A QSL Card Revival for the 21st Century

It's an old tradition that is probably slowly dying out. But what a pleasure it is to receive the occasional QSL card in the mail. Many years ago, well before I earned my ham ticket, I was an avid Short Wave Listener. Many short wave broadcasters would send a QSL card in response to a … Continue reading A QSL Card Revival for the 21st Century →

5 Tips for Field Expedient Radio Operations in the Big Blue Sky Shack

I first became interested in operating amateur radio in the great outdoors (aka the Big Blue Sky Shack) over 20 years ago and since that time it has become a passion. The passion is partly inspired by the exploits of secret agents behind enemy lines during the Second World War. These people didn't have to … Continue reading 5 Tips for Field Expedient Radio Operations in the Big Blue Sky Shack →

A Versatile Solution for Backpacking with the QRP Labs QMX

Solar cycle 25 is rapidly approaching its peak. That means propagation conditions are very favorable for QRP operations again. Add to that the ever increasing popularity of outdoor operating programs like Summits on the Air (SOTA) and Parks on the Air (POTA) and there has never been a better time to hit the Big Blue … Continue reading A Versatile Solution for Backpacking with the QRP Labs QMX →

Turkish Delight – QRP Style!

It was a long, long wait. I ordered my QRP Labs QMX factory assembled radio on the 9th of October 2023 and received it on the 4th of April 2024 - a wait of a little under 6 months. I guess I shouldn't complain, a fellow club member waited 18 months for his Elecraft KX2 … Continue reading Turkish Delight – QRP Style! →

Improving a Ground Tuning Unit – using binary coded inductance and capacitance

There are 10 types of people in this world; those who understand binary notation and those who don't. Some years ago I experimented with using a Ground Tuning Unit (GTU a.k.a. Artificial Ground) to replace radials/counterpoises on my field expedient vertical antennas. A GTU is simply a series L-C tuned circuit with a current sensor … Continue reading Improving a Ground Tuning Unit – using binary coded inductance and capacitance →

Venturing Outside the Box with the End-Fed Half-Wave Antenna

So many words have been written about the popular End-Fed Half-Wave antenna that you would think it would be "settled science" by now. For several years I have been building EFHWs according to accepted wisdom, but my inquisitive mind always seeks to question why they are built that way and could they be improved? You … Continue reading Venturing Outside the Box with the End-Fed Half-Wave Antenna →

An Improved Self-Supporting, Low Footprint Field Expedient Antenna for 20m

In my post https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/2024/02/28/field-testing-the-antenna-called-long-tall-sally-oops-and-downs/ I wrote: Now what if it were possible … … to maintain the small footprint on the ground while simultaneously reducing the height of the antenna. Could it be done? That’s a project I am working on now. I have some ideas that I think are going to work. Stay tuned. … Continue reading An Improved Self-Supporting, Low Footprint Field Expedient Antenna for 20m →

Antennas: a Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside an Enigma

I owe the title of this post to Sir Winston Churchill who once used it to describe a country that is prominently in the news at the present time. It seemed an appropriate description for ham antennas too because the more I know about antennas, the more I realize how much I don't know. Maybe … Continue reading Antennas: a Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside an Enigma →

Field Testing the Antenna Called “Long Tall Sally”: Oops and Downs!

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about a new vertical antenna concept that I dubbed "Long Tall Sally". To recap; I wanted a field portable antenna that occupies a very small footprint. The trade-off of a reduced footprint is an increase in height. This involved stretching a quarter-wave vertical for 20m into … Continue reading Field Testing the Antenna Called “Long Tall Sally”: Oops and Downs! →

Today’s Weather: 6000 degrees Celsius with a possibility of storms

Sample Solar-Terrestrial Data Table from https://www.hamqsl.com/solar.html HF propagation forecasts have always baffled me. A quick look at the forecast chart produced by Paul N0NBH on his excellent website at: hamqsl.com/solar.html reveals a dizzying collection of data from which Paul draws a conclusion about conditions on each of the HF bands. His forecasts are usually correct, … Continue reading Today’s Weather: 6000 degrees Celsius with a possibility of storms →