Your Ham Radio Adventure Starts Here
Practical ham radio from the field, the shack, the truck, and occasionally from the edge of questionable RF decisions.
N1JUR is built for hams who want to get on the air, explore Parks on the Air, build better portable setups, understand their gear, and have more fun making contacts.
Pick Your First Signal Path
Whether you’re brand new, trying POTA for the first time, or looking for gear that actually belongs in the bag, this is the fastest way into the N1JUR site.
Getting Started in Ham Radio
Learn the basics without getting buried under acronyms, gear lists, and unsolicited coax opinions.
POTA Activations
Field radio setups, activation lessons, antennas, batteries, logging, and real-world park operating.
Gear Reviews
Field-tested ham radio gear reviewed through the lens of actual use, not spec-sheet fantasy.
Fresh From the N1JUR Channel
The latest ham radio video from N1JUR — POTA, gear, portable operating, live streams, antenna experiments, and whatever RF rabbit hole happened this week.
Ham Radio Content Built Around Actually Getting on the Air
This site is organized around the parts of ham radio people actually come here for: portable operating, gear, live discussion, videos, and community.
Activations
Portable radio setups, park operating, batteries, antennas, logging, and real field lessons.
Gear Reviews
Radios, antennas, power, accessories, and what actually earns a spot in the go-kit.
Brew & Activate
Live ham radio conversations, POTA stories, gear talk, community Q&A, and RF chaos.
Newsletter
Videos, updates, field notes, gear talk, POTA lessons, and community happenings.
Field Notes, Builds, and Ham Radio Rabbit Holes
SEO-friendly, actually-useful ham radio articles for operators who want to build, activate, test, and understand the gear they use.
The 20-Minute End-Fed Half-Wave
A garage-built EFHW antenna that punches above its weight for portable ham radio and POTA.
Your First POTA Activation
A practical starter kit for your first Parks on the Air activation without overpacking the truck.
Wolf River vs MadDog vs Rez 80
A practical comparison of popular portable antennas for field radio and POTA operators.
Ham Radio Without Pretending Everything Went Perfectly
N1JUR is built around practical, real-world ham radio. The kind where bands are weird, batteries get low, antennas do unexpected things, and the one adapter you need is somehow sitting safely at home.
Around here, the goal is not to look perfect. The goal is to help more people get on the air, understand their gear, try portable radio, and enjoy the hobby without feeling like they need permission from the gatekeepers.
Don’t Just Watch From the Bushes
Watch the videos, join the livestreams, jump into Discord, and connect with other hams who are building kits, activating parks, chasing contacts, and making RF happen.
Join the Discord
POTA talk, gear help, activation stories, livestream chat, builds, and a healthy amount of RF weirdness.
Subscribe on YouTube
Get new videos, live streams, gear reviews, portable radio content, and field-radio lessons.
Get the Newsletter
Videos, updates, builds, field notes, POTA lessons, and community news directly in your inbox.
Start Simple. Get on the Air. Learn by Doing.
Whether you’re studying for your first license, planning your first POTA activation, building a portable kit, or trying to figure out which gear actually matters, N1JUR is here to help you move from watching ham radio to doing ham radio.
Pick a path, ask questions, and get on the air. The hobby gets a lot more fun once RF actually leaves the antenna.