Category: Technology
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. And…
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 euros.…
Blackout Preparedness for Radio Amateurs: Self-Sufficient Radio Operation with Solar and Battery
When the power grid fails, mobile networks, internet, and landlines typically go silent within a few hours. That is precisely when amateur radio comes into its own: radio amateurs can continue communicating with relatively simple means…
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 Quansheng…
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 handles…
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 apps,…
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 Seite…
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 lay…
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 import…
EME – Earth-Moon-Earth: Moonbounce on 2 m and 70 cm
EME – Earth-Moon-Earth: When the Moon Becomes a Reflector The Moon – our nearest natural reflector in space and the key element for EME contacts. (Photo: Gregory H. Revera, Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 3.0) Imagine…
Creating RF Propagation Maps Yourself: From SPLAT! to Radio Mobile
Do you want to know how far your radio signal actually reaches from your location? Whether the new repeater site on the local mountain provides optimal coverage? Or which frequency and antenna height are best suited…
ESP32 and Amateur Radio: 10 Projects for Makers and Ham Radio Operators
The ESP32 has become the favorite microcontroller of many radio amateurs in recent years – and for good reason. With integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, two processor cores, numerous GPIO pins, and a street price of under…
