Word of the Day (Yagi Antenna): What is a Yagi Antenna?
Invented in 1926 by Shintaro Uda and Hidetsugu Yagi of Japan, the Yagi-Uda, most often shortened to “Yagi,” refers to a type of directional antenna with a single driven element […]
An Amateur Radio Blog by DX Engineering HAM Radio 101
HAM Radio 101
HAM Radio 101
Word of the Day: Scheduled or Skeds
In contesting, schedules are advance arrangements to make QSOs with specific stations at specific frequencies and times. Schedules are often made during a contest to try to work additional multipliers […]
HAM Radio 101
Word of the Day (CW): What Does CW Stand For?
If you’re new to Ham Radio, you’ve probably asked yourself: Why can’t these people just say what they mean? A lot of the fun of being an Amateur operator is […]
HAM Radio 101
Word of the Day (Digital Voice Keyer): What is a Digital Voice Keyer?
Hardware which digitally records one’s voice for CQs, contest exchanges and other frequently spoken information. The recording is played back using keystrokes defined by software (or by pushing a button […]
HAM Radio 101
Word of the Day (Cheerleading): What is Cheerleading in HAM Radio?
Everybody loves a cheerleader, right? Not if you’re in the heat of a highly competitive Amateur Radio contest! Cheerleading describes the practice of a station or group of stations actively […]
HAM Radio 101
Word of the Day (QRM): What is QRM in Ham Radio?
What is QRM…and why do so many Ham Radio abbreviations start with Q? Let’s answer the latter first. Original Q Codes (45 abbreviations beginning with the letter Q) were developed […]
HAM Radio 101
Word of the Day (Band Edge): What is a Band Edge in Amateur Radio?
The band edge generally refers to the lowest (or highest) frequency in the band where one can legally operate within the limits of his/her license. For U.S. operators, for example, […]
HAM Radio 101
Word of the Day (4-Square): What is a 4-Square?
An increasingly common array of four vertical antennas arranged in a square that is electronically steered in four, switchable directions. Once used mostly as transmit antennas, particularly on lower frequencies […]
HAM Radio 101
Word of the Day (73!): What Does 73 Mean?
When a Ham concludes a transmission or meet-and-greet by saying “73,” he or she is honoring a tradition that goes back to the early days of telegraph communications. Western Union […]
HAM Radio 101
Word of the Day: “175 Mile Radius” in Amateur Radio
Here’s a phrase that pops up in the fine print of many Ham Radio contest rules. It means a geographic requirement for groups of stations jointly submitting their scores as […]
