Technical Articles

DARA Dayton Amateur Radio mobile operating truck
EMCOMM

EMCOMM in Action: Providing Communications Support for the Pan Ohio Hope Ride

The Pan Ohio Hope Ride (POHR) is a noncompetitive one–, two–, or four-day cycling event that supports the American Cancer Society. Either as an individual or part of a team, […]

Technical Articles

Family-Friendly GMRS Radios

The General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) today is what CB radio was originally intended to be–a group of frequencies shared by individuals who maintained a civil environment on the air, […]

ham radio beverage antenna install guide illustration
Antenna Tech / Technical Articles

An Overview of Beverage Receiving Antennas–What Makes Them So Special?

(Thanks to the ARRL for sharing Figures 1-3 from the article “The Beverage Antenna, 100 Years Later” in the November 2021 issue of QST—see the reference list below.) There is […]

FT8 Activity from Clublog screen shot
FT8

FT8: Saving or Destroying Ham Radio?

Let me start by saying that this is an OPINION PIECE. Everybody has an opinion. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. I try to explore all sides, but […]

Beverage On Ground BOG diagram
Antenna Tech / Technical Articles

BOGged Down: Receive Antennas on the Ground

Many hams I know who are serious 160 and 80 meter operators use Beverage antennas to optimize HF reception. These antennas often make the difference in pulling a weak signal […]

ICS Organizational Diagram
EMCOMM / Technical Articles

EMCOMM: Operating Procedures and Tactical Callsigns

Operating Procedures The following suggestions are intended to help you become a better operator whether participating in a ham radio contest or public service event. The first thing to remember […]

ARRL Field Day Artwork
Field Day

Amateur Radio Mic Fright and GOTA Stations

Mic fright is a general term for anxiety leading to freezing, choking, and/or hesitating when speaking into a microphone. The physiological response of worrying about saying the correct thing to […]

ham radio Break tags header image
EMCOMM / Technical Articles

EMCOMM: A Look at Break Tags and Prowords Used During Emergency Communications

Break Tags Break Tags are a method of getting attention and establishing message priority. They have been used with great success in large public/emergency services nets. There are seven common […]

FT* ham radio growth chart
FT8 / Technical Articles

Is There a Place for FT8 in the Ham Radio Contest World?

Some types of automation have long been accepted in contesting: keyers, DVKs, keyboard CW, auto-repeat CQ, history files, and decoders for RTTY. Other types of automation have not been accepted […]

ICOM IC-2730A VHF/UHF FM Transceiver IC-2730A
Technical Articles

Going on Vacation? Great Options for Bringing Ham Radio Along for the Trip (Part 4)

Summer’s not over yet, so if you’re still planning on taking ham radio along with you on your well-deserved vacation, we’ve got some more ideas for getting the most out […]