Don't worry. I'm not starting another argument about whether FT8 is "real radio." We've done that.

Not every green space can become a POTA reference. Here's what qualifies as a POTA park, who decides, and why the rules need a line somewhere.

Want kids interested in ham radio? Stop making them watch demonstrations. Give them a microphone, Morse key, antenna, and something real to do.

POTA isn't dead. Parks are still being activated, pileups are still happening, and somehow we're still finding new ways to carry 70 pounds of "portable" radio gear into the woods.

Meshtastic and MeshCore are everywhere right now.

Small radios. Off-grid messaging. Mesh networks. No cell service.

And I'll admit it… the technology is pretty cool.

But I've started wondering why so many hams are jumping into it.

Are we trying to turn Meshtastic into another ham radio mode? Are we using it as a gateway to bring new operators into the hobby?

Or are we slowly branching further outside amateur radio because we're more interested in "off-grid communications" than actually playing radio?

I think Meshtastic is showing us something important about what new operators want.

The question is whether amateur radio is paying attention.

The new Icom IC-7110 has plenty of modern features. But is that really why we prefer one radio brand over another? Maybe it comes down to something much simpler

I went into Ham Camp hoping to introduce kids to amateur radio. I came out of it more excited about the hobby myself. Sometimes giving back is the best way to remember why we got into ham radio in the first place.

Think about what amateur radio looks like today.

Radios on picnic tables.

Antennas hanging from trees.

Backpacks on mountains.

People standing in fields pointing Yagis at satellites.

POTA, SOTA, satellites, Tiles on the Air, and portable operating are changing where we play radio.

And I think that's a very good thing.

But operating outside also teaches you some lessons the shack never will. Battery problems, forgotten adapters, wind, weather, and the realization that maybe you didn't need to pack three antennas for a 30-minute activation.

In the latest Field Notes, I'm looking at why ham radio is moving outdoors—and a few things I've learned from taking my station into the field.

We need to talk about SWR.

Again.

After spending three Brew & Activate episodes going down the antenna rabbit hole, I keep coming back to the same problem.

Hams are obsessed with getting an antenna to 1:1.

But a dummy load has great SWR too.

So what actually makes an antenna work?

Efficiency. Height. Radiation pattern. Takeoff angle. Feedline loss. Installation.

And yes… SWR still matters.

It just isn't the final score.

In the latest Field Notes, I'm tying together our Brew & Activate antenna series and looking at why it might be time to stop chasing the perfect SWR number.