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

Looking at Weird Digital Modes, New Logging Software and Speedy Construction Projects..! These 16 ideas will invigorate your Ham Radio life and give you some extra sparkle. All FREE! Have fun and enjoy :) Callum.

[brianfields]

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.

[MattHeere]

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.

[FromthehamshackwithNJZ]

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.

[ZeroHarry]

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

[crazynordlander]

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

[MEastCoastGirl]

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

[GSTU]

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

[mikemcdonald]

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

[thomashardy]

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

[quantumradio]

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!

[jolu]

Thanks Callum, always educational and encouraging content.

[problemwithauthority]

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.

[PaulGriffith]

I recently watch a YouTube 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.

[dr]

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

[don_nskt]

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.

[TheREALJosephTurner]

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.

[frankthetank]

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.

[gfodale]

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.

[gardeningfromscratch.]

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

[JacquesVermeulenZSWC]

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 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