The station itself. Think antennas, batteries, radios, coax, and keys.
The FT-817/818 has been in production for over 20 years and now that I own one, it is easy to see why. It is a fun radio to operate and fits a lot in a small package. There’s really just one thing that I don’t like about it: the wideness of its filtering can make […]
Soon after operating CW on a regular basis, I wanted to start sending QSL cards to the people that I worked. More than anything, I wanted to send them as a thank you for helping me learn the code. So far, I have sent out a few dozen cards. If you take a look at […]
The Mountain Topper 3 Bander, or MTR3b, is a famous radio and for good reason. It’s a compact, lightweight radio that gets you on 20m, 30m, and 40m. It sips power yet has a 5W output. It has a nice receiver. It’s ruggedly built. However, the power jack didn’t match any other piece of equipment […]
When poking around the internet for battery packs, this item from TalentCell piqued my interest due to its ability to supply 12V in an affordable package. The case is put together with screws. It’s begging to be opened up to discover what’s inside. Thankfully, the contents are exactly were as advertised on Amazon. Inside are […]
One of my favorite radios in the shack is the QCX, a QRP kit offered by qrp-labs.com. While the QCX has been in production since 2017, the 2020 updated version featured a nice, tailor made case (optional, but highly recommended) and a pcb which offered a more spaced out design for electronic components. These updates […]
When soldering electronics, it is important that the board that you are working on doesn’t move around on you. Basically, a helping hand set helps you hold on to your soldering projects so that your other hands are free to hold the iron and the solder. At times, I have found that the basic helping […]
A key is a switch that is used for sending Morse code. When you press down on a key, it completes the circuit which sends your signal out into the world. If it is connected to a radio, that is. In the meantime, you can connect it to an oscillator (a fancy word for buzzer) […]
When I first started out operating in the field, I took the only key that I owned: the Speed-X straight key. It is comfortable, adjustable, and responsive. In fact it is one of the keys that people generally recommend that people seek out if they are in the market for an affordable used key. However, […]
Amateur Radio Station WB0ISG 