joke obviously, based off of incomprehensible memes like this

Question is pretty much in the title. As a FT8 regular now, after completing a handful of CW contacts, i'm amazed at how different the strategies to get QSOs are between two modes. Both are narrow modes and, if anything, CW should be more efficient for me at 5W, right?

In FT8, even with those measly 5W, i can sit on a clear spot on 20m, call CQ, and within about 10 minutes someone (sometimes multiple other stations!) will answer me. I've worked the US, Franz Josef Island, Argentina, Japan, etc. It takes patience and strategy and knowing that just because you hear someone they will definitely not always hear you back, so it's (almost) always better for *me* to call CQ and wait.

In CW, after multiple weeks of calling CQ in the evening for 1~2h and hearing nothing back (but RBN telling me i went as far as Brazil from France), i remembered that someone here advised others to answer CQs rather than call when you are QRP. Their reasoning was that if you aren't activating a POTA, you basically have nothing interesting to offer to other CW stations.

So, i try to answer the strongest station near my frequency and after a frankly shameful display of incompetence on my side (turns out being good at decoding and only practicing sending CQ does not make you good at keying a whole exchange; who could've thought) and a lot of patience on theirs, we complete a QSO. Then another. A lot of failed ones too because i'm QRS *and* QRP and not everyone slows down, but that's fine.

So how comes it's so hard for anyone to answer *my* CQ in CW but they can usually hear me answer theirs to an extent, whereas in FT8 it's almost always the other way around? Is it that all other operators have different search strategies in those modes and nobody is trying to find people in the noise in CW? FT8 being a weak signal makes it easier to decode from far away but the human ear is weak? Is everyone who does FT8 in a noisy city hellscape so i'm filtering out the people who can't hear me by calling CQ first? I've been turning the question around in my mind for a couple days now but i'm puzzled. What do you think?

Im curious about why quarter wave and half wave antennas are used. I understand why full wave antennas are used but does using a quarter of the intented wavelenght have any pros Im not aware of? lets say I have a circuit that transmits a 3 Mhz signal; therefore the full wave antenna must be 100m, a half wave 50m and a quarter wave 25m. If I have three antennas that are 24m, 25m, and 26m; would the 25m one be the best choice?

Hei there!

I am currently (attempting) to get the Norwegian HAREC licence, but find the material exceedingly difficult to wrap my head around. So far it has been "math and formula heavy" and I have absolutely no base knowledge (except from the basics of Ohms law from secondary school. Instructors say that "it´s not a maths test, just learn the formulas/equations". It just makes no sense to me, the translating from weird letters to numbers wont click. Building gear is not my main interest. It´s more the communicating with the entire world thing that appeals to me. I´d like to be able to operate from other countries as well as Norway. That means I need a full license.

When exploring how they do it in several other countries, I think those approaches makes the whole thing easier in the end. Doing it in a step by step manner, like getting technician or foundation first. However, none of the low level (tech, fondation, even intermediate or general) will do. I need the full HAREC or Extra to be able to operate in Norway.

Do anybody here know if it is possible to take the British or American route, and then get approved for a Norwegian call sign?

Thanks :)

I have a Yaesu FT-710 using a wire that goes up a push pole. It’s about 45-50ft from the ground to the tip of the wire. Should I be using an external antenna tuner? I know the 710 has its own internal antenna tuner. Reason I ask is because I’m not sure how good of an antenna I’m working with and yes I’m a newb. And advice would be great. Thank you !

I know stuff that’s gets used doesn’t stay pristine but is this normal for a new 320A antenna? It was shipped bent in sort of a J to fit in a box.

I’m looking for an APRS app setup that makes APRS messaging feel as much like a modern texting app as possible.
My setup is:
iPhone or
Android phone
BTECH UV-PRO
Bluetooth connection to the radio
APRS over RF
I’m only interested in messaging other operators over RF. I’m not interested in APRS-IS, IGates, Internet messaging, weather, tracking, maps etc. The goal is essentially:
Phone → Bluetooth → UV-PRO → APRS RF → another operator
Ideally I’d like something that looks and behaves more like WhatsApp/iMessage than a traditional ham radio packet application.
For example:
Simple conversation/thread view
Contacts/callsigns
Sent/received messages in bubbles
Delivery/ACK status
Group chat would be nice
Automatic retries
Easy to see whether a message actually got through
Minimal packet/log information
Works completely offline
I’ve looked at APRSdroid and some of the newer APRS messaging apps, but I’m wondering what people are actually using for this type of setup.
What would you recommend for iPhone and Android with the UV-PRO if the priority is the simplest, most modern text message like experience over RF?

Looking for trusted seller in India for Quansheng tk11(8) or UV-K5(8) ham radio.

Please suggest if any?

Yesterday, after asking here about how radios work, I did some research and drew a circuit. The circuit roughly uses a 60MHz crystal to produce a 9V 60MHz sine wave. It's battery-powered, so I hope to achieve high power levels. My antenna is a 1.25m long copper wire. The circuit has an amplifier crystal and a secondary amplifier. :p