Your Ham Radio Adventure Starts Here
Practical ham radio from the field, the shack, and the truck. Learn POTA,portable gear, antennas, and on-air lessons without pretending everything goes perfectly.
POTA Bag Roast Is Coming
Think your POTA bag is efficient? Think it is chaotic? Think it contains three radios, six adapters, and at least one snack you forgot in April? Submit your field bag for a future Brew & Activate POTA Bag Roast and let Eric N1JUR and Shannon KC1OHT lovingly roast your setup live.
The Signal Made It 6,000+ Strong
The Brew Crew did it. N1JUR has officially crossed 6,000 subscribers, and that deserves more than a quiet little update buried somewhere on the internet. We’ll be hosting a special live celebration stream soon to hang out, talk ham radio, look back at the road to 6K, and have some fun with the community that helped carry the signal this far.
Celebration Stream Coming
We’ll be hosting a special live stream soon to celebrate reaching 6K with the N1JUR community.
Partner Giveaways
We’ll have some fun giveaways from favorite channel partners, including Reliance, Mad Dog, and others.
Community First
This milestone happened because people watched, shared, subscribed, showed up live, and helped keep the RF moving.
Giveaway details, timing, eligibility, and any stream-specific rules will be announced with the celebration livestream. No purchase will be required to participate.
Beard-or-Bust • Weekly Video Log
The Beard Is Growing.
The Community Is in Control.
Follow the Beard Log as I document the good, the awkward, and the increasingly questionable stages of growing this community-funded beard.
Watch the weekly progress videos, share your grooming advice, and help the Brew Crew shape the final rules of the Beard-or-Bust challenge. Apparently, giving the Internet influence over my facial hair was a completely reasonable decision.
Progress updates, community votes, grooming experiments, and absolutely no guarantee that my wife will recognize me when this is finished.
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
Fresh ham radio articles pulled automatically from the Field Notes blog — including portable operating lessons, antenna builds, POTA tips, gear thoughts, and real-world notes from the shack, truck, and field.
Ham Radio Swag for the Field and Shack
Shirts, hats, drinkware, and gear inspired by portable radio, Brew & Activate, and making RF weird.
Fresh From the N1JUR Store
Select a product to see available colors, sizes, and styles.
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.
The Xiegu G7250 looks promising, but a large screen, 100 watts, and an Ethernet connection do not tell the complete story.
Here is a level-headed examination of what has been confirmed, what the specifications suggest, and what still needs to be proven.