Tag: hf

  • Pairing the IC-7300 Mark II with an External Tuner for Non-Resonant Antennas

    When the built-in tuner isn’t enough, and how I pair the IC-7300 Mark II with an external tuner for antennas well outside its matching range.

  • What Is PSK Reporter?

    PSK Reporter is a free website that shows you, on a live map, exactly where your signal is being heard around the world. Here is how it works.

  • Common FT-891 Problems and How I’ve Solved Them

    The actual problems I’ve run into with the FT-891 across shack, mobile, and manpack use, and what fixed each one.

  • Why 15 Meters Deserves More Attention

    Stuck between the reliability of 20 meters and the volatility of 10, 15 meters gets overlooked. It shouldn’t be.

  • 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.

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