Category Archives: Ham Radio

Review of Yaesu FT-2900R 75-Watt 2 Meter Radio

Posted on 2015-01-25 (Sunday) 08:15 by Kyle (W7KBX)

For 18 months, my only radios have been Ht’s from Yaesu and Baofeng. I had been wanting a more substantial radio for quite some time. I finally got around to getting one — the Yaesu FT-2900R. It’s a beefy radio, and I have no question about it’s longevity. When I first got the radio, I discovered a few potential Continue reading →

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Callsign Snarfing

Posted on 2015-01-24 (Saturday) 14:08 by Kyle (W7KBX)

It’s an FCC rule to ID yourself every ten minutes and at the end of a contact. Most hams are diligent in following this rule, but some do it in such a fast and unintelligible way, they sound like a … Continue reading →

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Mounting And Using My 2 Meter Antennas (Part 2)

Posted on 2015-01-21 (Wednesday) 17:44 by Kyle (W7KBX)

Note: This post will be about my three 2 meter slim jim antennas, two I built myself, one I purchased from N9TAX. My home brewed slim jim antennas have a slightly better SWR reading (nearly 1.1:1) than the N9TAX antenna … Continue reading →

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Mounting And Using My 2 Meter Antennas (Part 1)

Posted on 2014-09-12 (Friday) 21:08 by Kyle (W7KBX)

Not including my not-so spectacular rubber duck antennas, I have two antenna types I use for 2 meter operation: j-pole made from copper pipe, and slim jim made from 450 ohm ladder line. I have two j-pole (both from KB9VBR) … Continue reading →

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A Curmudgeon’s Comeback

Posted on 2014-08-14 (Thursday) 18:53 by Kyle (W7KBX)

I have previously written about ham radio curmudgeons, and have come across a few more grumps here and there since I wrote my original post. This last week, I went camping with my family and took along my 2 meter … Continue reading →

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My First Home Brew Antenna

Posted on 2014-06-10 (Tuesday) 12:49 by Kyle (W7KBX)

I’ve heard other hams talk about home made antennas, but I never had much interest in investigating the projects, mostly because I’m sight impaired and knew most of the projects required soldering, which is out of the realm of capabilities … Continue reading →

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Extra! Extra!

Posted on 2014-04-20 (Sunday) 01:30 by Kyle (W7KBX)

For those that are parents, isn’t it lovely when your kids use your own words against you? After my daughter became licensed, she almost immediately asked when I was going to get my extra class license. My wife and I … Continue reading →

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Ham Radio Spreading In The Family And To Others

Posted on 2014-02-28 (Friday) 08:00 by Kyle (W7KBX)

When I first became licensed in late April of 2013, my oldest child immediately wanted to follow my footsteps. I was all for it. My wife was fine with it too, but wanted my daughter to wait until she was … Continue reading →

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Being A Ham Radio Elmber

Posted on 2013-12-17 (Tuesday) 16:02 by Kyle (W7KBX)

Other than WA0TDA via pre-recorded audio lectures, I had no one to help me become a licensed ham radio operator, and after I became licensed, I had no one to help me set up a radio and its antenna system. … Continue reading →

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Simplex Operation When Repeaters Fail

Posted on 2013-08-03 (Saturday) 15:31 by Kyle (W7KBX)

I use ham radio repeaters nearly everyday, mainly to chew the rag, but also to check in to ham radio nets. Repeaters are great, but I’m still perplexed as to why so many repeaters go unused, but are still up … Continue reading →

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