Tag: js8call
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Why HF Radio Matters Most When the Grid Goes Down
Why HF radio is critical when the grid goes down: NVIS keeps you connected to your region, and HF DX lets you poll other states and continents for news.
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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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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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FT8 vs SSB vs CW: Which Mode Should You Actually Use?
I get asked this constantly, usually by someone new to HF who just worked their first FT8 contact and wants to know if they even need to learn the other modes. The honest answer is that FT8, SSB, and CW aren’t competing for the same job. Each one solves a different problem, and once you…
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Getting Started with JS8Call: Setup and Your First Contacts
Part of our Getting On The Air guide. JS8Call takes the weak-signal decoding strength that made FT8 popular and points it at a completely different goal: real keyboard-to-keyboard conversation over HF, not just a quick exchange of signal reports. How It Differs From FT8 FT8 is built around a rigid, automated exchange format, callsigns, grid…