Category: Technology
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 set…
D-Star - much more than just voice
Guest post by Alex, OE8HAM: Why D-Star is much more than just voice — image transfer, Bluetooth chat, GPS tracking, voice recorder and the Doozy app for the ID-52 plus.
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…
