oeradio.at – Amateur Radio in Austria
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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…
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OE8DDX – Domenik Luca: 277 DXCC Entities, HST National Team and Styrian Accordion at 17
There are stories in amateur radio that show passion knows no age. The story of Domenik Luca Hochegger, OE8DDX, from Wolfsberg in the Lavanttal valley of Carinthia is one of them. At eleven years old,…
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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…
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Gray Line DX: The Magical Twilight Zone for Shortwave
For those active in amateur radio on shortwave, the phenomenon is well known: sometimes connections succeed over thousands of kilometers with surprisingly good signals, while at other times even nearby stations can barely be heard.…
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HackRF PortaPack: The Portable All-Rounder for SDR Enthusiasts
If you’re into Software Defined Radio, you know the problem: most SDR devices are powerful but need a computer to work. Not so with the HackRF One and its PortaPack extension — a combination that…
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ISS Contact via Amateur Radio: How to Hear the Space Station
Who wouldn’t want to make contact with an astronaut orbiting Earth at 28,000 km/h? The International Space Station ISS makes exactly that possible – and you probably already have the equipment for it in your…
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EFHW: The End-Fed Half-Wave Antenna — simple, effective, versatile
Few antennas have received as much attention in recent years as the EFHW — the End-Fed Half-Wave antenna. Whether for SOTA activations on Austria’s mountain peaks, POTA in national parks, or as a discreet garden…
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Understanding Propagation Conditions: SFI, K-Index, A-Index Explained
“What are the conditions like today?” – every amateur radio operator asks themselves this question before going on the bands. The answer lies in a handful of key indicators: SFI, K-Index, A-Index, and sunspot number.…
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New: RSS Feed for oeradio.at – Never Miss an Update\!
We’re excited to introduce a new feature: You can now subscribe to all oeradio.at articles via RSS feed – without cookies, tracking, or social media algorithms! What is RSS and Why Should I Use It?…
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CubeSats for Radio Amateurs: Small Satellites, Great Opportunities
A 10 cm cube racing across the sky at 27,000 km/h – and you can transmit through it. CubeSats have democratized amateur radio satellite communication: Where once huge budgets and years of development were necessary,…
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DX Weather CW 11/2026
Period: 14.03.2026 – 20.03.2026 · Calendar Week: 11/2026 · SFI: 108 · SSN: 45 · A: 15 · K: 3 · X-Ray: B5.2 Dear fellow operators, CW 11 was a week of contrasts – a…
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WSPR: The World of Propagation Research with 5 Watts
Imagine sending a signal with less power than a flashlight – and stations around the world receive it. That’s exactly what WSPR (pronounced “Whisper”) makes possible. The Weak Signal Propagation Reporter network is one of…
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TOTA – Towers On The Air: Climb the Tower and Call CQ!
Guest article by Josef | OE3FJS Be honest: Have you ever climbed an observation tower, reached the top, enjoyed the stunning panoramic view – and thought: “Man, I really should call CQ from up here!”?…
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Amateur Radio as a Hobby: What to Expect and What Does It Cost to Get Started?
Die kürzlich durchgeführten POTA-Aktivierungen von Michael OE8YML auf den Standorten AT-0112 Schütt – Graschelitzen und AT-0016 Dobratsch waren ein voller Erfolg. Michael konnte beide Parks mittels SSB auf Kurzwelle aktivieren und hat damit wieder einmal…
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DXCC, WAZ, WPX: The Major Amateur Radio Awards Explained
Introduction: The Fever for the Certificate You just made your first DX QSO on 20 meters — Japan, with only 100 watts and a wire in the garden. Your heart is still pounding. You checked…
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Contests for Beginners: Why You Should Enter at Least One Contest
Introduction You’re sitting in the shack, turning the VFO, and suddenly on 14 MHz you hear a tangle of callsigns, lightning-fast exchanges, and cryptic numbers. “CQ Contest, CQ Contest, OE2S, Oscar Echo Two Sierra.” Then…
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ChatGPT, Claude & Co. for Radio Amateurs: AI as Learning Aid and Shack Assistant
Let’s be honest: who among us hasn’t asked ChatGPT how long a half-wave dipole for 20 meters needs to be? Or asked Claude to write an Arduino sketch for a CW keyer? Artificial intelligence has…
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New: The OERadio Weekly Roundup with Ferdl
Starting now, there’s something new to listen to at OERadio: The OERadio Weekly Roundup — your amateur radio roundup as an audio podcast, hosted by Ferdl, our AI voice. What is the Weekly Roundup? Every…
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New: DX Weather — Fresh Every Friday!
Dear radio amateurs, dear DXers, contesters, Sunday net operators, and everyone who simply enjoys turning the dial: We have news. Big news. About as big as an X9 flare, just without the unpleasant side effects.…
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D-STAR vs. DMR vs. C4FM vs. M17 vs. TETRA: The Ultimate Comparison of Digital Voice Systems in Amateur Radio
The world of amateur radio has changed. If you switch on a handheld transceiver today, the choice is no longer just between FM and SSB — you’re facing a jungle of digital voice systems. D-STAR,…
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arcOS – The Linux Distribution for Ham Radio
Plug in USB stick, boot, operate. arcOS is a live Linux system with Fldigi, JS8Call, WSJT-X, Winlink, APRS and SDR – built for radio amateurs. Plug & play with Digirig Mobile. Comparison with other ham…
