Blog

📌 Pinned

All Posts

  • FT8 Contesting: How Digital Contests Actually Work

    Part of our Getting On The Air guide. Most hams who run FT8 do it casually, working stations one at a time while doing something else with half their attention. Contesting on FT8 is a completely different animal. It is fast, structured, and genuinely competitive, and understanding the difference will save you a frustrating first…

  • Midland MXT275 Review: A Popular GMRS Mobile Radio

    Part of our GMRS Radio: The Complete Guide. The Midland MXT275 is probably the single most common GMRS mobile radio I see mentioned in overlanding and family preparedness circles, and there is a reason for that. It is simple, widely available, and Midland backs it with decent documentation and support, which matters more than people…

  • BTECH GMRS-V2 Review: A Budget GMRS Handheld Worth a Look

    Part of our GMRS Radio: The Complete Guide. BTECH has built a solid reputation in the ham radio side of the budget radio market, and the GMRS-V2 is their dedicated GMRS-only handheld. Since it is not trying to double as a ham radio, it can lean fully into GMRS-specific features without the compromises that come…

  • Vertical vs Yagi vs Wire for DX: A Decision Framework

    Part of our Building Your First Ham Radio Station guide. Every antenna thread on every ham radio forum eventually turns into an argument about which is best for DX, and the honest answer is that all three of these can work DX, and all three have real tradeoffs. I want to walk through how I…

  • Best HF Radios Under $1,000: A Buyer’s Comparison

    Part of our Where to Spend Your Money guide. I get asked some version of “what HF radio should I buy” constantly, and the honest answer depends heavily on budget. Under $1,000 is a real, well-served category with genuinely capable radios, not just compromises. I own three of the radios I am about to talk…

  • Choosing a Power Supply for a DMR Hotspot

    Part of our Getting On The Air guide. A DMR hotspot is a small, low-power device, and it is tempting to assume any old USB charger will power it fine. In practice, a genuinely inadequate power supply is one of the most common causes of hotspot instability, random reboots, and connection dropouts. Why Current Rating…

  • Technician’s Expanded HF Phone Privileges: What’s Actually Been Proposed

    Part of our Getting Licensed guide. I see some version of this question in beginner forums constantly: did Technicians just get more HF privileges? The short answer, as of today, is no. What exists is a long running ARRL petition asking the FCC to expand Technician HF privileges, not an adopted rule change. I want…

  • Clubs and Nets: Finding, Joining, and Running Them

    A radio is just a box until you plug it into a community. Clubs and nets are how most hams actually learn the hobby, find mentors, and have somewhere to check in when it matters. This is the map to everything on QSO Journey about finding, joining, running, and sometimes starting your own club or…

Categories

×