Category: Technology
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kv4p HT: Turning an Old Smartphone Into a 2-Metre Radio
A hands-on report by Michael, OE8YML My old Samsung Galaxy S9+ spent years in a drawer. Now it is, among other things, a 2-metre radio — and it gets used for other amateur radio and…
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Receive Antennas for Low-Band: Beverage, K9AY and Flag Antennas
On the low bands — 160, 80 and 40 metres — a DX contact is rarely decided by transmit power, but by the station’s ability to hear. Atmospheric noise (QRN) is so high here that…
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Digirig Mobile: The Compact Digital Interface for Portable Operation
Anyone who wants to run FT8, JS8Call, WSPR, or Winlink in the field knows the problem: a laptop, a transceiver, and between them a tangle of cables — USB sound card, CAT cable, PTT adapter,…
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Receiving and Decoding Weather Radiosondes: Tracking High-Altitude Balloons with RTL-SDR
Every day, thousands of weather balloons rise around the world, equipped with radiosondes that measure temperature, air pressure and humidity – and transmit their measurements by radio to the ground station. With an inexpensive RTL-SDR…
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futureGEO: The Future of Geostationary Amateur Radio Satellites After QO-100
Since February 2019, QO-100 on Es’hail-2 has proven that geostationary amateur radio satellites work — and work brilliantly. Thousands of radio amateurs across Europe, Africa, and Asia use the narrowband and wideband transponders daily for…
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Aviation Radio and ADS-B: Tracking Aircraft with RTL-SDR
Alternative: HackRF PortaPack with Mayhem Firmware If you already own a HackRF PortaPack, you do not need a separate RTL-SDR dongle: The Mayhem firmware includes a fully functional ADS-B receiver built right into the device.…
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HAM RADIO Friedrichshafen 2026: Europe’s Largest Amateur Radio Exhibition
From June 26 to 28, 2026, Europe’s largest and most significant amateur radio exhibition will take place in Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance – HAM RADIO. For Austrian radio amateurs, it’s the must-attend event of the…
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When Your First QSO Goes Up in Smoke — and It’s Not Even Your Radio
The year is 2025. OE8LUA is a freshly licensed ham and a total rookie when it comes to choosing the right equipment….. In May, OE8KSM was kind enough to lend me an RT-95, and through…
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EMC Guide: Finding and Fixing Interference
EMC — Electromagnetic Compatibility — is one of the biggest practical topics in radio operation, whether amateur radio, CB, PMR, or other radio services. Whether the S-meter on 40 m constantly reads S7 with nobody…
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Yagi Antennas for VHF/UHF: Building Your Own Directional Antenna
The Yagi-Uda antenna — usually just called “Yagi” — is the most widely used directional antenna in amateur radio. It focuses energy in one direction, increases gain and range, and suppresses interference from the sides…
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AI-Powered Noise Reduction: Cleaner Signals with Machine Learning
Noise is the eternal enemy of the radio operator. Whether QRM (man-made interference) or QRN (natural noise) — the fight for clean signals is as old as amateur radio itself. But in recent years, artificial…
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Power Source for Portable Operation: Eremit LiFePO4 in a 3D-Printed Enclosure
I spent a long time thinking about how to get power for portable operations. If you’re out with a (tr)uSDX or USDX, it’s easy: three unprotected 18650 cells in a holder — done. Manuel DL2MAN,…
