Field Notes from N1JUR

Real-world ham radio tips, portable operating lessons, gear thoughts, and activation stories from the field to the shack.

What You’ll Find Here

This blog is where I go deeper than a YouTube description. You’ll find practical ham radio guides, activation lessons, gear breakdowns, and field notes from real operating experiences.

Some posts are beginner-friendly. Some get a little more technical. And some are just honest lessons from the field — because not every activation goes perfectly, and that’s usually where the good stuff happens.

  • Portable operating tips

  • POTA, SOTA, and location-based activation ideas

  • Gear and antenna experiments

  • Beginner-friendly ham radio guides

  • Field stories and lessons learned

Random Thoughts N1JUR Random Thoughts N1JUR

Your Local Net

Ever give your local Repeater net a try? Why not? Lets light up the airwaves

They are everywhere VHF, HF, Echolink, and DMR, to name just a few. Whether you prefer the Question and Answer, ARES/RACES Nets, Tech nights, or your average swap meets, there is something for everyone.

Hopefully, in your ham radio journey, you’ve gotten to participate in one. Let me encourage you to try it if you haven't.

“But I have mic fright!”

Is that the first thing that popped into your mind? Well, nothing is more exhilarating than tripping over your callsign, cracking your voice to get out, “This is N1JUR. And I have no traffic…” Trust me, after you get over the first step, it gets easier.

But this isn’t my reason for this blog post, and I wanted to share something fun and unique about nets that I think most people dismiss when you ask.


”What do/don’t you like about nets? “

Participating in your local repeater nets keeps the airwaves active and creates something for others to hear. Every time you press the PTT or the “transmit” on the Echolink app, you can pass on knowledge to those around you and give others the hobby of getting to know you.

Skip the argument over whether it’s “real radio,” as radio and RF aren’t anything without our voices, and the people behind those voices make this hobby so exciting.

Taking time to use our ears to hear and communicate with our voices is what Ham Radio is about to me.

So take some time this season to open up and share your stories with others on the next net. Try to make a new “physical connection” through Radio.

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