16 FREE Ideas to Spice-Up Your Ham Radio Life! 

Some great ideas there Cal, yep V2 on the way this month hopefully. Thanks for the mention.

A pair of “insulated” side cutters will help stop the noise from the neighbors fairy lights!

38 years and I still get excited when I turn on the radio, it's amazing who might pop up, it's a great hobby for me.

You’re talking to me. I have more fun adding things to the shack than talking on the air. Problem is, everything is so expensive. I’ve used many of the things you’ve mentioned to jolt my ham activities. Might be time to cycle through again. Think I’ll get DMR going too.

Love the Video Callum. Although not limited to HAM, how about something on Lora and Meshtastic? seems a great cheap and license free way to get more young people into the delights of RF :)

Get on the radio and focus on Special Event QSo's only. They would like the contact.

Thanks Cal! Great fun! Now, an idea that might be up you'r ally: Tuning the ground plane or maybe the radio ground. I really don't know what I'm talking about here, but I overherd som 80m ragchewers talking about a grounding system that they could tune. 73 de LA6UOA/Terry in Norway😎

I don't have many contacts on 160m, maybe need to get some in the log. What you all think would be a great antenna for that band with enough garden space for any wire length?

I have a question for you , can you use a tablet to connect to your transceiver to control it?

Callum, I’ll buy one of them LoG antennas you still have in the box! de MM7BFL

This is exactly why I took up portable operation. Not thing one wrong with my home station, but it is exactly the same every time I sit down. Going portable let's me have the fun of building a station every time I operate. Going on "walkabout" has plenty of it's own benefits, and there are days when the operating is tough that having gone somewhere interesting/beautiful is the only reason I come home with a positive outlook on radio.

I bought a cheap Quansheng UV-K5 HT flashed the firmware with the IJV mod and took it with me yesterday to Sioux Falls SD and used Repeater Book to program the local repeaters onto the radio. I also found the local airport frequency and used the other band to monitor that traffic. As I was programming the HT I ran across a net on 70 centimeters. All this while getting out of shopping with my XYL. That was actually a lot of fun

I love the online SWR calculator! Awesome! Thank you! Plenty of food for thought here! 👍

Thanks for another great video. We appreciate all that you do.

Callum, I have taken to grabbing older books about antennas, to read what the old timers did. There are some really great ideas in these books. Now you may be able to get some for free, most of them are cheap as chips. I picked up 6 at a hamfest for $5.00 US. Also, another free thing to do that might trip your trigger with Ham radio, is volunteer with your local ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services Group). They will be out doing exercises, doing comms for charities, etc. It is a great way to meet people and give back to the community while having fun and building skills.

i love playing with my radio pulling out weak dx station and rag chew but what i dont like is that we can listen on on internet hf station and listen anywhere anytime taking the fun out of hf propagation hf shouldn't be on internet and even repeater links since what if the internet stops working tomoro what will happen thats why it will always better not having it connected in the first place

As to CW. Never really learned but took part in CQ WW CW 2022, single op low power 40m, just for fun. You don't need much CW knowledge just your call their call and report. Came 2nd in England, 53rd in EU and 69th in World. 😎

I can't even afford to pay attention Cal so its nice to see some freebies that can help me out ;)

Have a crack at going portable Google search POTA

I think I have many, many years to go before I start feeling bored with the hobby. I started out a couple years ago with an old Kenwood TS-430S and a homemade dipole for 40 meters. Then added 20. Now I'm up to 40-10 on that Kenwood, and still have 80 and 160 to get into. Picked up a TS-670 which lets me play with low power on 40/15/10/6. A couple older Alinco radios got me on 2 and 6 meter repeaters. And all of this is just voice. There's still a bunch of digital modes to try, CW to learn, satellites, etc. Plus, I like building and trying about any wacky antenna I come across on the Internet. Now, I'm trying my hand at home-brewing stuff like remote coax switches, audio switches, etc. I just don't see me getting bored in this hobby anytime soon.

