Recent Posts

Large array of ham radio antenna towers
Technical Articles

Ham Radio Outdoor Maintenance Tips (from the Ground Up)

My first Elmer was a laid-back guy. One of his philosophies about Ham equipment was, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” He was lucky most of the time, but […]

ARRL POTA Parks on the Air logo
HAM Radio 101

POTA (Parks on the Air) Overview

If you enjoy operating in the great outdoors, Parks on the Air℠ (POTA) provides opportunities to advance your portable deployment skills, win awards, rag-chew with like-minded Hams, and take in […]

West Mountain Radio Rigblaster module and CD-ROM
Technical Articles

CW Contesting (Part 2): Making QSOs for Real and Tips on Better Scores

In Part 1 of our series on CW Contesting, we looked at some of the basics of getting started. Today, we’ll delve further into making QSOs and tips on improving […]

HAM Radio 101

Ham Radio 101: What is Point and Shoot?

Also known as point and click.  A refinement of the search and pounce operating method which is supported by most major logging software programs. With this method, the operator clicks […]

HAM Radio 101

What is the WRTC (World Radiosport Team Championship)?

Soccer has the World Cup. Baseball has the World Series. Ham Radio has the WRTC—the quadrennial World Radiosport Team Championship. While you won’t see it on ESPN, Hams in the […]

ARRL general Class License Manual
HAM Radio 101

Introduction to General Class License

We’ve talked a great deal in our Word of the Day column about what you can do with an Amateur Radio Technician Class License, including operating in the popular 2 […]

ham radio paddle, computer, and keyer block diagram
Technical Articles

CW Contesting (Part 1): Getting Started

Most days, the CW bands are kind of quiet.  But on certain days, suddenly there are stations tuning up, conducting short QSOs, and then at the top of an hour […]

HAM Radio 101

What is Category Shopping?

The practice of deciding which category to submit your contest score in after the contest is over, and after information on (claimed) scores of potential competitors is public. The purpose […]

DX Engineering Receiver Guard RF Limiter box
Products & Product Reviews

How a Receiver Guard Electronic RF Limiter Can Protect Your Investment

The front-end of your radio’s receiver is vulnerable to a host of over-voltage villains. Radio frequency (RF) spikes rank at the top of the most-feared list. The good news for […]

Transformer distortion graph
Clifton Labs

Non-Linear Xformer Behavior

(Editor’s Note: The following article is from the archives of experimenter, inventor, friend of the Ham Radio community, and founder of Clifton Laboratories, Jack Smith, K8ZOA (SK).) I’ve written about linear […]