Category: Technology
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Vertical Antennas for HF: Fundamentals, Types and Practice
If you want to work DX and have limited space, a vertical antenna is hard to beat. Thanks to their low radiation angle, verticals send their signal flat over the horizon — exactly where the…
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Magnetic Loop: The Balcony Antenna for Radio Amateurs
If you live in a rented flat or apartment, you know the problem: a Yagi on the roof? Not a chance. A dipole in the garden? What garden? For many radio amateurs in urban areas,…
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3D Printing for Ham Radio: Projects, Materials and Tips
When you need a special enclosure for ham radio, an antenna mount in an unusual shape, or a part that simply isn’t available to buy — reach for the 3D printer. The combination of amateur…
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Numbers Stations: The Mysterious Voices of Shortwave
Imagine this: late at night, you’re turning the VFO on your shortwave receiver. Somewhere on 4625 kHz the dial sticks — a monotonous buzzing, about 25 times per minute. You think it’s interference. Then suddenly:…
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xOTA Map: 34 Outdoor Programs on One Map — with Spots and Field Logging
If you operate outdoors, you know the drill: SOTA has one map, POTA another, WWFF yet another. Spots are scattered, rules are everywhere. The idea came up during the Dobratschrunde — a regular on-air roundtable:…
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MeshCom vs. Meshtastic: LoRa Mesh Networks for Radio Amateurs
Text messages without the internet, without mobile networks, without infrastructure — simply device-to-device across kilometres? What sounds like science fiction has long been reality with LoRa mesh networks. Two projects dominate the scene: Meshtastic, the…
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Yaesu FT-290R: 2.5 Watts of Pure Addiction
There are radios you buy. And there are radios that find you. My Yaesu FT-290R belongs to the second category. I was scrolling through willhaben (Austria’s Craigslist) one evening, no plan, just browsing, and there…
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RTL-SDR for Beginners: Discover the World of Radio for 30 Euros
Track aircraft, receive weather satellite images, listen to amateur radio, monitor ships on the Danube — all with a USB stick costing around 30 euros? Welcome to the world of Software Defined Radio. The RTL-SDR…
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HAMNET in Austria: The Data Network for Radio Amateurs
What if radio amateurs had their own data network — independent of the internet, independent of commercial providers, operating on amateur radio frequencies with data rates of up to 200 Mbit/s on backbone links? That’s…
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PMR vs. Meshtastic vs. CB Radio: Three Licence-Free Radio Systems Compared
3 January 2026, Berlin-Lichterfelde: an arson attack on the power grid knocked out 45,000 households – for days. Mobile phone towers went down, landlines dead, internet gone. Thousands of people were left with no way…
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Icom X-026: New Concept Radio to Be Unveiled at Hamvention 2026
On 20 April 2026, Icom announced a new project via its official channels: the X-026. A concept mock-up set to be shown as a world premiere at the Dayton Hamvention from 15 to 17 May…
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The Best Portable Antenna for SOTA and POTA
When you pack your rucksack to activate a SOTA summit or visit a POTA park, one question matters above all others: which antenna are you bringing? The requirements are clear — lightweight, compact, quick to…
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QO-100: Getting Started with the Geostationary Amateur Radio Satellite
Imagine this: you press the PTT button, your signal races 36,000 kilometres into space, is picked up by a satellite and beamed back to Earth — from Brazil to India, from Scandinavia to South Africa.…
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NanoVNA: The Pocket-Sized Antenna Analyser
Just ten years ago, a usable vector network analyser cost several thousand euros. Today there is the NanoVNA — a device the size of a credit card that delivers astonishingly accurate measurements for under 50…
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Blackout Preparedness for Radio Amateurs: Self-Sufficient Radio Operation with Solar and Battery
Predstavljajte si, da internet odpove — brez Wi-Fi-ja, brez mobilnih podatkov, brez optike. Za večino ljudi bi bila to katastrofa. Za radioamaterje z Winlinkom pa ne. Winlink je svetovni sistem elektronske pošte, ki deluje prek…
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Quansheng UV-K5: The Handheld Radio the Community Is Hacking
Buy a handheld radio for around 25 euros and then transform it with open-source firmware into a device offering features normally found only in the 200-euro class? That is exactly what is happening with the…
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Raspberry Pi in the Shack: The Best Amateur Radio Applications 2026
The Raspberry Pi has become an indispensable tool in the amateur radio shack in recent years. Whether as a digital modem controller, APRS iGate, Winlink gateway or fully-fledged WebSDR receiver — the small single-board computer…
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Satellite Tracking and Reception for Beginners: From App to Antenna
Satellites have fascinated radio amateurs since the early days of OSCAR 1 in 1961. Today, getting started with satellite reception and even satellite communication is easier than ever before. With affordable SDR receivers, powerful tracking…
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wiki.echtcool.net – Karl’s Workshop on the Web
There are radio amateurs who operate. And there are radio amateurs who build, measure, solder, mill, program and repair. Karl from Tretram, OE8JHK, does both – and documents his projects properly on top. Auf seiner…
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Experimental 5-Band Vertical Groundplane – Four Planks for a Hallelujah
Guest article by Jürgen, OE8RMJ If you want to skip the backstory, jump straight to “The Experiment”. Prologue I got my licence in April 2025. Fresh and full of curiosity about the vast field that…
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Wavelog: The Modern Web Logbook for Amateur Radio — Setup with Docker
Any amateur radio operator who wants to properly document their QSOs (radio contacts) needs a logbook. But the days of handwritten entries are long gone: modern web-based logbooks offer DXCC tracking, automatic QSL management, ADIF…