Spot on Callum. If it had not been for POTA, SOTA, or IOTA (parks, summits, islands) I may have boxed up the radios for future use. Because of the popularity of portable ops (popular for me) At a minimum I cary a qrp rig with me everywhere. BTW the DX Commander classic or expedition make a great substitute for a tree when none are available.

i started with my m6 on ssb ,but got fed up with being stamped over by "low power" USA/Italian stations so switched onto psk31/64 and worked most of the world on a very basic fibreglass vertical, i had literally 12k psk qsos, florida i could get every day, in fact after i got my full call i re dabbled in psk31, and my very first qso on my full call was Fred in Hearndon Bay in Florida who i had @ least 100 psk qsos with on my M6 call, nowadays i do most of my radio on FT8/FT4 and have won the WW Digi for England award 3 out of the 4 times i have contested it, and achieved 9 bands all georgraphic zones, just leaving 6m & 160m for a clean sweep, so looking at going back to ssb to try and increase my dxcc count from 221 (to beat my friend who has 222), hopefully funds permitting i will get OQ100 hardware up and installed this year too :), imho there is something for every one on amateur radio

Thanks Callum, always educational and encouraging content.

I am going to install and try my DX Commander Classic for a bit, TX and RX. Then I will try the "loop on ground" for RX and the Classic for TX. I already have a Par End-Feds SWL antenna. I believe I can use the transformer unit from it to connect my ground loop. My Yaesu FT-891 does not have a separate RX input so I will have to arrange for an auto sense antenna switch to swap antennas from TX to TX (MFJ-1707B perhaps).

I have two OCF dipoles up in the air, one is 10-40m set up for NVIS, and the other is 10-80m and is 45 feet up. Both are inverted V's. I enjoy trying to contact on the NVIS and listen on the DX just to see how the two are performing.

Very inspiring Calum, sometimes I just want to give up the hobby due to solar panel noise from my neighbour. Our local spectrum guys ICSA the regulator authority is working on that or as a middle man so to speak. It is just a nightmare in SA mate, all these not filtered crap coming from China. Personally, I think the more hams complain they will need to put some laws in place at the end of the day. You get these fly-by-night installers as I call them. HI. But I will certainly have a look at the loop on the ground suggestion and some new Digi modes to fiddle around with in the future Calum. Thank you for all the content that you create. I love watching your channel mate. 73's from down South De ZS1WC Callum, if you have any ideas on how to reduce some solar pannel noise it would be appreciated to make a video about the subject. I have googled these loads....... I wish I could email you some screenshots about the interference. 73's mate. Sorry a bit off the topic of your vid. I just needed to get that out of my chest.HI

I wouldn’t discount anything when considering trying a new aspect of our hobby. “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it” as they say.

I learned CW in a few weeks doing 20 minutes every other day using the W5IY practice tapes. Just a few hours total.

Callum, good ideas thank you. The one that comes to mind to add to the list is satellite comms from your own car using your current VHF/UHF rig and your current mag-mount antenna on top of your vehicle. I modeled my Nagoya UT 72 in MMANA GAL and figured that I could get the low passes of the ISS, say ˜23degrees in elevation. I downloaded a free satellite tracking program to my laptop & then took the laptop in my vehicle to an empty parking lot. When the AOS (Acquisition of Signal) time came up per the program, I listened at the suggested downlink frequency and got the ISS. Anyway, I had fun making a couple of QSOs bouncing off the ISS though it was hit or miss at the beginning. I made some videos on this as reference if you're keen. Keep up the great work & 73!

Hi Cal. I used to play a lot with digital modes but i got sick of them. I prefer voice mode all the way . 73s

I recently watch a RU-vid channel where he used an 11m(CB) phasing harness for cophased verticals on 10m and with the same spacing (1/4 wave)and retuning the telescopic whips for 20m changed the direction from N-S to E-W. He was working a contest and wanted to tune out the west coast and Europe on 10m.

Along with Loop On Ground, I've played with Dipole On Ground (DOG, haha)with good results.

