Field Notes from N1JUR
Real-world ham radio tips, portable operating lessons, gear thoughts, antenna experiments, and activation stories from the field to the shack.
This is where the longer-form stuff lives: the lessons that need more room than a video description, the builds worth documenting, the POTA takeaways worth saving, and the “well, that was useful after it stopped being annoying” moments.
Fresh From the Logbook
The newest article from the N1JUR Field Notes collection — ham radio lessons, portable operating ideas, gear thoughts, antenna builds, and real-world takeaways from actually getting on the air.
Find the Notes That Match Your Current RF Problem
Whether you’re new to ham radio, planning your first POTA activation, comparing antennas, or trying to avoid another questionable packing decision, start here.
Getting Started
Beginner-friendly articles, practical explanations, first-station thoughts, and advice for getting from licensed to actually active.
Activations
Parks on the Air lessons, portable radio setups, field notes, logging ideas, batteries, antennas, and activation stories.
Gear & Antennas
Field-tested gear notes, antenna comparisons, build thoughts, power setups, and what actually earns a spot in the bag.
Past Posts, Builds, Lessons, and Rabbit Holes
Browse older Field Notes covering ham radio basics, POTA activations, portable gear, antenna ideas, field operating lessons, and the occasional RF decision that made more sense before leaving the house.
Plant today for ham radio future
As passionate ham radio operators, we uphold an unspoken creed rooted in our commitment to prepare for and respond to disasters. While our dedication has proven invaluable throughout history, I believe we are not fully leveraging the potential of our hobby for the greater good.
Bridging Generations and Fostering Growth in Your Struggling Ham Radio Club
Whether it’s dwindling membership, a lack of engagement, or just a general sense of stagnation, it can be tough to keep the momentum going. But fear not! As a leader, you have the power to turn things around and foster growth while bridging the gap between generations. Let’s explore some fun and effective ways to rejuvenate your club and create an inclusive environment that appeals to everyone.
Ham Alert: The Tool Every POTA Hunter Should Probably Be Using
Ham Alert is one of those tools that sounds simple until you realize how powerful it actually is. If you hunt POTA, chase DX, follow friends, or just want to stop refreshing spotting pages like a raccoon with a caffeine problem, this guide and playlist will help you get started.
The Beard Challenge Has Begun… Blame Shannon
The Beard Challenge has officially begun… and yes, Shannon KC1OHT is absolutely to blame. During the latest Brew & Activate livestream, a simple joke turned into a full-blown community challenge: if we raise $500 in Super Chats, I’ll grow a beard. It’s ridiculous, it’s community-driven, and somehow it is now officially a thing. Check out the stream that started it all, join us for the next Brew & Activate, and help push the chaos toward the goal.
Why Most Portable Setups Fail Before You Even Key Up
The operator who gets on the air quickly almost always ends up having more fun than the operator building a NASA ground station in the parking lot.
Overpacking Kills Motivation
This is the part people don’t talk about enough.
Heavy setups slowly make you not want to activate.
The 20-Minute POTA Activation — Efficient or Lazy?
Can you really have a successful Parks on the Air activation in just 20 minutes? Here’s why short portable ham radio activations might matter more than you think.
The 20-Minute End-Fed Half-Wave: A Garage-Built Antenna That Punches Above Its Weight
The first antenna I bought for POTA cost me $75 and worked fine. The second antenna I built in my garage for about $18 in parts and worked better. I'm not saying that to sound clever — it's just how it went, and it's a pretty common story. The end-fed half-wave antenna is one of the most forgiving, portable, and genuinely effective antennas you can put up in a park. And if you build your own, you'll know exactly what's in it, which pays off every time something needs troubleshooting.
Your First POTA Activation: A Lazy-Sunday Starter Kit That Just Works
You've had your license for a few months. Maybe you've done some repeater work, chatted on a local net, maybe made a couple HF contacts from your living room. And then somebody mentions Parks on the Air and suddenly you're down a rabbit hole at midnight reading activation reports and thinking — okay, I need to do this. The problem is nobody hands you a checklist that says exactly what to bring and exactly what to do. So let me be that person. Here's the honest, no-fluff starter kit for your very first POTA activation.
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New articles, videos, activation notes, gear thoughts, antenna experiments, and community updates should not depend entirely on whether an algorithm had coffee.
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N1JUR is built around helping more people get active in ham radio through videos, Field Notes, POTA content, live streams, gear reviews, and community.
If you already watch the channel and want to support more of the work behind it, memberships are one way to help keep the signal going.
Videos. Field Notes. Live Streams. Community.
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Read the Notes. Watch the Videos. Get on the Air.
Field Notes are only useful if they help you do something: build the antenna, pack the bag, activate the park, try the mode, fix the mistake, or finally make the contact.
Start with an article, follow it into a video, bring your questions to the community, and then go make some RF happen.
Ham Radio Makes More Sense When You Actually Do It
Reading helps. Watching helps. But the real learning happens when you put the gear on the table, get outside, call CQ, and find out what works today.
Start Here →
Before everyone grabs their pitchforks… hear me out.
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.
But POTA is changing.
Have we gotten so focused on contacts, awards, gear, and the next activation that we've started to forget what made POTA fun in the first place?
I think the next chapter of POTA might have less to do with chasing numbers and more to do with getting outside, bringing people together, and just playing radio.