AB9NN's HamRadioResources.com Blog

Ham Radio Coaxial Cable Tunnels – Get Cables Under Concrete Sidewalks, Driveways, etc..

Jon E. Kreski, AB9NN — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 23:55:16 +0000

We recently installed a Gap Challenger DX antenna in our backyard and ran some coax cable into the basement of our house to our amateur radio operating station. Getting the coax close to the basement was an adventure in itself – digging in various ways through solid clay most of the way. The last six ...Read the Rest

What Is Ham Radio? Thoughts About Amateur Radio Today and Back In The Day.

Jon E. Kreski, AB9NN — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:30:11 +0000

You would think that answering the question, “What Is Ham Radio?” would be a simple thing to do. In reality it used to be very easy to do. Ham radio also is known as amateur radio. The concept back in the day was quite simple. Two people with radios some distance apart were given permission ...Read the Rest

How To Buy A Power Supply For Ham Radio, Etc.

Jon E. Kreski, AB9NN — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:19:03 +0000

The short answer is, for ham radio use or any other use, buy the best power supply that does what you need and is within your budget. An additional thought is to carefully consider the positive AND negative sides of each feature of the power supply. Also, use GENUINE end-user reviews to help guide you. ...Read the Rest

The BEST Hamfest?

Jon E. Kreski, AB9NN — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:21:13 +0000

As I thought about the recent Appleton Wisconsin area hamfest held this November I wondered what other hams’ expectations are of the “best” hamfest? For non ham radio operators a hamfest is like a large multi-family rummage sale. Rummage sale is called different things in different parts of the country. Some call it a garage ...Read the Rest

Storm Tested – Gap Challenger DX Vertical Ham Radio Antenna

Jon E. Kreski, AB9NN — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 05:59:13 +0000

This is a follow-up post to the initial posts dealing with the construction of the Gap Challenger DX vertical ham radio antenna and tilt base mount. This post deals with durability and not functionality of the antenna, the gap tilt base mount and the suggested support structure. I must admit that I was somewhat skeptical about ...Read the Rest

Ham Radio Scanner Frequencies For EAA AirVenture At Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Jon E. Kreski, AB9NN — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:29:06 +0000

One annual rite of passage in the AB9NN and KD8KRS household is the arrival of airplane chatter on two frequencies we have programmed in our Yaesu FT 857 D ham radios in our car and truck respectively. One of the reasons I bought the Yaesu FT 857 D mobile ham radios not only the ability to work a very wide ...Read the Rest

Assembly Of The Gap Challenger DX Antenna

Jon E. Kreski, AB9NN — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 23:22:58 +0000

The Gap Challenger DX vertical ground mounted ham radio antenna arrives via UPS in a rather unassuming flat box. I say rather unassuming because the size of the box really doesn’t lead one to believe that the parts contained in the box would contain a 31.5 foot tall antenna. When assembled and mounted in the ground ...Read the Rest

Gap Ham Radio Vertical Antenna (Challenger DX) Tilt Mounting Options

Jon E. Kreski, AB9NN — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 21:08:59 +0000

Gap Tilt Mount Ground Mounted In Dirt So far I am quite pleased with the mounting of the Gap Challenger DX antenna that Jane, KD8KRS, and I installed. The mount we chose was both specifically designed for this particular antenna and it had quite a number of positive reviews when I did my research prior ...Read the Rest

Police Scanners – Listen To Ham Radio – What Do You Really Need?

Jon E. Kreski, AB9NN — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 02:47:02 +0000

A “police scanner” – even a modest one – can be used to listen to ham radio. No ham radio license is needed for this. There are a couple of things that one should do before you buy a police scanner to listen to ham radio. Here are some of the things I would consider: ...Read the Rest

My Ham Radio Antennas Are So Bright I Need Shades!

Jon E. Kreski, AB9NN — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 01:44:24 +0000

Cleaned HF Mobile Ham Radio Antenna It’s been quite some time since I’ve done a good scrub and polish job on my mobile (car mounted) ham radio antennas. Tonight was a perfect night for such a task. Calm winds. Low humidity. Temps around 70 – 75. Good light. Clearish skies. And my lovely wife was off ...Read the Rest