Did you know that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) now requires all amateur radio stations in the U.S. and possessions to be evaluated for RF exposure? It’s been a little […] The post Get up to Speed on Amateur Radio RF Exposure Rules appeared first on OnAllBands ..read more

OnAllBands has exciting news for multi-operator contest stations. DX Engineering now carries the RigSelect Pro Transceiver Switch and SO2R Controller—a device loaded with advanced features for contesters looking for a […] The post New Product/Vendor Spotlight: RigSelect Pro Transceiver Switch and SO2R Controller (Video) appeared first on OnAllBands ..read more

Watch YDXA team members give live presentations on DX Engineering’s Facebook page July 26 at 12:30 pm EST. For the second straight year, the young amateurs chosen to participate in the Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX Adventure (YDXA) will be operating in the United States from one of the world’s premier contest stations—K3LR, owned and operated by Tim Duffy, K3LR, CEO of DX Engineering. When plans for the youth team to travel to an international location had to be canceled, Tim, K3LR, agreed to once again offer his contest superstation in western Pennsylvania for the annual adventure, which has ..read more

All of us at OnAllBands and DX Engineering would like to offer our hearty congratulations to Marek, FH4VVK, and his support team for the successful one-operator activation (FT4GL) of the Glorioso Islands. This French-controlled atoll in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar ranked as the 7th most-wanted DXCC entity per Clublog when the DXpedition began from Grande Glorioso Island in May. When it wrapped up on June 18, FH4VVK had logged more than 60,000 QSOs, with HF contacts made in all modes used (only 160M was “not satisfactory,” per the FT4GL blog). QSOs included ATNOs for smaller stations who w ..read more

St. Paul Island QRV in August and September It is one of the great ironies of DXing that it’s most often the smallest of places that are the biggest deals in the ham radio world. Evidence of this is tiny St. Paul Island, located about 15 miles northeast of Cape Breton Island along the boundary between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Cabot Strait. At three miles long and one mile wide, the uninhabited, frequently fog-bound island—once named the “Graveyard of the Gulf” by sailors whose ships met their fate on its granite cliffs—will be the hot ticket for DXing enthusiasts when the DX Engineerin ..read more

We’ve been fortunate to have a hard-working program chair in charge of arranging our club presentations. Even when he’s wintering in Florida, he makes sure everything is ready for the next meeting and joins in via Zoom. It’s not just about filling a time slot for the monthly meeting. Without good programs, no club can succeed or survive for very long. The program chair’s most challenging job is providing programs that will appeal to club members—not put them to sleep. Sometimes clubs take member surveys to get ideas, seek club officer input, or ask members during casual conversations what prog ..read more

It’s a sad truth: Many people in the ham radio community never explore the opportunities afforded to them by their Technician license. You pored over the ham radio study guide, learned the basic math, asked your Elmer a million questions, and passed the test with flying colors. But that’s as far as things progressed. It’s a common story: Life gets in the way. While there are many reasons why new hams don’t make use of their first license, one of them isn’t a lack of opportunity to have a blast on the air. A Tech license opens up a vista of privileges, some of which are the coolest and most val ..read more

A rotator is a handy device used in ham radio communication systems to change the orientation of an antenna. Rotators have two parts, the rotator unit and the controller. The controller is normally placed near the radio equipment, while the rotator is mounted on the antenna mast below the antenna. It’s a must-have for DXers and operators who want to extend their reach and improve reception. Is it Rotator or Rotor? Let’s settle this before we move on. Hams tend to use both words interchangeably, but there is a subtle difference. A rotator is a device, such as a motor, that makes something rota ..read more

As a service to new hams, we’ve compiled a few resources to give you a better basic understanding of the sun and the role it plays in enabling you to fill your logbooks. The ElectronicsNotes website provides a good explanation in the article “The Sun: Its Structure & Impact on Radio Propagation.” It notes that in terms of radio communication, the sun “is the source of radiation that gives rise to the ionosphere” and is “of great importance for HF ionospheric radio propagation.” The article explains that solar radiation travels to the Earth, causing the upper portions of the atmosphere to b ..read more

New hams often wonder what they’ll do or say over the radio after they get their license. All that jargon that hams use can seem like a foreign language to those who’ve had little exposure to amateur radio. But there is no need to be self-conscious. After reading this, you’ll become fluent in repeater speak in no time. Common Amateur Radio Repeater Terms Chances are your first QSO (communication) will happen on a local VHF or UHF repeater using a handheld transceiver (HT). Repeaters have their own terminology, like courtesy beep, DTMF, and split. However, this split doesn’t involve bananas and ..read more