Yesterday, I met up with Jonathan (KM4CFT) who happens to be in town visiting family over the holiday weekend. Before our POTA activation, he mentioned that he is now selling a 3D-printed paddle kit for $34.95 on eBay: https://ebay.us/GhLOYz (note: this is an eBay partnership link) Jonathan told me that he’s using the kit as … Continue reading New 3D-Printed Paddle Kit from KM4CFT →

When our family needs a change of scenery without a long drive, Mount Mitchell State Park is our go-to destination. I’ve mentioned before that it’s my “happy place” here in North Carolina. Mount Mitchell is only about 6 miles from our home as the crow flies, but it takes about 50 minutes to drive there, … Continue reading Tabletop QRP POTA: A Father’s Day Getaway to Mount Mitchell State Park →

On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, I needed to make a morning trip to Hickory, NC, to take care of some family business and visit my father. I started my day early because I also wanted to be back in the Asheville area by noon. Some quick calculations over morning coffee and I decided I had … Continue reading Xiegu X6200 SSB Field Test: A Morning POTA Activation at Lake James →

Many thanks to Dale (BA4TB), who reached out this morning to announce that he’s working on a new product, the Venus SW-6B. Dale gave me permission to share the following photo: This will be a six band radio with a built-in rechargeable battery and small speaker. The front panel reveals some other features: Dedicated CW … Continue reading There’s a Venus SW-6B on the horizon! →

On Tuesday, June 11, 2024, I took my production run Xiegu X6200 (on loan from Radioddity) to the Blue Ridge Parkway for its first POTA activation. The activation was a success, with good band conditions on 40 and 30 meters. You can read that field report by clicking here. Later that day, I had a … Continue reading Xiegu X6200: Second POTA activation with rough propagation, but CW saves the day! →

If you’re following the new Xiegu X6200 closely, you might recall that I took a prototype version of the radio out two weeks ago for a POTA activation. Propagation was so challenging–as in, a complete radio blackout in North America due to an X-Class flare–it took about 90 minutes of calling CQ POTA to snag … Continue reading The New Xiegu X6200: First POTA activation in CW with a production unit! →

Many thanks to Marcin (SP5ORI) who writes: When I started activating parks and summits last year, I searched for an app to visualize park boundaries, but none met my needs. While there are many applications for POTA and SOTA activators, none offered this specific feature… Check this out: https://www.hammap.io Countless times I heard, “It would … Continue reading HamMap.io: Marcin’s Solution for Visualizing Boundaries in POTA/SOTA Activities →

Many thanks to Michal (OK1SIM) who writes: I needed a map, so I programmed it! While planning one of the WWFF activities, I sighed that there was no map that suited me. So I started to program the map myself, even though I’m not a programmer, it’s not my job, I have some basics of … Continue reading Ham-Map: OK1SIM creates an interactive park and summit map! →

Update as of May 31, 2024: I’ve just learned that the prototype unit I used for this activation has been superseded by a production model Xiegu X6200. While many of my initial impressions remain valid, some of the bugs and quirks I noted have likely been addressed in the production model. When I published this … Continue reading Xiegu X6200 Trial by Flare: Answering your questions and sharing my field notes →

Yesterday, I popped by the post office and picked up a parcel containing a prototype of the Xiegu X6200 (thank you for the loaner, Radioddity). In truth, it arrived on Friday via DHL, but the post office was closed over Memorial Day weekend, and frankly, I would have been too busy to take a deep … Continue reading Xiegu X6200 First Activation: What do you want to know? →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kostas (SV3ORA), for sharing the following post which originally appeared on his website: Update June 1, 2024: Kostas is not currently selling the NR-1 as a product but has, instead, made the entire project open and available for everyone to build their own. You may contact him for more […]

Last week, I ran into my good friend Mike (KE8PTX) at Hamvention, and he was bursting with excitement over a new product he’d just purchased: the Explorer POTA20 Carbon Fiber Mast at GigaParts. Mike is a massive fan of the SOTAbeams Carbon 6 telescoping pole and has been through two of them over the years … Continue reading Mike compares the new Explorer POTA20 with the venerable SOTAbeams Carbon 6 Mast →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following review: [Note that all Amazon and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support the SWLing Post.] Raddy RF-919 Receiver: Best Portable in Years – Held Back Only By Soft Muting While Tuning by Dan Robinson It’s quite extraordinary that in these days of […]

The 2024 Dayton Hamvention is in the books! This morning, I’m still at our hotel in Dayton, Ohio, but about to pack up and head out. Eric (WD8RIF), Miles (KD8KNC), and I are heading for a day at the Armstrong Aerospace Museum, then, hopefully, a POTA activation on the way back to Athens, Ohio, where … Continue reading Post-Hamvention Activation with Friends →

Many thanks to SWLing Post sponsor and supporter, SDRplay, who shares the following announcement: SDRplay announces the RSPdx-R2  SDRplay Limited is announcing the launch of the RSPdx-R2 which is an enhanced version of its highly popular multi antenna port SDR, the RSPdx. Jon Hudson, SDRplay Sales and Marketing Director said “Global supply chain support issues […]

Many thanks to Don (W7SSB) who shares the following spreadsheet that highlights the key similarities and differences between the Xiegu X6100 and the new Xiegu X6200. Click here to view the comparison spreadsheet.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes: SWLing Post readers have no doubt seen the appearance of the Raddy RF-919, which is manufactured by Hanrongda in China. I have generally not been impressed by some receivers from this company, notably the HRD-747/757 and the reviews seem to support this. However, from first […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dean Bianco, who writes: Inspired by Chuck Yarbrough ‘s YouTube video, I ordered one of the newly-manufactured replacement power supplies for the WJ-8711A/HF-1000A series from WJ Systems, a new company run by noted WJ master technician Stephen Pappin. For those of us who own one (or more) of the […]

A reader reached out to me this morning asking about the Mountain Topper MTR-3B. It reminded me of a teaser LnR Precision posted earlier this month in an MTR-4B update on their website. Here’s what they said: Update: 4/1/23: We do not have MTR4 V2.3 available for purchase now but will be releasing more for … Continue reading Did you know there’s a new MTR-3B in the works–? →