Author: Kris – KZ7K

  • The Comet CAT-300: My Favorite Manual Antenna Tuner

    A simple T-network, a cross-needle meter, and 160m through 6m in one box. Here’s how I set mine up, how I tune with it, and why it’s become a permanent fixture on my desk.

  • Is ARRL Membership Actually Worth It?

    Part of our Clubs and Nets guide. Nothing about being a licensed amateur requires ARRL membership, and plenty of hams operate happily for decades without ever joining. But the League does provide real value for a lot of members, and it’s worth an honest look at what you’re actually paying for. What membership actually gets…

  • Common IC-7300 Mark II Problems and How to Solve Them

    The actual problems that have come up running the IC-7300 Mark II, and what fixed each one.

  • What Is SSTV, and How Do You Get Started?

    Slow scan television, SSTV, is the mode that lets you send an actual picture over radio instead of text or voice. It’s been part of amateur radio since the 1950s, and it’s still active today, helped along by regular SSTV transmissions from the International Space Station. How a radio signal becomes a picture SSTV encodes…

  • Channel Congestion After a Disaster: What Actually Happens on GMRS and FRS

    Everyone has the same idea at the same time. Here’s what actually happens to GMRS and FRS channels after a disaster hits.

  • What Is a Moxon Antenna? Plus Some Great Build Videos

    The Moxon squeezes real gain and a strong front to back ratio into a surprisingly small footprint. Here is what it is, why it works, and where to watch it get built.

  • Finding and Programming GMRS Repeaters in Your Area

    GMRS repeaters can turn a 5-mile radio into a 40-mile radio. Here’s how to find the ones near you and get them programmed into your radio correctly.

  • Building a Digital Voice Manpack: DMR or D-STAR On the Go

    Most of the manpack builds I’ve written about center on HF, the FT-891 and G90 manpacks in particular. A digital voice manpack is a different animal, built around VHF/UHF digital voice for a different kind of portable capability entirely. Why build a digital voice manpack at all An HF manpack gets you long-distance contacts independent…

  • Xiegu G90 for Portable Ops, and How It Stacks Up Against the FT-891

    20 watts, a built-in tuner, and a waterfall display in a radio you can hold in one hand. Here’s how the G90 does in the field, and where it wins and loses against the FT-891.

  • Station Grounding and Lightning Protection: Getting It Right

    Grounding is one of those jobs hams put off until something bad happens. Here is what a proper station ground actually does, and how to build one that protects your gear and your house.

  • G90 POTA Field Kit Walkthrough

    Part of our The Xiegu G90: The Complete Guide. People ask me why I still reach for the G90 for POTA when I own an FTX-1 and an FT-891. The honest answer is size. The G90 is genuinely small, and once you’ve hiked a mile in with a radio on your back, you stop thinking…

  • Setting Up the Xiegu G90 for Digital Modes: Digirig, WSJT-X, and Your First FT8 Contact

    The G90’s ACC port handles CAT and audio for digital modes, but it takes the right cable and a few menu tweaks to get clean FT8 out of it. Here’s the full setup.

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