Ever wonder why some stations just can’t seem to copy your call sign? If you’ve got a “9” in there — this one’s for you.
In this quick video, I explain why the word “nine” often disappears on SSB and why “niner” is the correct way to say it (according to the NATO phonetic alphabet). It’s not nit-picking — it’s about being heard through weak signals, narrow bandwidth, and QSB.
I’ll show you which numbers most often get lost in the noise (hint: 0, 4, and 9), and how one simple habit can help you make more successful DX contacts.
👉 Learn why “Mike NIN-ER Alpha Bravo Charlie” works better than “Mike Nine…” — and how to make sure you’re never the one repeating your call 10 times!
N1MM Contest Logging Made Easy! (Perfect for Beginners) CQWW
In this video, I walk you through everything you need to know — from finding contests, checking the rules, to setting up N1MM for logging your contacts.
I’ll show you how to:
Use calendar to find upcoming events
Understand CQ Zones, categories, and overlays
Configure N1MM for your rig
Create and manage logs for contests like CQ Worldwide DX
Improve your operating skills through contesting!
Even if you’re not into competition, you’ll see how contesting sharpens your accuracy, signal handling, and pile-up skills. Anyone can join in — and it’s great fun!
📡 My station: DX Commander – Multi-2 setup / 8 antennas
💬 Share your contest experience in the comments — what’s your favourite one?
#HamRadio #N1MM #Contest #CQWW #DXCommander
0:00 How to Enter a Contest
0:20 Anyone Can Join – Even Beginners
1:00 Why Submitting a Check Log Helps Everyone
1:45 Using N1MM for Contest Logging
2:15 Finding Contests at contestcal.com
2:50 Understanding CQ Zones and Exchange (59 + Zone)
3:30 Contest Categories and Power Levels
4:15 Opening N1MM for the First Time
5:00 Configuring Ports and Station Data
5:40 Setting Up a New Log for CQ Worldwide
6:40 Making Your First Contact in N1MM
7:30 Why Contesting Improves Your Skills
8:30 What Contesting Teaches You About Propagation
9:30 Multi-Op, Multi-2 and Station Testing
10:00 Two Contests at Once? It’s Possible!
I Built a Self-Lowering Antenna Mast for My Ham Radio Tower!
After weeks of planning and fabrication, I finally fitted a 12 V winch to my ham radio antenna mast — and it works beautifully.
This video shows the full process of building a self-lowering tower using a falling-derrick system. From drilling and painting the custom angle-iron bracket to wiring the remote-controlled Winchmax unit, every stage leads up to that magical moment when the 14 m mast lowers itself effortlessly.
🔹 Tower height: 14 metres
🔹 Winch: Winchmax 12 V (1200 kg)
🔹 System: Falling Derrick with shock-absorbing mooring rope
The end result? A tower that can be safely raised and lowered at the touch of a button — no sweat, no strain, just solid engineering.
Stick around for the drone footage — it’s one of the most satisfying builds I’ve ever filmed.
73,
Callum (M0MCX)
—
🎥 Next video: Taming the 4-Square!
0:00 The Plan – Building a Self-Lowering Mast
0:34 Preparing the Winch Mount
2:00 Drilling & Fitting the Angle Iron
4:10 My Vintage Pillar Drill (Ajax)
6:05 Cutting & Painting the Bracket
10:22 Stainless Bolts & Final Assembly
12:00 Wiring the Winch & Remote Control
16:38 Day Two – Setting Up the Falling Derrick
18:46 Checking Guy Ropes & Safety Lines
19:48 Mooring Rope Trick for Shock Absorption
22:27 The Big Moment – First Power-Down Test
25:30 Raising the Tower Again
26:46 Drone Footage – Smooth Lowering in Action
30:13 Fixing the Rotator & Camera Mount
30:55 The Big Lift
33:37 Lessons Learned & Improvements
35:11 Tired vs. Exhausted – A Quick Reflection
36:06 What’s Next – Taming the 4-Square
It’s crunch time for the 40 metre 4-Square! Today I’m on a mission to tame the "Beast" – tightening connectors, colour-coding the feed lines, and fitting what feels like a mountain of ferrites (about 40 of them… nearly £300 worth!) to choke every last piece of unwanted current.
There’s plenty of laughter, plenty of solder, and a fair bit of head-scratching as I prepare for the final "X = 0" tune-up. We’ll talk coax, choking strategy, dump-load measurements, and how to keep a 4-Square behaving before that all-important tuning day.
Grab a brew – this is the big push before perfection.
📡 Ferrite mix: Type 31
SPENT TODAY:
💷 £297 on ferrites
💷 £110 on the 33m of Aircell 7
🧰 Next episode: "X = 0 – Final Tune!"
