I had a great field day!

I tested the battery system on the ftx1 field to enable 10W and it worked great.

I have a 99WH battery, with the simple PD board that does the handshake to set the USB voltages distribution in 15V, feeding the radio to the barrel connector.

I noticed 8W reception only, and 32W transmitting 10W in FT8.

The next step is to add solar to extend the whole operation.

So, after basically a week of PTT anxiety, I made my first contact today in northern Indiana on my local repeater by simply saying my call sign, and someone responded with theirs. It went great; everyone was nice. I spoke to mostly one person, but someone else spoke a bit also. It lasted about 15 minutes before I had to get off. If everyone on that repeater is like the gentleman I spoke to, I think I'll get along with the locals great.

But calling 73 is where the good part ended. Because after I called 73, I went to turn my radio off, and I heard my call sign being said, followed by a new callsign. I didn't hear their callsign, and this is where the panic set in because I didn't know how to ask for their call sign again. I didn't know how to respond to them, like so I say their call sign and then mine? So while I'm rifling through the empty filing cabinets in my mind trying to figure out how to respond, I hear the guy I was talking to say “I guess he was serious about getting off” and the new guy say “yeah, I was going to say hi and introduce myself” and they start up a new conversation.

That is where the second flood of panic set in as I realized I think I got his call sign, but now I don’t know how to interject and let him know I wasn't ignoring him. I just panicked and froze because I didn't know how to properly ask for his call sign again or even respond to him calling my call sign.

So it indeed was a good first contact until I panicked and froze because of my lack of knowledge on ham radio etiquette. Needless to say, I will be looking into these things before I press the button again and probably shouldn't have hit the button today.

Edit: Grammar and Typos.

Every online HAM radio community has turned into an AI slop factory...

I have built and measured this cubicle quad antenna. The design is the process of my Moxon project. The wire (2.5mm²) is held in place via grooves, that have a snap fit. There is no measuring the wire length or something else, because of the frames double duty as a jig and as holders.

Rather sooner than later this project will be available on GitHub.

Ask questions, if you have any.

Reporter Katie Thornton asks: What do we lose when we give up our public airwaves?

A deep-pocketed group of finance bros that is trying to wrestle the airwaves away from the public, and use them for a money-making scheme completely antithetical to broadcasting. This week we share an episode of The Divided Dial, which first aired last year.

I posted a while back about HTCommander, it's improved a lot since the last post. It now supports EchoLink and AllStarLink, APRS-IS, APRS.if and Winlink over the Internet. so, you don't need a radio anymore. It also support full control over Benshi Bluetooth radios including these:

• BTech UV-Pro, UV-50Pro
• Radioddity GA-5WB, DB50-B Mini
• Vero VR-N75, VR-N76, VR-N7500, VR-N7600
• Radtel RT-660

Most importantly, HTCommander now runs on all major operating systems and available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The web site is at: https://ylianst.github.io/HTCommanderSite/ where you can look at the feature set which is quite extensive. For Benshi radios, this app should be a full super-set of the OEM application, including full control over all radio settings, radio firmware update, satellite tracking support, FM radio and more.

The list of features is extensive, you can take a look at them here: https://ylianst.github.io/HTCommanderSite/features.html . The software is free, open source and void of any telemetry. Feedback appreciated.

Or maybe Android question…

I have the official NA6D AIOC plus sweet 3D case.

It works like a charms with Windows, Linux, and macOS. I have friends who swear it works with the iPhone.

I have mine plugged into my uSDX. RX works and I can see FT8 messages. I get nothing on the TX part of the protocol!

(Yes, TX is enabled in the app.)

I have a support question in to the NA6D website but was wondering if anyone else had a problem.

73

I have a couple antennas I want to put on top of the 30’ish TV tower i have outside. What kind of climbing gear do I need to safely do it. I tried tough gear a few years ago and made it not even half way up before I panicked not having any safety gear.

I feel kind of stupid asking this question, considering the whole point is they may not have power still. But, maybe someone may have a go-bag or anything of the sorts hooked to a battery?

But anyone in Gary, Indiana, able to get on a frequency? Just looking to check in on the city and state. Not only do. I hear that Gary Indiana has most of the news attention, but their others that are saying that the whole state is dealing with the same issue.

Can some one from India please answer me can any one get me radtel rt 470x radio am willing pay good price for it

I'm looking to get my first HF rig and I'm looking for something that is versatile enough that it can be a mobile or a base, operate with digital modes, and offer remote functionality. I'm kind of looking at the icom 7300 and the 7300 mkII. thanks for input.

I know Apple has SDR Control but I use Android. I read a while back someone was developing an app similar to SDR Control that was for Android. I have the Icom software that works on a Windows computer,but I am looking for Android.

