It works! The two-element, two band (20 & 10m), single mast, HF Beam is finished at last and has brought in 20w SSB contacts with W, ZS, VK and ZL as well as most European countries from two SOTA activations in DL.

Sounds too good to be true? Well remember the physics of antennas don't really care whether equipment has got some big companies name on it or not, as long as it's the correct size and set up close to what is needed it'll work no matter how scruffy it looks and running low power means it can be made backpacker portable. I have created three different versions of the antenna, each of which can be single or multi-band.

My New years resolution was to finish this antenna and document it for others to build, despite some bad weather sessions (snow, winds, ice, rain etc.) I have now closed out this resolution.

When Wolf-Dieter Roth (DL2MCD) first approached me to review this English translation of a classic German reference book, I wasn’t sure how I would do that as I am not a book reviewer, but rather an editor.

This also being a translation, I was afraid that I would spend my time correcting the text rather than enjoying the content. While there are some „unique“ translations, in general, the translation is good but what surprised me when I got a copy to read was that it was not what I was expecting.

This is not a normal textbook with different people‘s opinions of how good or bad a radio was or how it worked. It is more a technical reference that while indeed it explains how certain radio models worked and the progression of the technologies used over the years between 1929 and 1983, it does this mainly through technical block diagrams of the different radios.

As many of you know, I am a bit of an Amateur Radio podcast fan. Each week I listen to around a dozen as well as hosting & publishing three created by other people, myself. I'm also involved with creating or validating content for a few podcasts and in the meantime small, run by radio amateurs, (legal) short wave AM radio stations as well.

Through all of this, I hear some repeated concerns on several of the podcasts/radio shows. One of these concerns is that new amateurs who have just got their entry-level licence (whether that be Technician, Foundation or Novice depending upon which country they are in), have bought or been given a VHF/UHF Handy Talkie and then get left alone and after a while, as the level of activity on the local repeater is low, get fed up with the hobby and look for another pursuit.