Category: Hamshack
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NanoVNA: The Budget Antenna Analyzer That Punches Above Its Price
A real vector network analyzer used to mean a serious piece of lab equipment costing thousands. The NanoVNA put most of that capability in your hand for under 100 dollars. Here is what it actually gets you.
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The Heil PRO 7: Why It’s One of the Best Upgrades You Can Make, Especially With the FS-3
Better audio, easier pileup hunting, and hands-free operation. Here’s what the Heil PRO 7 and FS-3 combo actually does, and what you need to run it on a Yaesu FTX-1.
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Dummy Loads, Wattmeters, and the Other Tools I Actually Use
Beyond a radio and an antenna, a handful of basic test tools make troubleshooting and tuning something you can actually do yourself rather than guess at. Here is what earns a permanent spot on my bench.
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Stealth Antennas for HOA Neighborhoods: What Actually Works
An HOA restriction does not have to mean giving up on a real home HF antenna. It means getting more creative about what a real antenna is allowed to look like. Here is what actually holds up.
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Do You Need a Linear Amplifier?
What extra watts actually buy you in S-units, when an amplifier is worth the cost, and what it takes to run one legally.
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Shack Ergonomics: Desk Layout for Long Operating Sessions
This post is part of Building Your First Ham Radio Station. A shack that works fine for a quick 20-minute session can be genuinely uncomfortable during a full day of contesting or a long DX chase. Ergonomics matters more the longer you’re actually sitting at the desk, and it’s worth designing for your longest sessions,…
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Yaesu FT-891: One Radio for the Shack, the Truck, and the Field
The FT-891 is built to be compact enough for a dashboard yet capable enough for a full base station. Here’s how it actually holds up in all three roles.
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Permanent Wire Antenna Installs: Lessons From My Backyard
Everything I built for portable use eventually taught me something different once I tried to leave it up permanently. Here is what actually held up in my own backyard, and what I would do differently.
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Organizing Your Ham Shack: Cable Management and Desk Layout
A tangle of coax, power cables, and USB leads behind the desk is how most shacks start out. Here is how mine actually got organized, and stayed that way.
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RigExpert Stick Pro Review: Why I Love It, Plus How It Compares to the Rest of the Lineup
My honest take on the RigExpert Stick Pro after putting it to work on antenna projects, and a breakdown of how it stacks up against the rest of RigExpert’s analyzer lineup.
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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.
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The Yaesu FTX-1: Field Radio, Base Station, or Both?
Yaesu’s long-awaited FT-817/818 successor splits into two configurations: a lightweight Field Head and a 100W Optima setup. Here’s how each one performs.