Can You Use a Rode Procaster on SSB for Ham Radio?
Today I received a very kind surprise from John Bait G7OAE – a Rode Procaster microphone to try on our radio setup. I currently use an Electro-Voice RE27ND on Station #1 and an RE20 at home, so I’m fascinated to see how the Procaster compares for ham radio particularly on SSB.
Some broadcast-style dynamic microphones can sound fantastic on radio, but they often need quite a lot of gain. The RE20, for example, is famously “quiet” compared to hotter microphones like the RE27ND.
So the question is: Will a Rode Procaster actually work well on amateur radio?
Today’s video is a bit different. My DJI Pocket 3 has gone back to Amazon for repair, so I dusted off my trusty Canon 80D, stuck an old stereo Rode microphone on top and thought I’d just sit down and have a chat. This is completely unscripted.
I wanted to talk through all the projects currently on the go here at the station, what still needs finishing, what’s worrying me, what’s exciting me, and what videos are likely coming up over the next few months.
Topics include:
• Mast #2 and the 15m Yagi
• Rotator Genius control issues
• Remote station development
• 160m antenna experiments
• PTT lockout protection
• Relay protection and amplifier switching
• Ethernet infrastructure around the field
• Future communications shed plans
• Lightning and surge protection
• IOTA Contest plans
• DX Fest / Open Day preparations
• Diversity reception vs stereo receive
• Future video ideas
So grab a coffee, pull up a chair and join me in the shack for a while.
Today I want to show you a hidden trick with 2-VFO radios that completely changed how I listen and manage to pile-ups on HF. Most amateurs use dual VFOs for split operation – listening to the DX on one VFO and the callers on the other. But I accidentally discovered another use entirely.
By using two completely different antennas at the same time – for example a vertical on one VFO and a low dipole or delta loop on the other – you can create a kind of stereo image in your headphones. Longer-distance, low-angle DX may appear strongly in one ear, while more local stations arrive more strongly in the other.
On 40m and below this becomes fascinating.
In this video I demonstrate:
How I configure left/right audio
Why different antennas hear signals differently
How arrival angle affects reception
Why this helps untangle pile-ups
Why 2-VFO radios are far more useful than most people realise
Today we continue work on Tower #2 and the 15m Yagi project… but halfway through the fiberglass falling derrick experiment, I realised I didn’t fully trust it.
Originally, the idea was simple: replace the heavy aluminium derrick with fiberglass to reduce weight and make the whole tower system easier to manage.
The problem? Fiberglass bends. A lot.
And after already having one tower-related mishap recently, I decided I really didn’t fancy another disaster involving a mast and several metres of expensive antenna hardware!
So this video became a real-world engineering rethink:
drilling and fitting lifting eyes
hot-swapping mast sections
balancing weight versus rigidity
guy tension adjustments
dealing with stretchy rope
British weather interruptions ☔
and eventually redesigning the derrick into a hybrid steel/fiberglass system
This is very much “field engineering” rather than textbook engineering. We experiment, rethink things, salvage what we can and gradually evolve the station one step at a time.
Next job:
Get the 15m Yagi properly mounted right at the top of the mast, wire up the elements and finally get the station fully operational across all bands again.
As always, thanks for watching and supporting this tiny little niche hobby of ours.
There is no such thing as the “perfect” coax. Everything depends on the application.
In this video I go through the coax I use for:
– patch leads
– portable operation
– permanent HF installations
– direct-bury runs
– low-loss feeder
– hardline
We also discuss:
– coax loss in the real world
– why 3 dB isn’t always a disaster
– reading coax spec sheets
– bend radius and durability
– branded vs unbranded coax
– connector losses
– HF vs VHF/UHF considerations
Setting Up SSB Audio Properly - Mic Gain, ALC & Proc
Setting up SSB audio on a modern HF transceiver is actually much easier than many people think… once you understand the balancing act between:
– Mic Gain
– ALC
– Compression / Processing
– Output Power
In this video I show you the exact process I personally use whenever I set up a new radio.
