It was my very first HF radio. A Yaesu FT-817; the original vintage before the ND version was introduced. I was very excited; it was the perfect solution to serve my passion for getting outdoors into the Big Blue Sky Shack to play radio. I had a lot of success. My outdoor antenna was a … Continue reading How to Turn a 20+ Year Old Yaesu FT-817 into a CW Mean Machine
Category: QRP
What’s in my POTA Backpack?
A recent post by Thomas K4SWL on his QRPer.com blog that I follow inspired me to write about my own portable operations backpack. Thomas' post was entitled A tour and deep-dive of my SOTA/POTA Backpack (Spec-Ops Brand T.H.E. Pack EDC). Thomas and I approach our outdoor operations from a different perspective. While Thomas gets involved … Continue reading What’s in my POTA Backpack?
Why I Quit QRP (and maybe shouldn’t have)
For many years I was a dedicated QRP operator. I even took my "Portable QRP Operation" show-and-tell out on the road for presentation at ham clubs in my area. Then along came the dark, gloomy depths of the solar cycle minimum. My forays out into the Big Blue Sky Shack became a series of disappointments. … Continue reading Why I Quit QRP (and maybe shouldn’t have)
Ham Radio Outside the Box 