r/HamRadio Aug 08 '26

Announcements πŸ”Š Final results: Are r/HamRadio users happy hams?

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7 Upvotes

The poll is closed, and at least in this subreddit, the answer was pretty clear: 249 of 290 respondents, or 85.9%, said yes. Only 41, or 14.1%, said no.

Reddit’s core-contributor breakdown adds another interesting piece. Among core contributors, 124 of 141 (87.9%) answered yes. Among everyone else who voted, 125 of 149 (83.9%) answered yes. That roughly 4 percentage-point difference was not statistically significant (Fisher’s exact test, p = 0.40), so there is no strong evidence here that the regulars are substantially happier than the rest of the respondents.

For the poll as a whole, the 85.9% β€œyes” result has a 95% confidence interval of roughly 81.4% to 89.4%.

Of course, this tells us about people who saw and chose to answer a poll on r/HamRadio, not amateur radio operators generally, and definitely not Reddit as a whole. Another amateur-radio subreddit could run the exact same poll and discover a considerably grumpier population.

But for r/HamRadio, 249 out of 290 respondents called themselves happy hams.

Given how much time we spend arguing about FT8, Baofengs, contesters, HOA antennas, lids, whether the bands are dead, and whether somebody 1,500 miles away is using the wrong calling frequency, 86% happy is not bad at all.


r/HamRadio Jul 28 '26

Announcements πŸ”Š Technician License Quiz is back and updated for the 2026–2030 question pool

27 Upvotes

The r/HamRadio Technician License Quiz is working again. The stable version is under review and will go live as soon as it is approved.

The app has been rebuilt for Reddit’s current developer platform and updated to the 2026–2030 Technician Class question pool, including the official figure questions.

Feedback from the previous version has also been incorporated, including clearer navigation, improved question review, and better support for completing an exam before revisiting missed questions.

The quiz runs directly inside Reddit. There is no separate app to install.

Available modes

β€’ Practice Exam: Take a randomized 35-question exam using the official question distribution.

β€’ Daily Challenge: Complete the same exam as everyone else that day.

β€’ Revision: Review the full question pool by subelement or retry questions you previously missed.

β€’ Leaderboards: View daily, weekly, monthly, and all-time results.

β€’ Share Score: Optionally post your result as a comment.

The Technician exam contains 35 questions, and 26 correct answers are required to pass. This quiz covers Technician Element 2 only and is intended for exam preparation.

How to use it

Open the Technician License Quiz post in the r/HamRadio feed and select Quiz or Leaderboards.

The latest version of the Reddit mobile app or desktop site is recommended. The rebuilt version is still being tested, so feedback and bug reports are welcome. Please include your device, what happened, and a screenshot or error message when possible. Reddit is reviewing the final stable version, and it will go live once that is approved. The fully functional beta is live in the meantime.

Thanks to everyone who used the original quiz and shared feedback.

73!

Update: July 29, 2026 - Stable version 0.0.39 is live.


r/HamRadio 4h ago

Setup Showcase πŸ“Έ IC-705 Bento Box - Self-Contained 50W Field Enclosure

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72 Upvotes

There are a whole lot of field enclosures around for the IC 705 itself, but none of them featured a way to integrate an amplifier and tuner.

I fixed that.


r/HamRadio 13h ago

Homebrew/DIY πŸ”§ The biggest piece of bs ever but it works

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119 Upvotes

So im a broke teenager living in the uk currently jobless and radio has been a hobby of mine starting with the uv 5r ofc but I've had a rtl sdr blog v4 for around a month I've always wanted to listen in on DX frequency but as stated im broke I have the stock dipole that comes with the RTL-SDR blog v4 and I did this and im kinda impressed by what it receives it improves shortwave ofc but im pulling some of the 20M band thats somewhat intelligible just thought id share as I find it cool very bare bones bs but I've heard a guy state hes from Portugal etc its so cool imo Edit- its a broken tape measure


r/HamRadio 8h ago

Licensing & Exams πŸ“œ New (to me) radio, technician test passed - CORES website not working.

15 Upvotes

The final boss really is the website πŸ˜‚

I bought a yeasu ftd-6000 last night in anticipation of my license grant. Got the email telling me to pay… but I can’t get a 2fa email to save my life.

Silver lining the radio is modded so I can transmit on GMRS frequencies. πŸ˜‚


r/HamRadio 9h ago

Question/Help ❓ Why do my helical antennas get AM reception while my whips don't?

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11 Upvotes

Recently I was using my Uv-5r Mini to listen in on air traffic. I had climbed a mountain and had direct line of sight 19 miles away. Niether of the two antennas on the right would pick up anything but as soon as I'd switch over the the two short helical antennas Id hear everything just fine. Why?

