Technical Articles

Technical Articles

Five Tips for Successful QRP Operating

QRP, or low-power operating, is one of Ham radio’s fundamental challenges. Can you really make contacts running only five watts or less? Yes, Virginia, you can enjoy a quality ham […]

ham radio operator working at indoor station
Technical Articles

Your First Pileup: Techniques for Success

Operating from a rare (or semi-rare) location is one of the greatest experiences in Ham radio. Many operators have spent time trying to work a DXpedition and have also dreamed […]

ferrite iron cores inside a ham radio filter
Technical Articles

Preventing AM and FM Overload

It’s common to experience interference from a nearby broadcast station, including commercial and public safety transmitters. The usual symptom is a continuous stream of distorted audio on all channels or […]

coverage map from FT8 ham radio software
FT8 / Technical Articles

Top 10 Tips for Succeeding in FT8 Mode

I give many presentations and help a lot of Hams get started with FT8 and FT4. I often get asked, “Why am I having trouble making contacts?” and “What can […]

Technical Articles

Finding Your Calling: When and Where Are You Most Likely to Make QSOs?

One of the most enjoyable parts of the hobby is making contacts with other Hams. Finding operators on the air isn’t necessarily a matter of luck or chance. There are […]

ham radio station basic illustration
Antenna Tech / Technical Articles

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 […]

a drake ham radio sitting on a workbench
Technical Articles

Building a Ham Workbench Table

After struggling for years repositioning radios and test equipment at the workbench, I finally found a simple but elegant solution. In a recent YouTube radio repair video, Stefan Steger, DL7MAJ, […]

a pulley and cable system for installing a wire antenna
Antenna Tech / Technical Articles

Getting Your Antenna in (and on) the Air: Tips for Installing Wire Antennas and Verticals

Mother Nature must like Ham operators. We’ve been provided with an abundance of tall, non-conductive antenna supports—aka trees—which grow and flourish on their own. When it comes to wire antennas, […]

man holding a ham radio antenna near a cornfield
Satellite Operation / Technical Articles

Satellite Basics (Part 6): Operating a Satellite while Roving

In our sixth and final installment of Sean Kutzko’s video series on the Basics of Operating Amateur Radio Satellites, he takes his show on the road to demonstrate one of […]

a collection of antenna radiation pattern diagrams
Antenna Tech / Technical Articles

Directional Antenna Performance without a Beam

For this OnAllBands blog post, we’ve changed our traditional Word of the Day entry to a Question of the Day: What is the best solution available for creating an optimized […]