Roger G3XBM's (Mainly) Amateur Radio Blog

This is perhaps because I am older now, but my perspective on amateur radio has changed. This weekend in the UK is VHF NFD. I went on 70cm S...

For several years now, I have been predicting the decline of our hobby. In this case I hope I am very wrong! An undeniable fact is that ours...

This is a subject we have touched on many times.  However, an increasing proportion of people in our hobby (the vast majority?) are getting ...

From time to time we get a chance to promote our amateur radio hobby at other events. The RSGB has published some notes to help us do the ri...

Although this has been on before, some may be interested in how I got into the hobby. Even now, nearly 60 years later I still get fun from...

There is a debate currently about the merits (or otherwise) of new digital modes like FT8. The amateur radio population is aging alarmingly:...

When browsing earlier, I chanced on this video. It made me sick. According to this ham you need a linear, a big ATU, a big SWR bridge and ...

Southgate News has a very positive video on the future of our hobby. This was a video made at a recent YOTA event. The secret seems to b...

Many times I have cautioned that our hobby could die unless we attract and keep younger people. According to Southgate News , this will be d...

As many of you know I am a miser who does not like spending money on amateur radio. My ethos has always been to get the most for the least m...

It would appear that most have given up on 10m and migrated to lower frequencies where there are easier pickings. Understandable, but a sham...

Now the house is back to normal, I can concentrate again on my amateur radio hobby. The pattern is usually 630m WSPR in the evenings and ove...

With the fall in the UK pound as a result of the UK vote to leave the EU it is possible that amateur radio gear (paid for in US dollars) wil...

Although I cannot speak for other countries, here in the UK ours is a hobby mainly of older people and mainly men.  When I was fitter, I gav...

My current operating is almost exclusively WSPR. I go on the 8pm East Cambs net on 144.575MHz FM on Mondays and Tuesday UKAC contests (espec...

There can be few hobbies that embrace so much as amateur radio. Some enjoy QRP, often making their own simple gear and each QSO is a thrill....

Some weeks ago I bought a small 40m Pixie CW transceiver kit via www.alibaba.com for $10. This arrived by air very quickly and I was very i...

OFCOM here in the UK have decided to make 470kHz and the 5MHz slots available to full licence holders without the need for an NoV. There are...

One of the great things about amateur radio is the number of different ways in which the hobby can be enjoyed. For over a year now my heal...

This is a question I keep asking myself. It clearly means different things to different people, but I am saddened by the trend to cheque boo...