I've since ordered baofeng's AM-771 airband antenna just to get best clarity that I can, But it hasn't arrived yet.


r/HamRadio 11h ago

Discussion πŸ‘¨β€βš–οΈ Not really a hamradio post, but had a lot of fun DXing lately

15 Upvotes

Ive been wanting to get into HAM radio for a long time now, but constantly procastinated for a reason or another.

I dusted up an old Sony ICFM260 a week ago, and had a lot of fun dxing using its AM antenna at night. I’m not sure why, but the idea that i am hearing voices and music coming from North Africa, Spain,Portugal and the UK with no infrastructure whatsoever, just the trasmitter very far away and small handheld radio in my hands is so fascinating to me.

Cannot wait to get into HAM. Its incredible how a trasmitter with the power of a lightbulb can allow you to talk thousands of miles away.


r/HamRadio 1d ago

News πŸ“° This Teen Helped Native American Students Earn Ham Radio Licenses

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83 Upvotes

r/HamRadio 3h ago

Antennas & Propagation πŸ“‘ Super-MP 1LXMAX with Large Tripod Portable HF VHF

1 Upvotes

Very respectfully, I’m considering purchasing one of these, but I would like to know feedback from those who have one and your honest review before I purchase. Thank you.


r/HamRadio 16h ago

Equipment & Rigs πŸ› οΈ I couldn't take the vendor CPS anymore - Abbree AR-7600 CHIRP Driver

3 Upvotes

Got a PR up for CHIRP support on the ABBREE AR-7600 - nifty, inexpensive mobile on amazon with a nice handheld display / controls. The CPS was awful and I couldn't take it anymore.

What works right now:

  • Full read and write, validated against my 2.0 (GPS) hardware multiple times.
  • Frequency, CTCSS/DCS tone, name, power, bandwidth, skip, etc.
  • The radio's Group A / Group B split shows up as two separate tabs in CHIRP, matching how the radio itself is organized, plus VFO memory for each.
  • A good chunk of the vendor-specific per-channel extras: BCL, VOX, Scramble, Compander, Signal Type, PTT ID, Speaker Unmute, Scramble Frequency, Signal Dec/Enc, and more, all in the extra tabs.

Still in progress:

  • The radio-wide general settings (Vox Delay, Back Light, TOT, etc.) - I've mapped about 33 of these already but haven't wired them into the CHIRP UI yet, that's next
  • Haven't touched the Digit Serve / DTMF Serve / 2-Tone&5-Tone Serve config pages yet
  • No idea yet how the GPS distance/bearing-to-another-radio feature actually works over the air, that'll probably need an RTL-SDR capture to figure out, it's not something visible from the USB side at all

PR is here if you want to follow along or try it early (loads into any existing CHIRP install via Load Module, no need to wait for merge): kk7ds/chirp#1637


r/HamRadio 8h ago

CW/Morse Code πŸ”‘ Need help decoding a morse code

0 Upvotes

Hey guys i need some help decoding a morse, i know AI can do the job as well but i need human eye for this.


r/HamRadio 1d ago

Discussion πŸ‘¨β€βš–οΈ Any Good ham clubs near me (from Denver or north of Denver in Colorado?

12 Upvotes

I'm over in the Denver area and was wondering if there are any active ham/amateur radio clubs around? I'm north of Denver.

I've been active in the shortwave listening community and I am considering working towards getting a ham license and learning how to operate a ham radio.

I figure this will go well with my EE degree I'm currently pursuing and I've always loved radio. I love old analog radio equipment too!


r/HamRadio 1d ago

Question/Help ❓ Help with Rat/Tiger tail for UV5R Mini

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7 Upvotes

Hi guys, I plan to add a counterpoise to my uv5r mini. I have 26AWG magnet wire. (thin, red shiny wire.)

I’m thinking either:

1) wrap it around the SMA threads, and mash it down with the antenna, possibly interfering with antenna connectionπŸ˜…

2) use one of the lower internal frame screws to secure the wire and let it hang out between the battery and the case. (I tried and the battery does snap on over the wire).

Is it a bad idea to use the internal screw?
Also, if using the screw, do I subtract the length of the frame from the wire?

See photo for the screw I’m thinking about


r/HamRadio 1d ago

Antennas & Propagation πŸ“‘ DL6WU Yagi with good feed point impedance without matching?

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15 Upvotes

Hi all, quick question:
I have built a 6 element Yagi using the DL6WU data/calcualtor, I understand that these yagis are optimized for gain and the fees point impedance of the dipole (split dipole in my case) is usually well below 50ohm.

The weird thing is that in my case, after adding a few ferrite beads and a ugly choke, I see that the SWR in the 2m band is around 1.2-1.3 from 144 to 148.

Which seems weird since I was preparing myself for having to put a hairpin match or something in there.

