Revisiting the old school. Most radio amateurs have never even heard of Edison batteries. Edisons been around for over 100 years, and while they enjoyed some early popularity, they more or less left the scene by 1910. Lately though they’ve been getting more attention from the off grid community. So… Read more »
Old timers, don’t click away just yet! This article is primarily for those who recently got their radio license, but I hope the old timers will hang around. The goal is to provide direction to the ham radio beginner and give more experienced operators some insight they can use to… Read more »
Thanks for making OGH a great website. 2019 has been a great year for Off Grid Ham! We racked up twenty-two articles (including this one), tens of thousands of page views, and a growing reader base from all over the world. It’s not lost on me that you readers are… Read more »
Cold weather changes everything. It’s December, and for most of the USA we are heading into seriously cold weather. Cold has a lot of negative effects on off grid power and amateur radio gear. If you have not properly accounted for cold weather, then your equipment will let you down… Read more »
A hot topic. My May 5, 2019 commentary, The Transmitters of Freedom Should Be Turned Back On, unexpectedly generated a great deal of attention. It quickly became one of the most reposted and shared articles on this website. It’s encouraging that so many people care about this issue. It warrants… Read more »
Like it or not, you may become “that guy” (or girl). Amateur radio means different things to different people. Some like to tinker and experiment. Others are into DX or contests, or maybe community service projects. No matter what your motivations are, amateur radio serves a secondary usefulness that goes… Read more »
Has it really been that long? I didn’t realize it’s been over three years since the last time Off Grid Ham specifically addressed go boxes. If the internet discussions and on air chatter are any indicator, it’s a very popular way to operate. It’s way past time to revisit the… Read more »
Well, it’s happened again. Along the same lines of the hysterical hair on fire “they’re taking two meters away!” fake news from last summer, the latest amateur radio rumor mongering originates from the state of California. It seems that ham radio repeaters are being kicked off government-owned towers, particularly repeaters… Read more »
It’s hard to follow. One issue that seems to come up a lot in the off grid radio realm is proper system grounding. The rules and expectations are hard to follow. There are a lot of opinions out there. Many of them are accurate, others are not. Today we’ll go… Read more »
Did you know there is a place on the internet specifically for Off Grid Ham readers to trade ideas, post questions, answer questions from others, and ragchew? You’re encouraged to head on over to the OGH google.io group and join in. There is a short and easy registration step that… Read more »
Beyond OPSEC. Last month we discussed operational security (OPSEC) and why it’s important to off grid hams. As a follow up to that, it’s worthwhile to talk about how to keep your communications private. After all, operational security is very difficult without also having some form of communications security. The… Read more »
You can’t unpull the alarm. All the things that make the internet fantastic can also be to its detriment. Looking up a callsign, for example, is as easy as tippy-tapping a few keys. None of us who were there miss the days of flipping through a three inch thick $29.99… Read more »