The VX-7R is one of my favourite HTs because it is rugged, more or less waterproof in 2026 (I was able to replace the main case seal and top port cover via Yaesu, but the charge port is something I 3d printed in TPU, the STL is HERE). The full keypad means that when a […]
QMX + ATU-10
I recently bought an ATU-10 from KM9G. I tested it in my kitchen shack with the 5th floor horizontal folded random wire antenna and the FX-4CR, and it works a treat. Such a nice small package, with useful information like power and SWR. Latching relays mean that it uses almost no power, and the little […]
All Portable Discussion Zone build #3
Our third build project is a frequency counter. As I had found in my preliminary research, counting things is not easy. So, Charlie NJ7V was able to borrow part of a design and some parts as a component kit from Rex Harper W1REX at QRPme.com, you can order the parts HERE. Rex also joined Charlie […]
All Portable Discussion Zone build #2
For our second build-along project, we decided to go for a Stockton bridge SWR meter, again a G-QRP project from the 2023 buildathon. The SWR bridge is pretty simple: RF goes in and out through a couple of connectors on a nice bit of wire that passes through a binocular core. This core has a […]
Hamfest finds, 4/4/26
On Saturday I crossed the valley to the Phoenix Spring Hamfest, at it’s new location. I had a list of small components I was after, but came home with some gems for the workshop instead. Solid State Design for the Radio Amateur by Wes Hayward (W1FB) and Doug DeMaw (W7ZOI), of particular fame because of […]
All Portable Discussion Zone group build #1 (Part 2)
A brief update, of sorts. Though the sine wave is not great, it is perfectly good for testing filters and SWR meters, however… As you can see in the picture, I have ~0.8v peak to peak. At about 7.1MHz the VPP jumps up to ~2.5v, which is much more desireable. Because I am seeing this […]
All Portable Discussion Zone group build #1
On our second podcast gathering we launched our first group build project. We are building a signal generator, a sine-wave oscillator that should cover the HF ham bands. We are using the Soldersmoke Podcast Discord server for the group builds, mostly because there are a lot of people on there who are a lot better […]
Mosley traps: another look.
I recently acquired a second Mosley triband, this one has the higher power traps and – more importantly – it is complete. The Mosley that I have been using for the past year has been shaken by wind and probably mostly birds, and the director is not parallel to the other elements, so it needs […]
New directions in 2026: Podcasts
As of January 2026 I have a regular podcast spot with Charlie NJ7V and Adam K6ARK on Red Summit RF’s Workbench Roundtable. Our goal is to have a workbench podcast that is beginner-friendly and centred on the outdoors and portable operating. I am excited about collaborating with Charlie and Adam, as their Youtube channels were […]
Rebuilding a Mosley triband yagi.
A while back I acquired most of a Mosley MP-33 triband which had been modified to be taken on a DXpedition 20ish years ago. The parts I got were the director, reflector and boom, so my task was to build a driven element. My approach was to try and replicate the original design as accurately […]