
My Favorite QSOs
Long-path on QSOs and first-call transmissions Bright copper coils and quickly band-switchin’Bright paper QSLs from distant kingsThese are a few of my favorite things (From “My Favorite Things” by Rogers […]
Products & Product Reviews
Ham Radio Tech and History Book Reviews: A Top Ten Desert Island List
When I was asked to write this blog entry, the suggestion was made, “…like a desert island list.” Well, that’s just a perfect idea! Since most such lists include ten […]
Antenna Tech / Technical Articles
Wire Antennas—Beyond the Dipole
The oldest radio antenna is—guess what—a dipole. In fact, a dipole was used by Professor Hertz to discover electromagnetic waves in 1886. How did he decide to use a dipole? […]
Technical Articles
How to Build Your First HF Station
First of all, congratulations on starting your first HF station! You will be joining a long tradition of Hams with roots in the spark era all the way through to […]
Technical Articles
Spring Station Inspection Tips
As I am writing (March 23, 2020) more and more of us are staying home and maybe spending time in our Ham stations. We are fortunate to have amateur radio […]
