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  • What Is P25 Digital? The Public Safety Standard Every Ham Should Understand

    P25 is the digital mode most hams have heard the most about and actually know the least about, mostly because almost nobody in ham radio actually transmits on it. It is not a hobbyist mode. It is the standard that runs the police, fire, and EMS radio traffic you probably scan or listen to, and…

  • Building a Better Net: What I’d Do Differently If I Ran One

    Weekly nets are one of the oldest traditions in this hobby, and also one of the easiest to run on autopilot. Here is what I would actually change if I were the one running mine.

  • APRS on the VGC VR-N76: Bluetooth KISS TNC Setup

    The VR-N76 does APRS completely differently than anything else in my lineup. Instead of an all-in-radio APRS engine like the Kenwood or AnyTone radios, it works as a Bluetooth KISS TNC that bridges to your phone or a laptop, where the actual APRS application lives. That is a real strength for flexibility, but it also…

  • Getting Started with D-STAR

    D-STAR was the first widely adopted digital voice mode in amateur radio, and its reflector and gateway system still works a little differently than DMR or Fusion. Here is how to actually get on it.

  • Understanding the Mark II’s Dual USB-C Virtual COM Ports

    What the IC-7300 Mark II’s dual USB-C virtual COM ports actually do, and why running digital modes and logging software together finally just works.

  • State QSO Parties: Low-Stakes Contesting for Beginners

    Major DX contests can be intimidating for a first-timer, fast exchanges, huge pileups, serious competitors who’ve been at it for decades. State QSO parties are a genuinely gentler on-ramp into contesting, and they’re worth trying even if you’ve never considered yourself a contester. What makes a QSO party different Most state QSO parties run shorter…

  • ARRL Field Day and Winter Field Day: What They Are and When They Happen

    A plain-language look at ARRL Field Day and Winter Field Day: what each event is, when they run, and what you actually do out in the field.

  • Repeaters: How They Work, Why They’re Great, and Why They’re Not a SHTF Plan

    Repeaters turn a 5-watt handheld into a radio that can talk 40 miles. Here’s how that works, and why you shouldn’t bet your grid-down comms plan on one.

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