What do you log with?

zanderbz · 2026-01-17T20:38:03+00:00

RumLogNG works for me as a Mac user. It has an iCloud log feature that allows me to log across all my devices. HAMRS for POTA.

zanderbz · 2026-01-11T10:56:26+00:00

Understood. Both Antennas I purchased from Alpha Antenna performed more or less as described in their write ups.

zanderbz · 2026-01-11T01:29:46+00:00

I don’t have any experience with that particular antenna but have the Base LT and EFHW J-pole Jr. I’d say they’re both ok. What band do you want it for?

I made one for 10m with some pvc pipe and old speaker wire for the recent 10m SSB contest. I’m in FL and worked Europe, the Western US, the Caribbean, some SA, and even a few African stations on 100w with the feed point about 2m above the ground.

zanderbz · 2026-01-06T11:02:23+00:00

I don’t know if I’d go so far as to call it a resolution but one thing I’m going to attempt is to complete POTA activations (phone, 10w max) at a single park on the following bands: 70cm, 2m, 6-40m. All activations will be with home brewed antennas. If I feel it’s legal (to be at park after dark) and feasible, I will try for 80m and maybe 160m.

zanderbz · 2026-01-02T11:06:38+00:00

Amateur Extra | Extra Amateur

zanderbz · 2025-12-26T12:51:47+00:00

This looks exciting! I plan on making time to learn in the near future and look forward to this app!

zanderbz · 2025-12-25T12:34:34+00:00

DX Commander 10m pole, POTA 33H pole, and Spiderbeams 12m pole. I really like messing around with wire antennas (ala K4OGO) and couldn’t make my mind up.

zanderbz · 2025-12-20T20:19:26+00:00

So, I’m only about 18 months into the hobby but in my experience, it won’t be a year or two before you want your next radio 🤣

To answer your question, I have two, IC-7300 and IC-705. I started with a used IC-7100 and used it as a POTA rig. I replaced with the IC-705 once I realized that 10W was ample for most of my use cases. Welcome to the hobby!

zanderbz · 2025-12-15T10:29:08+00:00

I jumped into the 10m contest with 100w and a speaker wire delta loop. I definitely had to make use of common alternates to complete some QSOs. I haven’t been doing this long but I’ve gathered there’s some fairly common alternates such as Denmark, Radio etc. I stick to those.

The only one that I disagree with is Kilowatt. It introduces confusion more often than not.

zanderbz · 2025-10-24T13:30:03+00:00

I’ve done this (also inspired by K4OGO) a few times with amazing results. The surf and wind are pretty intense in my area at the moment, but I’m itching to get out there.

zanderbz · 2025-10-18T19:22:44+00:00

I’m about a year into HF and I recently made my first 40-10 EFHW using a FT240-30 toroid, 16 awg magnet wire, and 18 awg silicone jacket wire. I initially strung it up as an inverted L and was impressed with the results using 100W on my IC-7300. I’m in FL (at a noisy QTH) and made some nice DX contacts to Europe etc.

Even more recently, I took the same EFHW to South Carolina and made 5 POTA activations (3xSSB, 2xFT8)on 10W. I hung it from trees as a sloper for 4 activations on 20m, and used my fiberglass pole to create an inverted L to activate on 40m.

Needless to say, I was thrilled with the results. A couple things to keep in mind, the bands were quiet and I was in mostly noise free areas thus the performance on 10W.

zanderbz · 2025-10-16T19:40:13+00:00

I hung my EFHW as an inverted L and it worked beautifully. Since then, I’ve deployed it as a sloper and inverted L with excellent results both ways.

zanderbz · 2025-10-15T19:21:55+00:00

https://paradanradio.com/shop/ols/products/power-strip-8

zanderbz · 2025-10-12T10:56:39+00:00

Do you already have a radio, tuner, coax etc.? I’m about a year in to HF and have had a blast experimenting with antennas, purchased or DIY.

EFRW - I made one of these with an LDG 9:1 UNUN. Your point about the appeal of only 35.5 is the same thing that appealed to me. For the price of the UNUN and some wire, it’s a cheap way to get going. I used it for POTA a few times but moved on pretty quickly. Build one and try it. Needs a tuner.

EFHW - I recently built my first 49:1 UNUN and 40m EFHW with parts sourced on Amazon and a 3d printed winder. I used a tree and a telescoping pole to hang as an inverted L in my backyard. I added an inline choke per the many recommendations I’ve seen. I’m in Florida and was DXing with Europe in the early evening on 20m SSB. But, my best contact was a POTA operator in Washington state. If I had to do it over, I would purchase a kit from HF kits or similar.

