Besides motorcycles, and a few other things, I really enjoy ham radio. I have since I was about 12 years old, though there was a multi-decade break due to family life and work. Now that I’m back for a few years, I do operate from home but, even more, enjoy battery powered activity in the great outdoors. Whether camping, four-wheeling or motorcycling, I like bringing a radio, or two, sitting back with a cold one and reaching out on the airwaves to chat with interesting people and see how far my signal will take me.
After last year’s successful Moto DX Safari in which I went with friends ham radio camping with an Icom IC-7200 on a Honda Gold Wing, I decided to reprise the idea this year. Only this time I rode a 2016 Harley–Davidson CVO Road Glide Ultra to Temecula, Calif., to try out Icom America’s brand new IC-7300 rig with all the trimmings. The Ultra was a great choice, with its cavernous top case and panniers, to store gear, super-comfortable cockpit and its smooth and powerful ride that simply ate up the 150-mile, mostly freeway, ride to my destination.
The weather was warm and the skies sunny when I cruised into town and found the Doffo Winery, owned and operated by my friends Marcelo Doffo and his son Damian, a true family run winery. The various wines are delicious and, as important, the friendly atmosphere is a pleasure.
Doffo Winery Italian Motorcycles
Doffo Barrel Room
When in Southern California I highly recommend a visit. If you’re a motorcycle aficionado, I recommend you come to see the 100, or more, mostly vintage Italian bikes that litter the property with the best of all in the Barrel Room. Impressive is not a strong enough adjective. I will be following up this review with a travel story I’ll probably call “Harley meets Ducati at Doffo” and tell more about the sweet Ultra and the amazing Doffo Winery.
Even more importantly, for amateurs, Marcelo was once a ham and is radio friendly. Upon arrival, and after a glass of wine and some conversation, Marcelo pointed to the hill on the south end of the property. On it I found a few stone picnic tables covered by a permanent canvas fly.
The sun was out and a breeze was blowing the warm air through the tent-like structure and the far-off vistas were delightful to behold. This was truly a perfect spot in which to set up, hang out and operate the new equipment I was so excited about. Of course, I had been using the new radio for a couple of weeks before this date in order to acclimate myself to it….. READ MORE
Ziteng (Andy) Wang is a PhD student at the University of Sydney. He recently discovered an unusual radio signal coming from the direction of the Milky Way’s center. The radio waves Andy discovered using the ASKAP radio telescope in Western... Read more
Last News
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You asked for it, here it is: a live A/B test of the Wolf River Coil vs the Chameleon CHA-LEFS End Fed Half Wave antenna. Which will win in this Parks on the Air activation of Brunet Island State Park in northwest Wisconsin (POTA K-1442). This is not a scientific test and is for demonstration […] Read more
Jared, N0SPC, is the only ham in his country, and he has a question regarding phasing. He wants to know if he can use a phased array of mobile whips to get directivity? Yes and here is how… Read more
The Chameleon CHA-MPAS 2.0 just might be the best portable Ham Radio antenna that you can get today, due to its versatile configurations and compact size. Take a look at this video and let me know what you think about this great Ham Radio antenna. The Modular Portable Antenna System (MPAS 2.0) is a concept allowing […] Read more
One man’s observation of different radiation patterns that evolved from choosing different antenna installation orientations. What are your thoughts? Read more
HF verticals are very popular for the smaller suburban gardens. How do they perform and are there any improvements you should consider? Read more
Common Mode Current can really mess with RFI and cause interference in the shack. In addition, you could also be receiving unwanted interference on the coax outer shield. In this video I show how I built myself an easy CMC choke using a toroid and RG-58 coax.
Antenna
Handy 5 Elements 1200 Mhz Twin Loop Portable Antenna
Description Overview It will be 5 elements twin loop antenna of amateur radio 1200Mhz band for mobile. Decomposed and we try to carry. Connector will... Read more
Which is better: Vertical or Dipole?
Vertical or dipole? Which is better for you? Antenna modeling software (EZNEC+) helps answer the question! Read more
VHF/UHF/HF HEXTENNA ™ DELUXE VERTICAL / DIPOLE
The NEW DELUXE version of the HexTenna™ by Alpha Antenna® is a legal limit and full size portable VHF/UHF/HF system for 2 to 40 meters, 220MHz, &... Read more
Best Antenna Practices
“Donald Clark, KB6QEW, is having some trouble with his SWR. But because of some issues in understanding his situation Dave will answer the best... Read more
Review
Review of the MFJ-1835 Cobweb Antenna
MFJ Cobweb Antenna For restricted spaces, 5-Bands: 20/17/15/12/10 Meters . . . Restricted space spoiling your operating fun? MFJ Cobweb puts... Read more
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“ Volt-Ohm Meters ” – The Doctor Will See You Now! [ ARRL Podcast ]
Volt-Ohm Meters These meters have been around for decades and remain one of most useful pieces of test equipment you can own. “Volt-Ohm Meters” is t... Read more
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Clean up your shack – RSGB Convention lecture 2015 [ Video ]
Ian White, GM3SEK gives helpful advice about how to reduce noise levels on receive and avoid causing RF Interference. Read more
The PackTenna Mini 9:1 Random Wire Antenna Antenna
http://www.packtenna.com Read more
Equipment
RT-9000E SOFTWARE-DEFINED HF SSB/ISB RADIO
The Sunair RT-9000E is a proven solution in communications applications requiring rugged, reliable, and flexible equipment. This next generation trans... Read more
AOR AR-DV10 100 kHZ ~1300 MHZ
AOR AR-DV10 Here is a teaser on the new products for 2017-2018 which will be presented at the HAMFAIR AR-DV10 DIGITAL RECEIVER ● 100kHz～1300MHz Analog... Read more
New ! Band decoder with another TRX control output for Arduino
Allows you to read the frequency or band data from your transceiver and switch output relay(s) by the defined rules . Another feature allows you to se... Read more
YAESU FT-8900R
YAESU FT-8900R 29/50/144/430 MHz FM Transceiver The FT-8900R is a ruggedly-built, high quality Quad Band FM transceiver providing 50 Watts of power ou... Read more
FLEX-1500 – Software Defined Radio
The Entry Level QRP Software Defined Radio and Ideal IF Deck for VHF-Microwave Operation The FLEX-1500™ is a low-cost, low-wattage SDR that is... Read more
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