0:00 Intro & today’s mission
0:20 Ferrites everywhere
1:00 Cabinet & connectors
2:00 Colour-coding feed lines
3:15 Clip-on vs wound chokes
4:45 Cabinet tidy-up
6:10 Ferrites on each radiator
8:40 Type 31 mix
10:10 Heat-shrink & Ox-Guard
13:50 Connection fixes
14:50 Dump-power check
15:30 Choking the tower
17:00 Coax recovery
18:30 Storm & dead-man anchor
20:00 Old coax reels
21:10 New patch lead
23:00 Cable-wrangling tricks
25:20 Cable-tie chaos
27:30 Power-meter setup
28:15 First readings
28:50 X=0 tease & wrap-up
A simple job that somehow took all afternoon! Today I’m re-tuning the 160 metre leg of my 80 / 160 fan dipole — dropping the resonance from 1.94 MHz down to 1.85 MHz where the amp is happiest.
I’ll show how longer = lower (it still catches me out sometimes!), explain why the UK full-power segment matters, and talk a bit about impedance, quarter-wave 75 Ω sections, and matching tricks for low NVIS dipoles.
Original Build: https://youtu.be/PV5GdAZ1nfo
Expect the usual chuckles, dog balls, and unexpected wander into the woods…
Gear used: DX50 Kevlar wire, 75 Ω coax, analyser, and a mug of tea.
4-Square Antenna: Today’s mission: get everything grounded, bolted, and ready before the big 4-Square tune-up!
I realised I’d tuned the array for best SWR, not for X = 0, so before I fix that – we need to sort the tower, coax, and winch area – all with proper grounding.
Tasks:
👉 Hammer in new copper rods and bond them to the mast and cabinet
👉 Mount the winch battery cabinet on C16 timbers
👉 Add a grounding plate and lugs for coax feeds
👉 Tidy the wiring for the new Multi-2 setup
👉 Talk about why my ACOM amp saga still isn’t over 😅
If you enjoy real-world ham-radio builds, with mistakes, fixes, and learning as we go — you’ll love this one.
Next video: the final 4-Square tuning and on-air test!
00:00 – Intro & The 4-Square Mistake
00:35 – Why X=0 Matters More Than SWR
01:00 – Grounding Before Tuning
02:20 – Cutting Timbers for the Winch Cabinet
03:40 – Mounting the Heavy Cabinet
05:20 – Planning the Dead-Man Anchor & Winch Setup
06:15 – Hammering in the Ground Rod
07:00 – ChatGPT Told Me to Do This?!
08:10 – Grinding & Prepping the Cabinet Backplate
09:00 – The AOM Amplifier Saga Continues
11:00 – Drilling, Tapping & Making Grounding Plates
13:00 – Connecting the Ground Straps
15:20 – Testing Tower Bonding & Rotator Ground
17:00 – Thinking About the Falling Derrick Design
18:40 – ‘Invisibleising’ the Tower (Grounding Strategy)
20:00 – Checking Every Connection
21:00 – Final Ground Tests – It’s All Bonded!
22:00 – Wrap-Up & Plans for the Next Tune-Up
Important engineering upgrades in the antenna field – improving the foundations for the new lightweight tower, installing a Dead-Man anchor for the electric winch, and grounding the tower to the radial network.
The day starts with a look at the original winch post and the maths behind its load capacity. Although the first anchor could handle around 200 kg, the mechanical advantage of the increased height on the falling-derrick (not a “gin pole”!) introduced additional torque and stress. The solution? An engineered Dead-Man anchor buried crosswise – the same principle used in bridge and harbour design.
We pour, cure, and backfill the new anchor, review older ones, and make key decisions about reinforcement and concrete volume. Then it’s on to grounding: bonding the radial field directly to the tower base and cabinet using copper strap and self-amalgamating tape for long-term corrosion resistance.
Along the way, we cover:
➡️ Calculating load and fulcrum points on a small tower system
➡️ Practical tips for mixing and pouring small-batch concrete outdoors
➡️ Grounding and bonding strategy for multi-antenna installations
➡️ Managing radials around automated mowers
➡️ Handling real-world compromises when parts or materials are missing
Also featuring: spontaneous design decisions, visits from Junior and Django, drill bit snapping mid-hole!
By the end of the day, all anchors are upgraded, the tower base is bonded, and we’re ready for the next phase – raising the lightweight tower in time for CQ Worldwide.
0:00 – Intro & plan of attack
0:45 – Why the old anchor wasn’t enough
2:00 – Mixing and pouring the new concrete
6:00 – Upgrading existing anchors (and some decisions!)
8:00 – Explaining the Dead-Man concept
10:00 – Improvised engineering & “Callum moments”
13:30 – Dogs arrive on site
16:00 – Drilling, bending & building the Dead-Man anchor
20:00 – Grounding the tower and radials
23:00 – Review & next-phase tower talk
📡 More DX Commander builds:
➡️ [Signature 12.4 Setup and Test]
➡️ [40 m 4-Square Explained]
➡️ [Remote Station Build Series]
