The science of radio physics and the art of radio technology are both fascinating to me. I think the reason I find radio so fascinating is the incredibly wide array of different uses of radio throughout science, industry and everyday life. the study of radio waves and innovation in radio science has enabled technologies like walkie-talkies, which enable simple two-way communications between hikers, motorbike riders, or boats at sea. Another great example is the microwave oven, which uses ultra high-frequency radio waves to literally vibrate water molecules in your food to warm it up. The technology which allowed us to build microwave ovens is the very same technology which allows us to send pictures at light-speed across the planet with a simple handheld device, or stream movies or live television to our phones, all without any wires to send the data. These radio devices help to bring us closer together, expand our worlds and improve our lives. Most importantly however, they exemplify and help align humanity with its greatest goal, bringing glory to God.
If you're new to radio and you want to understand how and why radios work, please visit my "fundamentals of radio" page. (under construction!)
For those with a bit more experience, please see below for a list of links to radio-related webpages, documents and software:
ANswers to common questions:
Radio equipment manufacturers & retailers:
Ham Radio Outlet
Purports to be the world's largest supplier of amateur radio communication equipment. They employ a lot of older ham radio operators, many of whom have a lot of experience with the products they sell.
They are a good resource for service and troubleshooting if you choose to buy from them. They are usually the first to receive new radio equipment from manufacturers. They also offer cash or store credit for radio equipment trade-ins.
Online radio equipment retailer. They carry a wide variety of radios, antennas, cables and other radio equipment and accessories for both amateur and professional use.
In my experience, they are more likely to have equipment in stock and they stock a wider variety than other retailers. However, the cost is generally higher than other retailers who carry the same products.
Arrow Antennas
Carries a lot of good quality antennas and plans for building them. Parts are easy to find if you want to buy and build your own antennas rather than buy them.
I personally prefer to buy rather than build as building takes the same amount of time either way. If you go through Arrow Antennas you pay about $20 extra for the convenience of getting all the parts at once.
US antenna manufacturer, specializing in ham radio antennas and business communications antennas.
ANTENNA PLANS & INFORMATION:
Information on different antenna types, and theory behind operation.
WO7X Antenna Page (under construction!)
See my directory of different antenna types. Explore their characteristics and find plans for building them.
RADIO & cellular communications INFORMATION & REFERENCE
Wiki for identifying radio frequency signals, their usage and characteristics.
RepeaterBook (proximity search) (mobile apps)
Directory and search engine for local radio frequency repeaters. Filterable by frequency band, mode, distance from you, etc. They also have a mobile app for iOS and Android.
RadioReference
Radio communications data aggregator and provider. They maintain easily searchable records of all publically available radio license information and communications data.
You can find all of the radio licenses issued in your area (or anywhere) as well as their frequency allocations, power and bandwidth limits, frequency offsets, etc.
ONLINE RADIOS & REMOTE MONITORING
KiwiSDR (list) (map)
An internet accessible software-defined radio company. Many users set these up in remote locations and enable them for open access 24/7 via an internet connection.
They maintain a list of publically-accessible SDR receivers here, or use their map.
WebSDR is a software developed by Pieter-Tjerk de Boer, PA3FWM which enables a software-defined radio receiver to be connected to the internet, allowing remote users to access and listen to these receivers over the internet.
Pieter maintains the WebSDR.org site, which contains a directory of active publically-acessible SDR receivers. If you are interested in setting up a WebSDR, see his FAQ page and scroll down to the "Running a WebSDR server" section.
Public Airspy Servers
Directory of publically accessibly SDR receivers, directory is viewable in list form as well as an interactive map. These SDRs can be accessed by with the Airspy SDR# ("SDR Sharp") software.
Copy the listed server location URL (e.g. sdr://181.206.23.16:5555), in the SDR# software, open the "Source" panel and in the source drop-down menu select "AIRSPY Server Network." In the text box below, paste the copied URL and press the "Connect" button to the right of the text box. For more detailed instructions click here.
WO7X's interesting SDRs (under construction!)
A list of interesting or notable publically-accessible SDRs which I have bookmarked.
RADIO SOFTWARE
WO7X's radio software index
A list of notable or useful software related to amateur radio operation, electronics operation and troubleshooting, and other related topics.
© Joseph Lee McLaughlin, WO7X 2022-2024