Tag: hf
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NVIS vs. Vertical DX Antennas: Two Completely Different Jobs on the Same Bands
Same bands, opposite goals. Here’s how NVIS and vertical DX antennas actually differ, and how a low-mounted 40m EFHW can blanket a state like Arizona.
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HF Go-Kit Power Budgeting: Matching Battery Capacity to Realistic Operating Time
Nothing ends a POTA activation or a field deployment faster than running out of power halfway through. Guessing at battery capacity is how that happens, actually running the numbers is how you avoid it. Start with your radio’s actual current draw Every radio’s manual lists current draw figures for receive, standby, and transmit at various…
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IC-7300 Mark II vs Icom’s Higher-End Radios: When You Actually Need More
Where the IC-7300 Mark II tops out, and what actually justifies stepping up to something like the IC-7610 or IC-7851.
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The Buddipole BuddiHex: A Field Day 2026 Field Report
A 6-band hex beam that set up fast, blew past my expectations, and reminded me exactly why it’s a special-event antenna and not a weekly one.
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Setting Up the Yaesu FT-891 for Digital Modes: Digirig DR-891, WSJT-X, and Your First FT8 Contact
The FT-891 has no built-in sound card and a quirky single-USB CAT connection. Here’s how the Digirig DR-891 solves that, and how to get from unboxed to your first FT8 QSO.
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10 Meters: Amazing When It’s Open, and Why It So Rarely Is
10 meters can deliver worldwide DX on a handheld sized antenna and a handful of watts. The catch is that it only works when the ionosphere cooperates, and that is not often.