Category: Pillar Pages

  • The Yaesu FT-857D: The Complete Guide

    The FT-857D is the radio I point people to when they want one box that covers HF, VHF, and UHF without carrying a second radio. It’s not the newest or the friendliest to program, but it earns its keep. This page rounds up everything I’ve written about it. Start Here Yaesu FT-857D Review: A Great…

  • 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…

  • Mesh Networking: Meshtastic, MeshCore, and AREDN

    Mesh networking gets pitched online as the thing that will save your comms when everything else goes down. It is a genuinely interesting technology, and also not the magic bullet the hype suggests. This is the map to everything on QSO Journey about mesh: what it actually is, getting a Meshtastic node running, growing a…

  • Handheld Radios (HTs): The Complete Guide

    A handheld is how most people start in this hobby, and for a lot of us it never really stops being the radio we reach for first. But “HT” covers a huge range of gear, from a $25 Baofeng to a $500 GPS-tagging DMR radio, and picking the right one (then actually programming and accessorizing…

  • The Evolution of Amateur Radio: A Timeline

    Ham radio didn’t arrive all at once. It grew in fits and starts over more than a century, from illegal spark-gap experiments to a regulated hobby, then split off entire sibling services like GMRS and FRS, and eventually went digital. I put together a timeline of the milestones that shaped the hobby we operate today,…

  • The Yaesu FTX-1: The Complete Guide

    Every FTX-1 post on QSO Journey in one place: the overview, setup guides, field ops, digital modes, operating skills, and maintenance.

  • Building a PACE Communications Plan for Grid-Down Scenarios

    How to build a PACE (Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency) radio communications plan combining GMRS, ham radio, and non-radio backups.

  • Getting Licensed: A Beginner’s Path Into Ham Radio

    How to get your Technician ham radio license in 2026: what’s on the new 2026-2030 exam, how to study, your first radio, and the path beyond.

  • GMRS Radio: The Complete Guide

    Everything you need to know about GMRS radio: the $35 license, real-world range, repeaters, and which radio to actually buy first.

  • The Yaesu FT-891: The Complete Guide

    Every Yaesu FT-891 post on QSO Journey in one place: the overview, digital mode setup, manpack build, mobile install, and how it compares to the G90 and IC-7300 Mark II.

  • Emergency Communications and Preparedness

    A practical roadmap to EmComm capability, covering ARES and RACES, message formats, digital tools like Winlink, and what actually holds up when it matters.

  • Getting On The Air: Modes, Operations, and Making Contacts

    The full roadmap for operating on QSO Journey, covering HF bands, propagation, digital voice and data modes, contesting, and portable operating.

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