How Big is the Worldwide Market for Ham Radio Gear?

Ever wonder how much amateur radio equipment gets purchased each year? I was looking at some information on the new Kenwood TM-D710, including a press release on the Kenwood (Japan) web site. The Kenwood press release includes some background on the ham radio market: The global amateur radio equipment market is estimated to be worth … Read more

Pikes Peak Report – Colorado 14er Event

Every morning (assuming clear skies and a clear head), I can look out my front door to see Pikes Peak towering over the horizon to the west. For an amateur radio operator, Pikes Peak is a convenient way to obtain awesome Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT). They were even nice enough to build a road … Read more

VHF Contest Survey -N5AC

Steve N5AC recently completed a survey of amateur radio operators about their thoughts on VHF contesting. The results are now published on the web at http://www.n5ac.com/VHFSurvey.pdf In the forward of the document, Steve writes: I love VHF and microwave contesting and I know many of those that read this feel the same. And although I’ve … Read more

Video from Colorado Mountaintop Event

The 2007 Colorado 14er Event was held on August 12, 2007. During this event, amateur radio operators make radio contact from the summits of the state’s 14,000 foot mountains. Chris K0CAO made a short video of his hike up Mount Harvard and some of his radio action on the summit. The video also shows Chris … Read more

Grumpy about QSL Cards

I tend to let my incoming QSL cards pile up for a while and then fill them out in a batch. I don’t actually get all that many QSLs unless I am doing something special like a mini-DXpedition or activating a rare VHF grid. Last week, I decided it was time to catch up on … Read more

How Many Amateur Radio Operators are there in Japan?

I recently came across a web page maintained by Ryota “Roy” Motobayashi, JJ1WTL / AC6IM that explains the Japanese amateur radio callsign system. I used to hold a Japan amateur radio license (reciprocal, based on my US license) with callsign 7J1AUE. I was traveling to Japan on business at the time, so I wanted to … Read more