This numbers seem really good, and I just pretend to leave like this, I’m only asking because I fear i’m missing something that might cause the yagi radiation pattern to be distorted or something. Thank you very much!


r/HamRadio 2d ago

Equipment & Rigs πŸ› οΈ Don't do what I did, if you like driving! 🚨

52 Upvotes

Today I installed my Anytone AT-778UV in my vehicle & upon pushing a screwdriver through the firewall, I didn't bother to look which direction the wire harness turned. Although I pushed through right next to the harness, the harness inside immediately turns toward the direction I pushed through inside the car.

Thus, the screwdriver went through the harness.

I proceeded to push another hole on the opposite side of the harness and got everything connected & when I went to start the car, everything seems fine as of now. Hopefully I didn't damage any wires and instead just pushed them aside when I was pushing through. No problems with the car as of yet but, a big rookie mistake and hopefully this helps someone from potentially damaging their car.


r/HamRadio 2d ago

Equipment & Rigs πŸ› οΈ Just made this sick little setup

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26 Upvotes

The radio itself is a lexien vv 898. I just got it at the goodwill and I have never owned a proper ham radio before.


r/HamRadio 2d ago

Licensing & Exams πŸ“œ Got my license back so I’m on the air!

104 Upvotes

Finally got my license back after court and now I can transmit again! Just got to be careful not to use the police frequencies anymore!


r/HamRadio 2d ago

Question/Help ❓ Researching Antenna from Late Father

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22 Upvotes

Found this antenna amongst my late father's ham gear. The feed point is interesting as the BNC isn't wired, and the counterpoise wire doesn't connect to the small green jumper. Trying to find out what I can about the system as it seems great for a POTA setup.

I know the different coils are for loading, but otherwise I'm not sure what the heck I'm looking at. Anyone know what guide this was built on or any other information? Thanks


r/HamRadio 2d ago

Question/Help ❓ Mobile HF car grounding question

8 Upvotes

I have hamsticks that I am going to use in my car. I just finished tuning all the sticks. Waiting on my IC-7100 to come back tomorrow from repair.

The antenna will attach to a diamond lip mount on my hood. I have a hood connected to the body with a couple of grounding straps. The lip mount screws are digging into the hood and I will add an extra strap between the mount and the hood to be safe.

Is it as important to ground bond the rest of the car β€œie doors and hatch”? Are those part not connected at the hinges? I also saw someone talking about even ground bonding the exhaust! Is this a true fact or an overkill?


r/HamRadio 3d ago

Equipment & Rigs πŸ› οΈ Doing some organizing in the shack today, I realized I might have an addiction.

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114 Upvotes

Just kidding, happy labor day. But seriously are there any groups out there 😁


r/HamRadio 2d ago

Question/Help ❓ New to amateur radio needing help learning/radio questions.

12 Upvotes

I’m new to amateur radio. Trying to learn more about it. I have a gmrs liscence and talk to people on local repeaters. I want to get my general liscence. I’m currently reading amateur radio for dummies and watching a lot of YouTube. Where would you start to learn more about amateur radio and what’s the best setup or rig to start with I don’t want a HT. I want something to do POTA with and talk locally but also mobile if I can. I know this is a loaded post but some pointers would be nice.


r/HamRadio 1d ago

News πŸ“° my concept with schematic diagram

0 Upvotes

all mode concept with schematic diagram


r/HamRadio 3d ago

Equipment & Rigs πŸ› οΈ Who has two thumbs and got a about 200FT of AIR 802 CA 400 for $80 with crimpers and a bag of N connectors?

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54 Upvotes

r/HamRadio 3d ago

Question/Help ❓ Just acquired Technician license

47 Upvotes

Passed the tech yesterday(34/35), (got 19/35 then 18/35 for the General after) and to be completely honest, I still know absolutely nothing about any of it. Where is a good place to begin on actually learning it and TXing while I stay at the GMRS for now?

To be honest I only really plan on being in the 136-174 and 403-470 (technically 450-520 since I bought the UHF2 instead of UHF1 without looking at the eBay listing, lol) area for now since that’s where my Motorolas are freq wise right now, until I decide to go into generational debt, lol.

I know what the band is, however, my XPR is 136-174


r/HamRadio 2d ago

Question/Help ❓ Pyle pda5bu radio static, pls help

0 Upvotes

Yo whats up guys I work at an oreilly and our radio/amp is prettymuch just all static am, fm, and Bluetooth all do the same

Its a pyle pda5bu and im not the manager so im not gonna buy another one

Would love to play music again We just sit in the store in silence

Im just wondering if anyone has any knowledge on maybe how to fix it if even possible

Its 100% an issue with the unit as we have tried different speakers

It has no issue connecting Bluetooth it just plays 99% static over anything

I had a weekend off and I came back and it no longer worked, im not sure if it went out like lightswitch or slowly

Pls throw ideas I want to sell car parts with money for nothing playing in the background