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Featured Member Photos

President Washington Base
Works a treat!
1981 Felix EA1EH/P at about 1500meters asl My extremely keen friend Padre Felix with his polythene tent and his QRP rigs running off a motorbike batte
hunter
3
Searchlight Sept 16 004
30ft-comp.jpg
When I just moved in.
The Imax 2000. You can't see the 10 foot mast at this angle. House is 25 foot at the crest. 10' mast + 24' antenna=59' total height.
W9MXR_Proof_A_pdf
1981 JBeam Quagi n XYL Known as the "Parabeam". Made in England, very popular in the 70's. XYL highly amused by whole affair.
680 height/width compared to Uniden LT

Ailunce HA2 APRS Functionality Revisited

When I first reviewed the Retevis Ailunce HA2, APRS was one of the radio's most interesting features, but it was also clearly unfinished. The radio could transmit position beacons and display received stations, but proper APRS messaging was missing. Incoming messages were treated more like packet comments, there was no way to compose a message, and Bluetooth access to the internal TNC was still a promised future feature.

The good news is that Retevis has now released new firmware that addresses most, if not all, of the missing APRS messaging functionality. I helped test several versions of this firmware and provided feedback about what the APRS implementation needed to do. After using the released version, I can report that all of the new messaging features described below work...
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QK4 Android Mobile app: remote for the Elecraft K4 on your phone

I’m excited to share QK4 Android Mobile, a new Android phone-focused remote application for the Elecraft K4/K4D.

Source code and the Android releases are available at:
https://github.com/worldwidedx/QK4-Android

QK4 Mobile is a GPL derivative of Mike Garcia KF5O’s excellent QK4 project. The goal was not to reinvent the radio-control plumbing that QK4 already proved on Windows and macOS. Instead, we preserved the known-good K4 connection, CAT control, panadapter streaming, RX audio, and microphone TX architecture—and built a genuinely usable touch-first operating interface around it.

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The challenge was that a K4 is a very capable radio with a lot of controls, and the regular QK4 assumes a large screen, keyboard, mouse wheel, hover behavior, and...
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Radioddity GS‑10B Pro: Imperfect, Unrefined, and Surprisingly Good When You Use It Right

General Behavior and Everyday Use​

The Radioddy GS‑10B Pro is one of those radios that tries to cover a lot of territory. It’s a VHF/UHF handheld, but it also dips into HF, AM broadcast, shortwave, airband, and general wideband receive. It’s Radioddity’s attempt at making a “do‑everything” handheld for people who like to poke around the spectrum. Whether that’s good or bad depends on how you use it, because this radio rewards the operator who takes a little time to understand what it can and can’t do.

On VHF/UHF, the GS‑10B Pro behaves exactly like a budget wideband handheld should. It hears repeaters and simplex without drama. It’s not the most robust front end, but it’s not fragile either. Transmit audio is clean enough for normal use, FM audio is clear, scan speed is average...
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Retevis RA89G: A Modern Take on the GMRS Handheld

The Retevis RA89G is the latest entry in Retevis’ GMRS lineup, and it brings a mix of modern features, solid ergonomics, and a surprisingly polished user experience. After spending time with it, programming it, and putting it through real‑world use, the RA89G ends up being a radio that does a lot right — as long as you understand what it is and what it isn’t.

Build Quality and Design​

The RA89G feels rugged in the hand. The chassis is stiff, the controls are firm, and nothing about it feels cheap or flimsy. Retevis clearly wanted this radio to feel substantial, and it does.

But let’s be clear: this radio has no splash or water resistance of any type. There’s no IP rating, and based on my teardown of the RA89R — the RA89G’s sister radio — there are no seals, no gaskets, and...
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July 4th, 2026 Independence Day Retevis RA89R Giveaway!

Retevis is celebrating the launch of their new RA89R 2 meter / 70cm handheld radio with ANOTHER giveaway on July 4th, 2026!