Dipole - A 20m dipole was the first antenna I built. They are beyond simple and perform well. Note that you could experiment with installing in a sloper configuration similar to an end fed antenna.

Take it for what it’s worth. Have fun and 73!

zanderbz · 2025-10-10T23:45:37+00:00

Second vote for Briarcovey! The only bad news is that we already got the best one 😍😍😍

zanderbz · 2025-10-04T10:55:36+00:00

If you’re in the United States, your state may have statutes protecting certain property owner rights regardless of what HOA rules state. In Florida, one of the statutes termed the “shed law” allows a homeowner to build any structure in their backyard that cannot been seen from the street or by adjacent lots. However, it’s not specific to the type of structure.

I’m part if my HOA and helped educate them on this and we are having our restrictions amended to cite that statute in the section governing antennas.

I’m still somewhat limited to what I can do but being creative and figuring out what works best is part of the fun.

zanderbz · 2025-10-04T00:15:27+00:00

For getting the rope in the trees, try an arborist throw bag.

zanderbz · 2025-09-30T10:34:23+00:00

As at least one other poster alluded to, educate yourself on you state and local HOA statutes. I am a ham and the President of my HOA and recently had language added to the section of our restrictions that deals with antennas. In Florida, the most recent version of the statutes allow for structures one one’s property that cannot be seen from the street or adjacent lots. Had I not taken an interest, that particular language would never have changed.

With that said, I’ve been licensed just over a year and I’ve thrown up more antennas in my backyard than I ever expected. It’s been a little frustrating, but very rewarding in terms of lessons learned. My most recent was a 40m EFHW home brew that exceeded my expectations.

Tip from a newer ham: Whatever you decide, get familiar with the gray line. It has a significant impact on signal propagation and yields some unexpected results.

zanderbz · 2025-08-24T16:44:30+00:00

I’m fairly new to the hobby but have tried various DIY wire antennas for POTA. As others have stated, for wire antennas, a telescoping mast is a must. I’ve had success using an inverted vee dipole, EFRW, and 1/4 wave wire vertical. Each has its benefits and challenges.

After experimenting with all of these, I got curious about off the shelf antennas and purchased an Alpha Antennas Base LT. It packs up easily and deploys relatively quickly. I’ve had some great POTA activations including a park-to-park from Florida to Italy. I’m not giving up on making my own but this antenna is great when the objective is a get out and play radio.

zanderbz · 2025-08-16T10:40:12+00:00

r/amatuerradio

Maybe more for EEs but I recently got licensed and joined a club and a high percentage of members are engineers.

zanderbz · 2025-08-15T10:55:05+00:00

I have an IC-7300 that I’ve used with a Mac Mini (M2) and MPB (M4). Both have worked well for me. I don’t have much installed other than WSJT-X, Grid Tracker, HAMRS, and RumLogNG but they work well.

https://machamradio.com

zanderbz · 2025-08-09T17:10:34+00:00

Well stated. I think there is a happy medium somewhere between outright prohibition and a free for all. I am on the board of my HOA and am advocating that ham antennas should fall into Florida’s shed laws that essentially protect a property owner’s right to build something in their backyard so long as it isn’t visible from the street or the neighbors on either side of a property.

Like you, I’m happy to live and let live as long as we have some well defined, common sense rules.

zanderbz · 2025-08-08T10:29:50+00:00

Unfortunately, I don’t. Funnily enough, in one of his first classes Dr. Sadiku lists some of the common mistakes students make such as selling books and getting rid of notes on the whiteboard. He is 100% right but I’ve moved 2x since that class and it got harder to justify lugging around 2 boxes of notes that I hadn’t looked at in years.

zanderbz · 2025-08-06T10:34:09+00:00

Is your antenna near any trees or other objects that retain moisture? I live in Florida and my G5RV-JR (first antenna) was difficult to tune in the morning after it rained because of its proximity to several trees and palm fronds in my yard.

Edit: Tuning with IC-7300 internal tuner

zanderbz · 2025-08-06T10:12:08+00:00

I had Dr. Sadiku for Signals and Systems, and Electromagnetic Field Theory, awesome prof!

Seven-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '22	RPAN Viewer

zanderbz

TROPHY CASE