Tag: hf

  • What I’d Buy Instead of the Chameleon MPAS 2.0

    A modular HF portable antenna kit that beats the $625 Chameleon MPAS 2.0 on both performance and price, built around the CaHR Hydra and a Spooltenna EFHW.

  • Hex Beams and Cubical Quads: Compact Gain Antennas Compared

    A full-size multi-band Yagi delivers serious gain, but it also demands a serious tower and a lot of real estate. Hex beams and cubical quads exist for hams who want real directional gain without going that far. The hex beam’s folded-wire approach A hex beam uses folded wire elements strung between spreader arms in roughly…

  • Choosing Feedline Length to Avoid Common-Mode Problems

    There’s a persistent myth that feedline length needs to be some magic multiple of a wavelength to work correctly. It doesn’t, for a properly matched coax feedline, but feedline length does interact with common-mode current problems in ways worth understanding before you run a cable. Coax length and SWR: mostly a non-issue If your antenna…

  • The Xiegu G90: The Complete Guide

    The Xiegu G90 is the radio I hand to people who ask me where to start with portable HF and don’t want to spend FT-891 or FTX-1 money to find out if they like it. It’s a 20 watt QRP transceiver with a genuinely useful built-in antenna tuner, and it’s small enough that it changes…

  • Diagnosing and Killing HF Noise: Solar Panels, Switching Supplies, and Powerline Interference

    Modern HF noise has a different profile than it did twenty years ago. Solar inverters, switching power supplies, and LED drivers have replaced a lot of what used to be quieter analog electronics, and tracking down the source takes a methodical approach. The modern usual suspects Solar panel systems, particularly the DC-to-AC inverters, are one…

  • 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.

  • The Yaesu ATAS-120A: My Take on This Motorized Mobile Antenna

    An overview of the Yaesu ATAS-120A active tuning mobile antenna, including how it works, what it covers, and how it performs on my Jeep paired with an FT-891.

  • The Chameleon MPAS 2.0 – The Compromise

    A modular HF system that packs into a backpack and deploys a dozen different ways. Here’s how the Hybrid Mini upgrade changes things, and how the SS17 compares to the stock military-style whip.

  • External Battery Setup for the FT-891 in the Field

    The FT-891 has no internal battery, so here’s how I power it in the field off the LiFePO4 box and what current draw actually looks like.

  • Getting the Most from the G90’s Built-In Antenna Tuner

    Part of our The Xiegu G90: The Complete Guide. The built-in tuner is one of the main reasons I recommend the G90 to people building their first portable HF kit. It’s not just a checkbox feature. It’s genuinely one of the better internal tuners I’ve used at this price point, and it changes what you…

  • My HF Radios: Four Radios, Four Very Different Jobs

    This is probably the most expensive post I’ve written. Here’s a rundown of the four HF radios I actually own and use, and what each one has earned its keep doing.

  • The Comet CAT-300: My Favorite Manual Antenna Tuner

    A simple T-network, a cross-needle meter, and 160m through 6m in one box. Here’s how I set mine up, how I tune with it, and why it’s become a permanent fixture on my desk.

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