Antennas 7 min read How Much Signal Are You Actually Losing With a Loading Coil Loading coils let short HF antennas tune on bands where they are physically too short, but the trade-off is real signal loss. Here is what that loss looks like, why it happens, and why coil materials matter. Read More →
Gear 6 min read Taking the Hermes Lite 2 to 100 Watts with the Xiegu GPA100 The Hermes Lite 2 is a capable SDR, but it tops out at around one watt. Here is how I added the Xiegu GPA100 linear amplifier to the chain and what that actually looks like in practice. Read More →
Gear 4 min read I Got a New SDR Radio The Hermes Lite 2 For around $400, I was able to put together an open-source SDR setup using the Hermes Lite 2, the optional filter board, and Thetis SDR software Read More →
Antennas 4 min read Bottom Coil vs Center Coil Antenna Does Coil Placement Matter Coil placement may seem minor, but this 40 meter WSPR test shows why a center loaded vertical can have the edge for weak signal DX Read More →
Gear 4 min read Push-to-Talk From Florida to Utah No License Required Can This Radio Replace Your Business Walkie Talkies? Radioddity TomoLink POC Review Read More →
Ham Radio 4 min read How to Build a Butterworth Bandpass Filter for Ham Radio A step-by-step guide to designing and building a double-tuned Butterworth bandpass filter for any amateur radio band Read More →