If I can make 2 suggestions: idea 17: sdr like the ADALM-PLUTO idea 18 (in combination with idea 17): QO-100 satellite

Great video buddy. I find it sad that most of the other datamodes have almost no activity due to the popularity of FT4 & FT8. I used to do Hellschriber and Thor, but sadly there's nothing happening now. I gave up with LOTW after having endless trouble setting up the TQsl file, I think its too complex. HRD Logbook is my mainstay for logging. 73

Dear Commander Callum, great stuff! Thank you for the ideas. I have not explored ANYTHING between 20m and 10m (except US CB), next on my list of things to try. As always, thank you and keep it up. One day we’ll connect out there. From the west side of the Atlantic - 73, KQ4IXD

13:56 "...understand how Logbook of the World works..." May & June 2024 - it doesn't. 🙂

Hi Cal, I tried to get WinLink working with my 590SG after you suggested trying it in one of your vid's a couple of years ago, but never actually got it working😢 Everything else kit wise is good (for example, WSJT-X working fine, including Cat control). If you're "at a loose end", and looking for content for one of your excellent videos, then a "ground up" demo of setting up WinLink, starting with an un-configured 590 and no software installed, right through to sending/receiving emails would be well received 😊. Also, any update on the phased multi band verticals, are the DX Commander kits on pre-order yet? 😎

One thing you might consider, is grabbing a secretary, (not literally. LOL) and write a book. Lots of great information for us in one place, and recurring income stream for you. Win-Win.

One thing, and you have mentioned it before as I recall, get on a WebSDR or LimeSDR and just have a listen to what's going on. If you already have a PC and internet, there is no investment required. If you feel your station is compromised, then listen at what others have put on the internet. Just listen around and see what is going on in the bands. There are some WebSDRs that can even decode FT8, WSPR, RTTY, etc. BTW, it would be interesting, if you set up a webSDR station at the factory and let us tune in and listen when you are away. Might be a way to give people a demonstration of the antenna. But I could also see where that might be a difficult to set up and keep running and your live streams give a good bit of that also.

How about I get back on the air after being off since 1996 when lightening hit my ATB34 antenna and fried my rotor. Time to “just do it”. You’re inspiring Callum. Thanks.

I’m just starting with the study for the Tech study. Watching this video seems complicated. I’ll continue np, I realize your from old school. I’m in my 60’s and disabled vet, so I need quite a bit of time in understanding such things. lol.

How bout we figure out a way to make ham radio less friggin complicated so we can attract more people? The hobby needs more normies and less nerds. Or, maybe keep the nerds and add more normies? Digital modes....pshhhh.....damn near need a PhD to figure those out. Somebody with more brain cells than i must create some type of plug and play system while keeping the traditional ways of doing things. That is all......carry on.

I probably wrongly assumed that not sending my log to a contest's organizers - even if just for one QSO - would cause the other parties to have their QSO with me unconfirmed.

I run a G5RV and have had pretty good luck with it. I was wondering about a G%RV Senior which is twice the length of a regular G%RV. The problem is the length of the ladder line on the senior is 63 feet. I don't have anywhere that I can get the main wire high enough. What do you do with all that ladder line? What would happen if you shortened the ladder line?

3 years in and I have access to 400 watts but still get excited when I can talk to the other side of the world on 5 watts, Keep the bands alive by calling CQ CQ

Anyone interested in meshtastic? It's not strictly a ham radio hobby but taking off. It's a low power (100mw) Text messaging transceiver that forms a local mesh and can make contacts by jumping along the mesh network. Andy Kirby has popularised it along with many others.

Nice one Callum, you can see what I do on wspr with 5 watts, a 3 wire fan inverted v (shortened for 80 and no 160) , punch in my call G4LEN to the wsprnet map and select all bands :) nice to see where the signals end up. 73's

Some very good ideas here, I will certainly try some of them. Thanks, Cal! 👍😄

Packet Radio for the win :D

portable when I run my partner to the doctor

As for loop on the ground antennas can the "ground" be the rooftop of my house and not the ground of a garden ?

Cal, is your loop on the ground? Or has been dragged under? Has it made a difference?