We look at:
– What ALC actually does
– Why overdriving sounds terrible
– Why no ALC is important for digital modes
– How compression stabilises your signal
– Why your power meter jumps around on SSB
– Mic technique and distance
– Common mistakes new operators make
– Why “more mic gain” is often the WRONG answer
This isn’t a laboratory-grade engineering lecture – it’s simply the practical real-world method I use in the shack every day.
Whether you’re brand new to HF or you’ve been operating for years, hopefully this helps you get cleaner, stronger and more consistent audio on the air.
The DX Commander Open Day is NOT on Sunday 16th August.
It’s on Saturday 15th August 2026.
In this video I explain the correction, chat about what happens on the day, why I’ve never really been a fan of traditional rallies, and why I think amateur radio works best when people have time to stop, talk, have a coffee and enjoy themselves.
We’ll have:
• DX Commander shop open with 20% off everything
• B-grade poles available while stocks last
• Food available throughout the afternoon
• Plenty of antennas to look at
• Lots of radio chat
• A few familiar YouTube faces
• The usual collection of radio amateurs wandering around with coffee in hand
The gates open at 12:00 and we finish at 16:00.
A registration link will be published in a future video. There’s no obligation – it just helps us estimate numbers.
If you’re thinking of coming, leave a comment below and let me know.
Today we’re doing some unexpected antenna field maintenance… tree surgery! 🌳 The problem? The trees had grown so much that I could no longer clearly see the big Yagi from inside the shack camera. That might sound silly… until you’re rotating antennas and wondering what they’re about to hit!
We also need clearance for the prototype 160m vertical when the mast comes down, so out came the extendable electric chainsaw.
This video turned into a mixture of practical antenna maintenance, one-man-build philosophy and mild chaos… including my “full protective equipment” speech immediately followed by a shot of me wearing flip-flops. 🤦♂️
A lot of people say “just hire someone,” but running a small business and building everything around flexible one-man operation is exactly why these projects work in the first place.
Hope you enjoy the video – and if your antennas are disappearing into the trees… it might be time to get trimming!
PS – We’re not quite a 3-man business because we also have Gina who works part time and makes up all your accessory boxes. You can see Gina in this video: https://youtu.be/32D88rbkTwU
Today we finally build and mount the new 15m monoband Yagi at Holly Farm. This one is designed from the outset so I can eventually interlace a 6m beam into the same boom, so there’s a fair bit of planning, measuring, balancing and “that’ll probably work…” engineering involved along the way!
In this episode:
MMANA-GAL modelling and far-field plots
Building the boom and element mounts
Rapid Pole / fibreglass element construction
Heat-shrink engineering fixes that actually worked surprisingly well!
Mast #2 comes back down again
Fitting the boom-to-mast clamp
Temporary guying and “orphan” support lines
Falling derrick system in action
Raising the tower with the new beam fitted
First look at the new 15m setup at 12m / 40ft
The idea here is to have dedicated Yagis for 10m, 15m and 20m all running independently with 20m and 15m on seprate rotators.
Still plenty to do yet – coax, driven element, tuning, balancing and eventually the 6m interlaced build – but mechanically, we’re getting very close now.
As always, this is real-world amateur radio engineering. Sometimes elegant. Sometimes slightly chaotic. Usually both!
Last week we toured the antenna field – today we go inside the shack. This station has gradually evolved into a fully remote-capable multi-2 HF contest and DX station designed around flexibility, redundancy and experimentation.
In this video I walk through the overall philosophy of the build and show how the entire system works together, including:
* TS-990 operating positions
* Multi-2 contest infrastructure
* Remote mains switching using Shelly relays
* Antenna Genius coax switching
* Rotator Genius control
* Automatic band-pass filtering
* ACOM 2000 remote startup
* ACOM Director
* RUSTDESK RDP
* RF isolation between stations
* Coax entry and field routing
* Shack networking
* Remote desktop operation
* Audio routing and monitoring
* Behringer XR18 integration
* Power distribution
* Logging Software (N1MM and QSO Director)
* Monitoring cameras
* Future station expansion
The goal was never to build a “perfect” shack – only a practical one that keeps evolving as new ideas appear. One of the most interesting parts of this project has been solving all the little engineering problems that appear when you place multiple HF stations close together:
It’s still a work in progress, but hopefully this gives you some ideas for your own shack – whether you’re building a small home station or a fully remote HF setup.
