Tag: efhw
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SHTF Scenario: The Road Ends Before the Journey Does
A 140-mile bug-out scenario where trucks stop at 100 miles and two-wheelers at 135. What’s your movement plan, primary, and comms package? Here’s mine.
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My Updated Yaesu FTX-1 Optima Go-Box: What I Changed and Why
My updated FTX-1 Optima go-box: the same watertight case, now with MOLLE pouches on the lid and both sides carrying the antennas, coax, power cables, and speaker.
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Your Repeater Is Not a Plan: Why HF NVIS Matters Just as Much
Without the repeater, VHF/UHF is line of sight. Here’s why HF NVIS matters as much, and how I’d layer both into a real SHTF comms plan.
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My Yaesu FTX-1 Go-Box: 100 Watts, HF Through UHF, in One Watertight Case
My FTX-1 Optima go-box: a watertight hard case holding the radio and the SPA-1 amp for HF through UHF, with antennas in a bag alongside. 16.5 lbs, 12 x 12 x 7 inches.
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What Is an HF NVIS Regional Net?
What an HF NVIS regional net is, why it beats a repeater net as a regional comms test, plus modes, antennas, radios, and four station builds.
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The One HF Setup I’d Recommend If You Want Capability Without Breaking the Bank
If someone asked me to recommend one HF setup that covers almost everything a ham could need without draining the bank account, here’s exactly what I’d point them to.
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Center-Fed vs End-Fed: Choosing Your Antenna’s Feed Point
Part of our Building Your First Ham Radio Station guide. Where you feed a wire antenna, at the center or at one end, changes more than just how you hang the wire. It affects impedance, installation flexibility, and even how forgiving the antenna is about your specific yard. Center-Fed: The Classic Dipole Approach A center-fed…
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Ham Radio Cheat Sheet: Q Codes, Band Plan, Phonetics & Antenna Lengths
Every ham radio cheat sheet you need in one place: Q codes, the ARRL band plan for Technician, General, and Extra, the phonetic alphabet, and EFHW and random wire antenna lengths for HF.
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Building a 49:1 Transformer for a 40m End-Fed Half-Wave Antenna
The end-fed half-wave presents a nasty impedance to match. Here’s how to wind the 49:1 transformer that tames it, and build the 40m wire to go with it.
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The Random Wire Antenna: Magic Lengths, Lengths to Avoid, and the Right Transformer
A random wire antenna is one of the simplest, cheapest ways onto HF, but the length you cut it matters more than most people realize. Here is what actually makes one work well.
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How to Tune a Vertical Whip Antenna for HF
Verticals live and die by their ground system, not just their length. Here’s the actual process for getting a whip resonant on the band you want.
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Building a 1:1 Common-Mode Choke for HF
RF in the shack, unstable SWR, mystery noise: a lot of it traces back to common-mode current on your coax. A choke is a cheap, quick fix.