Amateur Radio · VHF/UHF · Summits On The Air · Colorado Mountains · Adventure
For Field Day this year, the Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association (WØTLM) is planning a one day event that combines our Tech Day training activities with normal Field Day radio operating. This Tech Field Day will have a strong emphasis on radio education and training, including an opportunity to make contacts on the HF bands under … Read more
In preparation for ARRL Field Day, I will be doing a presentation at our radio club meeting, explaining how FD works. We have lots of newer hams, so I want to cover the basics well. I looked around on YouTube for some video of typical Field Day contacts so our members could hear what it … Read more
This is an update to one of my most popular posts. We have quite a few licensed radio amateurs that are members of public safety agencies, including fire departments, law enforcement agencies and search and rescue. Since they are authorized users of those public safety channels, they often ask this question: Can I use my … Read more
A while back, I had someone point out a few errors I made concerning the use of metric units. This caused me to review the SI system to make sure I had it correct. (I am sure I’ll continue to screw up a few things but, hey, life is a journey.) The International System of … Read more
When we teach the Technician License Class, we provide a simple explanation of Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) that emphasizes the concept of impedance matching. An SWR of 1:1 is a perfect match; anything higher is less than perfect. SWR is an important amateur radio concept, one that is not that easy to explain so I … Read more
I am often disappointed by the crummy microphone hanger clips supplied with mobile ham transceivers. Typically, they are cheap metal clips with sharp edges waiting to impale your hand, that look like this: I recently came across these microphone clips that are awesome! Available from Amazon for $7.49. 73, Bob K0NR