Members of the Secret Nuclear Bunker Contest Group (SNBCG) assembled at Kelvendon Hatch to try 144 MHz (Earth Moon Earth) EME and MS (Meteor Scatter) over the weekend of the ARRL EME event As a group we have tried with some success MS QSO and this helped lay the foundation for this weekend’s EME event. […]
I recently purchased some EFHW both 49:1 and 64:1 for some field-based testing. Working is ongoing, but the initial testing was good. I used 21m or wire, supported on a 12m spidebeam pole, with the other 9m sloping horizontal. Power was provided by V2L on the car The purpose was to see how repeatable this […]
Firstly FT8 is not the only digital mode, amateur radio has been using “digital” to send messages from RTTY to Helscriber and even CW. FT8 is just an evolution, and while it fulfils the basic QSO criteria the exchange is minimal and this is not a chat mode. If you are looking for a digital […]
The two masts I have highlighted today are the PU12 and the SCAM 12m. They both extend to 12m in height but have very different usage cases. I have included downloadable PDF guides for each mast. These are often charged for on ebay! If you found this helpful you may want to say thanks and […]
The weather is getting better, and taking your radio equipment outdoors adds another dimension to the hobby. If you have access to a friendly farmer, this can provide a retreat away from the high urban noise levels to play some radio. The Ioniq5 has a V2L system that allows you to run any 240v appliance […]
The ATU-10 by N7DDC is a 10w portable auto tuner, with an internal battery and latching relays ideal for portable use with the IC705. The ATU is ideal for portable use and can be charged with a USB -C style plug, once tuned the relays latch and the power can sleep saving battery. The ATU […]
Low power mesh radios can be fun to provide point to point or point to multi-point communication over short and not so short range. So what is Meshtastic? A text-based radio-based system, that allows off-grid communication between users. A good place to start is here. You can purchase a Meshtastic unit online, they come in […]