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Link to RA89R on Amazon
That's right - ANOTHER RA89R giveaway! The contest rules are the same as the last Father's Day drawing:

The Retevis RA89R is a refined version of the very popular RA89. It has a slightly larger screen with larger fonts for easier visibility. The menu system has been updated and refined to make it easier to use. The biggest new features include AM air band reception and built-in Crossband Repeat capability! There are a few key other differences with the new RA89R: It is IP54 radio instead of IP68 and max power is 5 watts...
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New Retevis RA89R Radio, New Father's Day 2026 Giveaway!

Retevis is celebrating the launch of their new RA89R 2 meter / 70cm handheld radio with a Father's Day giveaway for 2026!

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Link to RA89R on Amazon

Details of the giveaway are below.

The Retevis RA89R is a refined version of the very popular RA89. It has a slightly larger screen with larger fonts for easier visibility. The menu system has been updated and refined to make it easier to use. The biggest new features include AM air band reception and built-in Crossband Repeat capability! There are a few key other differences with the new RA89R: It is IP54 radio instead of IP68 and max power is 5 watts. However, the RA89 can be programmed using bluetooth with the Retevis app on your phone, or with a USB-C cable using the PC app. It also...
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Radioddity Tomolink Review: A Self‑Managed POC Radio With Three Years of Included Service

Push‑to‑Talk over Cellular (POC) radios occupy a strange middle ground in the communications world. They’re not traditional RF radios, and they’re not smartphones — but they borrow elements from both. Most POC systems are built for enterprise fleets and require dealer provisioning, recurring service fees, and management portals that feel like they were designed for organizations, not individuals. Radioddity’s Tomolink takes a very different approach. After testing four units across the U.S. and even internationally, it’s clear that Radioddity is trying to make POC accessible without pretending these devices replace RF when the grid goes down.

Setup and Group Management: No Dealer Portal
I started by creating my own talk group directly from the Super‑PTT phone app. Pairing all...
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Elecraft K4 new SSNR vs older LMS NR with external BHI module

For those that don't follow Elecraft product announcements, last week a public beta firmware was released that contains the much anticipated Spectral Subtraction Noise Reduction, available for usage in all modes. The older Least Mean Squared NR method is still available in the rig, allowing users to switch between the methods, as desired. I've been publicly critical of the older K4 LMS NR method for SSB on user forums and mailing lists, especially for a flagship rig at this price. So when the SSNR firmware announcement was made, I installed it within an hour of its release. Short version: this is a HUGE improvement. I don't what other HF rigs have deployed this technique, but IMO, this development keeps the K4 at the top of the list of Amateur HF rigs.

I made a video comparing the...
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Radioddity HF-010 Portable Antenna Review

Radioddity recently contacted me, asking if I'd like to take a look at the new version of their portable HF antenna package, the HF-010. I'm a sucker for portable antennas because my favorite way to operate is in the great outdoors, even if it means just going to a local park or down to the dock on the ocean. I had looked at previous versions of this antenna but never pulled the trigger on buying it because I have a full arsenal of Buddipole and Chameleon stuff that covers every band HF band (I even put those two products together to achieve a 160 meter portable antenna). When I heard that this new Radioddity HF-010 covered 6-80 meters and also had new mounting options, I wanted to try it.
full

The antenna...
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AI said it was Impossible: A Compact, Portable, 35 Watt Backpack Packet Station

Background

I few months ago, I set out on a quest to put together a mid-power backpack VHF packet station using equipment I already had, but with one catch: I wanted the ability to deploy it with a self supporting vertical antenna for use in situations where suspending antennas from trees or structure was impossible. I knew what type of components were necessary to make this idea work, but I couldn't find the critical piece: the 1/2 wave vertical compact antenna that could handle the 35 watt target power output. So I decided to turn to Microsoft Copilot AI in an attempt to find what I was looking for, but all I got was responses that what I was trying to do was not feasible unless I used some type of Slim Jim antenna or vertical dipole that I could suspend from a...
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