Category: HF
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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…
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Coax and Antenna Switches: Keeping Multiple Antennas on One Radio
Once you own more than one HF antenna, whether that’s a low-band vertical and a high-band beam, or just a backup antenna for when the primary is down, an antenna switch saves you from crawling behind the radio to swap coax every time you want to change. Manual switches: simple and reliable A manual coax…
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The Yaesu FC-80 Tuner for the FTX-1 Field: Does What It Says
My take on the Yaesu FC-80 automatic tuner for the FTX-1 Field Head. It’s not a G90-level internal tuner, but for a 3:1 mismatch it performs quite nicely.
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Pairing the FTX-1 with the Spooltenna Ultra for Portable HF
Why the Spooltenna Ultra is my default antenna for the FTX-1 in the field, and how I actually deploy and tune the pairing.
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Updating FTX-1 Firmware: Why and How
How I approach FTX-1 firmware updates, from checking release notes to the backup step I never skip.