Technical Articles

Antenna Tech / Technical Articles

In the Loop: Delta Loop Antennas

Looking for a wire antenna that’s inexpensive, easy to build, and works great for DX above 40m? A delta loop and its variants can make an effective single-band or multiband […]

HAM Radio 101 / Technical Articles

Mobile Radio Installation for Beginners

You can find a lot of information on any ham radio subject. People will tell you that you need to do this setup or that setup. Who should you listen […]

Technical Articles

Ham Radio Tech: HT Bluetooth and Phone Connection Issues

One of the biggest things I was excited about when I got my Kenwood TH-D74 was Bluetooth connectivity. I would put it in my window and use the TNC on […]

Diagram with examples of quarter-wave and twelfth-wave synchronous transformers. (Graphic courtesy of the ARRL)
Technical Articles

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 […]

Technical Articles

Ham Radio Tech: Winlink on iPhone/iPad!

I have previously written about ham radio software for the Mac and a companion piece about applications for iOS on the iPhone and iPad. My greatest struggle was always Winlink. […]

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 […]

Grounding System Diagram
Technical Articles

How to Improve Ham Radio Station Grounds

After antennas, station grounding is probably the most discussed topic in amateur radio. It’s also the one having the most misconceptions—or is that myth-conceptions? One of the biggest myths: Ground […]

Impedance Inversion Diagram
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. […]

Propagation Graph
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 […]

Ground Screen Installed in Yard
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 […]