I have gotten bored with radio and am now using the meshtastick device and additional modules to see how they work.

Blimey almost half a century licensed and the first 30 seconds describes my current status and has been for a year.

So Callum, do you have to walk past your drum kit to get to your radios ??? Is that preventing you from getting on the air ?? My problem is guitar, straight key, glass of wine, but only two hands !!

Yes I do more CW than phone now

Probably just me, but your cymbals seam to be mounted high?

Done that. Bought 10 of something that I like, to get a discount with the idea to resell and make my one free. And still got ten, minus one… in a box.

Another digital mode to try is VARAC.

I get very excited watching you :)

Question- what's outside the typical bands. Is there anything else I could monitor like air traffic, emergency, weather, CB, monitor ISS etc. I stay in the band plan on my HF but kinda wondered if I could direct tune to these for fun.

Wow ! Thank you ,, reminds me of the old days when I was short wave listening, amazing, technology 👍

Hi DX Commander, Good day, 2 Questions. Where can I purchase a Russian SW radio. And is there any list for Russian SW radio stations, Many thanks alan

First.

Please do not do WSPR with 1kW.

Very nice

Evening from Japan, Cal!

Hi Callum when im operating from The Netherlands on 40mtrs i always use a half wave dipole on top of the garden fence so only about 5 foot off the ground and get excellent results.Its all about experimenting and enjoying the hobby. 73 Ian G7HFS/PA3IKH

RTTY is great fun too! I learned CW and it's been the best shot to the arm with my hobby after 23 years playing ham radio!

Good ideas. Radio Astronomy brought me back after a ten year absense. Glad I had kept the license. Also, building SolderSmoke's Direct Conversion Receiver that was designed for public school students is far too cool when completed.

Just checked LOTW and seen I've reached my first 100 for DXCC just need to submit the last 19 contacts for credits.

That was great. hear in the us I am finding RTTY and JS8 call used a lot. yes SSTV can be fun. I got some pic's from the UK to NY . I am finding the multi hop DX can be at a higher angel . even NVIS can multi hop . having 2 VFO listen on 2 antenna's same time in stereo head phones. can be fun. some times the QSB will fade ear to ear. hearing that helps me understand how the signals bounce around and twist polarization . love how your live stream is sending that. best to use head phones. hope to have some more money soon. more DX commander pools and DX 10 and DX 50 wire. I have some now having fun. the travelling wave antenna also makes a great receive antenna . that like a dipole on ground but is grounded threw a resistor at far end to ground. it is in the ARRL antenna book. makes a great SWL antenna as well. 73's

What a great video!! Keep up the the good work. It's a pleasure tuning into your RU-vid channel. This was a great poke!

Great ideas. CW is very rewarding for those of us who only have 10W radios.

Of course it's always fun to do the 'TX Limbo' and see how low you can go power wise to get contacts.

thanks for video Cal some very interesting thoghts 73s

I like playing with old radios that got me into the hobby

I've been a ham for 2 years and have done most of these topics, or at least started seriously studying them. You're spot on about how to keep the spark. However, I haven't gotten into contesting. I dont know why, but it just doesnt float my boat. Maybe someday that will change, but not this day! Talking antennas, I use a vertical for RX and OCFD for TX. Next step is to try an RX loop on ground. Ultimately, a cubical quad is the siren call.

Free Stuff? Can;t be much good. 😇

Thank you for the tips, Cal!

Just started following you and I really enjoyed this 😊

I gave up on radio. It just got too complex and complicated. I seriously doubt I'll renew my license next month. We have 1 repeater within 75 miles and only the same couple local stations use it. Its dead here and mixing computers/radio is out of my league.

Thanks again for the great ideas...

Any news on a Easter sale ?

Thanks Callum! I enjoy your videos very much. Thanks to your YT content I decided to get the foundation license and I passed in December. You mentioned the ground loop antennas are better in "ignoring" interference. Would the ground loop receive only antenna work ok for VHF or it's more for HF only? Thanks Cal!

thank you !

love you baby

New wife? lol hehe

I get a dot on my underwear Everytime I turn the dial on.