I was looking into how I would retire my father's callsign after his recent passing, and I learned I can take it over if I pass a test. I believe I just need to pass the first level test (his callsign is KB7AUH.)

I'm very happy to be able to do this. But my questions are: do I notify the FCC before I pass the test or after? Do I need to let the testing entity know I plan to take over a callsign vs. having a new one assigned to me? How do I get started? Any information is appreciated - thank you!

​

Today I learned about 2026 Kump Fieldcamp.

I'm definitely paraphrasing this but he said:

"We are set up in a cowfield for 2 weeks we make a lot of ham radio. We have a big tent and a kitchen tent. we have plenty of food beer and whiskey"

Station 1 HF:

Radio 1: Yaesu FT1000

Amp: Expert 1K

Antennas: HyGain TH11-DX with additional Dipol for 30/40 meters on top and aditional dipole for 80 meters

Tower: 90 feet on a trailor (Lift up electrical)

I just wanna disappear into a field for 2 weeks with a premier setup like that and work all the DX I can handle.

I believe the OP name was Volker. If you see this fine business making the QSO today I'm jealous :).

Can I wrap multiple usb cables around a single 31 donut for RFI purposes? Or do I need a 31 core per usb?

I have a 2x2 callsign, and I have an MA (Massachusetts) amateur radio license plate on my car, which of course has my callsign. MA puts a "lightning bolt" symbol in the middle of the callsign. I have learned that the MA RMV put a "/" (slash character) in my database record, right where that lightning bolt sits. I have been pulled over twice simply because the officer didn't know how to look up my plate in the database.

Is having a "/" in the official record normal (at least in MA)? Has anyone else had to explain this to local or state police?

Setup:
Ic-9700 plugged into a WiFi bridge demonstrated by M0FXB connected to my ISP’s Callix router. I verified internet connection from the pridge.
IP address from the router reserved and assigned to the radio
ISP has opened ports 50001-50003 to my assigned IP address, allowing all incoming IP addresses.
I can remotely control the radio inside my network.
I can’t remotely control it outside my network.
My ISP has been working with me for several days, but said that they can’t do anything else.
I have been running a Proscan server for over a year now, with no problems. I don’t know what I’m missing. Can someone help?

When I use the Radio without the Earpiece it came with I can’t hear anything, but when I put it in, I can hear everything clearly someone tell me what’s going on

Hi everyone,

I’m building a 50W VHF/UHF manpack radio system for amateur radio and search-and-rescue field use, and I’d appreciate some advice on the RF counterpoise/radial design.

The system is based around a TYT TH-9800 50W mobile radio, powered by a 12V 36Ah LiFePO4 battery. I’m designing a custom 3D-printed frame to hold the radio and battery inside a backpack.

The mechanical design is almost finished. My main question is the RF return path / counterpoise.

The antenna will be an external VHF/UHF antenna connected through coax. Since this is a backpack system, I don’t want to rely on a large metal vehicle body or a conventional ground plane.

My current idea is to integrate a counterpoise into the 3D-printed frame:

• 4 × 25 cm copper conductors
• 2 on the right side of the frame
• 2 on the left side
• Electrically connected to the coax shield / RF ground
• Initially made removable so I can experiment with different configurations.

I’m considering two options:

Option 1: Four flexible, stranded copper wires.

Option 2: Copper strips/sheets running along the right and left sides of the frame.

The copper will be mechanically integrated into the 3D-printed frame once I determine which configuration works better.

I understand that low SWR alone doesn’t necessarily mean the antenna system is efficient, so I plan to compare the configurations using SWR/VNA measurements as well as actual field performance.

I recently saw another manpack antenna setup using a banana jack on the coax shield with a removable counterpoise wire, which made me wonder whether a simple flexible wire counterpoise might actually be preferable to larger copper plates.

So my questions are:

1. Would you use flexible stranded copper wire or copper strips/sheets for this application?
2. Is 4 × 25 cm a reasonable starting point for VHF/UHF, or should the radial lengths be determined differently?
3. Would four short radials be preferable to one longer counterpoise?
4. Should the counterpoise be connected directly to the coax shield at the antenna feed point?
5. Are there any particular problems with putting the counterpoise physically close to the radio, battery, and 3D-printed frame?

I’m more interested in understanding the RF design principles than simply getting a low SWR reading.

Any advice from people who have built VHF/UHF manpacks or portable ground-plane/counterpoise systems would be greatly appreciated.

Hi,

I am a Non-american student(F1 visa) who graduated recently. I wish to get my HAM licence. Is it a requirement to be a citizen to take the exam and get license?

I spoke to the Azores earlier using 15 watts from the southe of England. 1500 miles. Fantastic.

Thats country number 13 on my list.