Tag: rag chew

Many thanks to David (K2WNW) and Pete Polanyk, who share this brilliant documentary from the BBC World Service: Morse code: Ready to transmit The Documentary Podcast At the world Morse Code championships in Tunisia, competitors must battle to be the fastest and most accurate at sending and receiving Morse code. https://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download/proto/https/vpid/p0k8y5rz.mp3

Activating on the Road:  Stealth Activating with the AX1 Antenna System by Brian (K3ES) As I prepared my radio gear to do Parks on the Air (POTA) activations across the states of the American West (Six Weeks and 7300 Miles:  Activating on the Road), I knew that I would need to operate in a wide … Continue reading K3ES: Stealth Activating with the AX1 Antenna System →

I’ve received eight messages from people who would like to give a special ham radio person—their spouse, partner, parent, child, or friend—a gift but don’t know what. I get these messages every year, and while I’m typically busy in December, I enjoy answering them because it means that I can take a gift decision in … Continue reading Affordable, Last-Minute Quality Gifts for the Field Radio Enthusiast in Your Life →

By Teri KO4WFP Last December, I set a goal of 60 new Parks on the Air (POTA) valid activations by the end of the 2024. When I sat down to calculate this goal last December, I figured one park a week was easily attainable. In fact, in my article about Jack Hill State Park, I … Continue reading The POTA Babe Reflects On Her Goal →

On Friday, November 15, 2024, a window of opportunity opened up for me to fit in a POTA activation—and I couldn’t be happier I took it! Life in Swannanoa is gradually normalizing after Hurricane Helene, but free time remains scarce. I imagine my neighbors would echo this sentiment, especially since so many of our local … Continue reading Turning Half a Watt and the Tiny AX1 Antenna into a Proper POTA Adventure! →

Over the past few weeks, my buddy Mike (KE8PTX) has quietly made several YouTube videos I thought I’d share here on QRPer.com. By the way, Mike is the fellow behind the new Explorer POTA20 Carbon Fiber Mast Ground Spike. You may have seen me use this in a recent field report and activation video. Ground … Continue reading Videos: Mike’s Insights on the POTA20 Ground Spike and a Clever Tripod Antenna Hack! →

Yesterday morning, I replied to a message from a reader planning to obtain a vanity callsign. He asked, “Which [suffix] letters would make an easy callsign to send [in CW] and copy in your experience?” This is a great question. I do have a few suggestions. My previous call I suggest avoiding ending your callsign … Continue reading Choosing the Perfect Vanity Callsign: Tips for CW Operators →

Many thanks to Jonathan (KM4CFT), for sharing the following article about his portable field radio kit, which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, read this post.  CFT1 Field Kit by Jonathan (KM4CFT) I thought I would supply my own field … Continue reading Field Radio Kit Gallery: KM4CFT’s CFT1 Field Kit →

By Teri KO4WFP Fall weather has finally returned to Savannah, Georgia so it is time to get out for more Parks on the Air. Monday, November 18, I headed to a park I had yet to activate – the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge (US-0522). This park and I have history together prior to my involvement … Continue reading The POTA Babe Reconnects With Her Past →

Earlier this week, I mentioned that I purchased a Xiegu G106 in September. Its delivery was delayed because I had it shipped to my local post office, which, as you likely know, was flooded during Hurricane Helene. With all the post-Helene chaos, I haven’t been able to do as much POTA as I’d like, so … Continue reading Xiegu G106: From Unboxing to Your First POTA Activation (Beginner-Friendly Video!) →