RF PREP, a free study site for all three U.S. amateur radio license exams, is now available at rfprep.com. The site uses the current official question pools for the Technician, General and Amateur Extra license exams, then builds additional instructional material around each question to help students understand and retain…
Welcome to Part 2 of our exploration of amateur radio’s automatic packet reporting system or APRS. In Part 1, we covered the fundamentals of APRS, how to set up a station, and took a cursory look at how paths works and how messages get distributed. Now, let’s take a look…
Although I retired from an IT career a few years ago, I still live in “Silicon Valley” and try to stay in touch with the trends and people who make things happen. I’m surrounded by some of the top minds in the industry. Software developers, chip designers, electrical and mechanical…
Dayton Hamvention remains the single best event in North America to take the pulse of amateur radio. It’s where major manufacturers introduce us to upcoming products, where builders and experimenters compare notes in person, and where operators leave with practical knowledge, and a trunk full of new gear. The theme…
Avoid first-byte collisions in trace path and manual path tools MeshCore’s trace path tool is essential for understanding how packets travel through the fascinating ether of our beloved multi-hop mesh network. Trace path helps us understand not only the path but the signal strength at each hop as well. In…
It’s Time to Sync Up: The Reason WWVB Exists WWVB started not as a radio station, but as a measurement problem in need of a reliable solution. By the middle of the 20th century, the United States had reached a quiet inflection point. Electrical, telecom, and broadcast providers; transportation and…
I’ve always felt that the 60-meter ham band was somewhat of an oddity with limited capability and not really worth the effort. Other factors, like channelized operation, low power limits, and secondary status are puzzling and off-putting. But now, a new order from the Federal Communications Commission helps to solidify…
Winter Field Day isn’t a contest in the traditional sense. It’s an operating event, an “experience” if you ask its founders. If you approach it like a sprint for raw QSO counts, you’re missing the point, and worse, you’re missing what Winter Field Day does reward: Versatility, planning, and realistic…
MeshCore repeaters are showing up everywhere these days and I am thrilled to see it happen. As folks place these repeater nodes on high-rise rooftops, hillsides, and on ham and commercial towers, they’re discovering that the key to smooth wide-area repeater behavior isn’t just about height or terrain—it sometimes comes…
For the Ham Who Builds, Hacks, and Tinkers Finding the perfect gift for a ham radio operator or electronics tinkerer doesn’t have to be a guessing game. This holiday gift guide highlights tools and gadgets that every maker, experimenter, and radio hobbyist will actually use—and love. From soldering stations and…
