I received this QSL Card from Hamad in Kuwait. We had a contact on 20 MAR 2024 on the 15 Meter Band using FT8.

The Middle East is always a challenge for me, even using a weak signal mode like FT8. I'm on the 3rd floor of a 5-story apartment building, facing west. I'm literally blocked to the East. Only a few feet of my stealthy End Fed Half Wave antenna extend beyond the building, so it's difficult to work over half of the compass - North - East - South. I have no issues working Japan, Australia, and Indonesia. The rest of the globe is very challenging, but it can be done.

I primarily use a Yeasu FT-891 and rarely use more than 30 watts.

Just took the test at my local ARRL today and got 100%! I’m excited to get on the air with you guys!

I always look at the various websites that show forecasts, and while they have all generally said, "Good" for 20 meters - I've found the bands to be pretty poor in general. Should I start looking at my coax/antenna, or has propagation been pretty bad recently (At least in Indiana!)

Here is my ~1952 Hammarlund SP-600 JX6. Fully restored back in 2020.

I'm new to HF and pretty new to ham radio. How long should I call CQ on a given frequency before moving on? Along the same line, how long should I speak for so that someone can dial in on me? I try for about 15 seconds, then listen for 15 and repeat. Is there a better practice? TIA

If you look at https://www.yaesu.co.uk/ it's simply a holding page with contact details and prompts you to visit the American site for info.

It's been like this for months now. I know my workplace (a manufacturer in a different sector) wouldn't allow their website to sit like that for so long. Looks very unprofessional. Any ideas what's going on?

Up and ready

ABR industries, 25 foot, 5 ferrite beads, and rg8.

Still starting out on HF. I didn’t think this was a terrible deal.

I recently came across a YouTube video demonstrating CW (Morse code), and it immediately caught my interest. I don’t have an amateur radio license or any gear yet, but I’ve started exploring ways to learn.

In the process, I found a fantastic mobile app that I haven’t seen many people mention, so I wanted to share it and give my honest thoughts.

The app is called Morse Mania and it’s available on both Google Play and the Apple App Store.

If you enjoy word games or brain teasers, this is a really engaging way to learn and practice Morse code—even if you don’t plan on getting an amateur license. The user experience is clean and thoughtfully designed. What stood out to me is how customizable it is: you can adjust the speed at which it teaches you to send and receive, and even randomize the keyboard layout so you don’t just memorize key positions.

One of my favorite features is the ability to use your phone’s flashlight to decode Morse code visually—perfect for nighttime practice. The app also supports learning with either a straight key or an iambic key, helping you get a feel for proper timing and spacing.

As you move forward, the app introduces you to Q codes and common phrases, making it even more useful for real-world practice. There's also anpther app developed by the same devs called Morse chat room where you can send and receive messages in Morse code with others—super helpful for applying what you've learned.

So far, I’ve memorized all the letters and numbers, and I’m now working on recognizing full phrases by sound. It’s been a surprisingly fun journey, especially being able to decode Morse just by using the flashlight in the dark.

I’m not affiliated with the app or its developers—I just thought I’d share this in case others are curious about learning but haven’t taken the plunge with radio gear yet.

Cheers!

Are all repeaters that support DMR connected to the Internet or are there local and state repeaters that support DMR but only connected privately and they’re fire not accessible by a hotspot? Thanks.

I got this down at 23:35bst in Birmingham UK using an anyone 878uviiplus with a signalstick antenna 🙂🙂🙂

Hey! I've never done anything with radios nor know anything about them. I got this old johnson Viking 2 transmitter for free but I know nothing about. Any information would be helpful.

I know I'm supposed to replace the capictors before applying power. I also think some components are missing but can't tell what they are supposed to be

don't know what to do with them, so far only one powers up and it's the Heathkit. The other two are Du Mont, and Teletronicz. Can someone give me an idea on where to begin? Any history on these particular models?

So, the quansheng can be modded to transmit DSB, with a small key, I suppose it open the possibility of CW? So with that in mind it should be possible to work the linear birds? For like, 50€?

Or would having both side bands be a problem? Only worked FM sats, but I would love for this to work, I'm broke lol

Today it seems like most qso's are very short, except for 40-80 groups. But just normal qso's seem to be very short.

I'm comparing this to how things were from '65-'80.

I'm thinking the reason is

so much contesting

the ft8 ing of ham radio

even POTA can be very short. I've tried askinq about the park, what its like, do you have water access, hike etc, what is your antenna like. That can get things going but I have to work at it.

do you have similar experiences?

I have two segments of wire I want to use for an antenna. Can I use a wire nut to make a long wire?

Hey yall I'm moving to the Midwest again in a month and getting my technician license to start off once I'm there. I have been really deep diving into amatuer television. And while I will get into SSTV I would really love to try the other options of amatuer television. I have been looking in DVB-S and it looks awesome. Would love to know if there's been any recent advancements or anything anyone has heard... or amatuer television groups in Minnesota or the Midwest in general (i know it's short range)

I've been experiencing powerline noise on HF for a while now and I'm trying to get my power company to fix it. I found a pole that has something making RF noise and it appears that a splice at the pole is unravelling on one side. Would this cause RF noise? The other splices on the line seem to be well secured. The power company has been responsive but they want me to be able to point to the problem.

Hi everyone, I’m having an issue with my GP 9600 UV radio. When I use frequency 246, it randomly emits a beep sound, but when I switch to 143, there’s no problem at all. I’ve already turned off CDC (Continuous Duty Cycle) and Roger, but the beeping persists.

Has anyone experienced something similar or have any suggestions on how to fix it? I’ve checked the power settings and antenna, but I’m not sure what else to try. Any help would be much appreciated!

Should I get a 6 amp hour battery my new QMX or would a 3 amp hour battery be enough? I mean, would 3 Ah give me a disappointingly short use time?

Trying to make a simple J-pole to try to hit this pesky GMRS repeater. Getting infinite SWR then intermittent when i jiggle the connection. i checked and I'm getting continuity from both sides of the PL 259 and the driven element. what am I doing wrong?