Category: K8MRD Radio Stuff

Mike K8MRD’s Videos

Total Teardrop Renovation Start To Finish

Post author By admin
Post date July 8, 2026

Total Teardrop Renovation Start To Finish

I didn’t want to, but @HamRadioK8FAE insisted, so we spent the weekend remodeling the teardrop. It looks amazing now! New paint & new floors totally transformed the camper. Some mistakes were made, solutions were found, and I got to buy a nail gun! In the beginning of all of this I had absolutely no intention of make a video but I did start getting some shots for B-Roll just incase I wanted to use it for something in the future. That ended up turning into my very first voice over narrated video taking us on the journey from start to finish. Hopefully it doesn’t suck too bad. What a transformation a couple coats of paint and some new flooring can make!
Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjETc3psT6i7B5z6S1Y3ojQ/join

⭐️Consider becoming a Patron @ https://www.patreon.com/k8mrdradiostuff
Follow me on Twitter. https://twitter.com/k8mrd

⭐️Links to many of the things I use can be found here:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/k8mrdradiostuff
As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
⭐️⭐️LINKS TO OTHER COOL STUFF: affiliate where available
⭐️Save 10% off at https://www.bioennopower.com with Coupon Code HRT
⭐️Save up to 20% off your Coax order at ABR Industries. Code K8MRD10 at checkout.

⭐️The SkyHook Portable Mast Antenna Mount
http://www.thehamstop.com/
Code K8MRDRADIO for 20% off
⭐️Fara-J Antennas: https://vfcomms.com/?sca_ref=10776057.9X2g5LehW7Er
⭐️Earn 2X Points At Gigaparts With Code K8MRD:
https://www.gigaparts.com/nsearch/?lp=K8MRD%20INFLUENCER%20PAGE
⭐️Save 10 % off Messi & Paoloni & ABR Industries Coax With Code MP10 https://www.gigaparts.com/nsearch/?lp=Mike%20Coax%2010%20Off#?lp=Mike+Coax+10+Off&search_return=all&res_per_page=60
⭐️10% off Messi & Paoloni Coax
Use code K8MRD for 10% off
https://messi.it
(USA & Canada get free shipping on orders $99 euros or more!)
⭐️Signal Stuff Signal Stick Antennas: https://signalstuff.com/?ref=4089

#hamradio #hamradiotube #parksontheair

K8MRD Radio Stuff Youtube

ABR Industries FME Connectors Are A Game Changer!

Post author By admin
Post date July 6, 2026

ABR Industries FME Connectors Are A Game Changer!

Coax installations in cramped spaces has never been easier with these ABR Industries FME Connectors!
⭐️Save up to 20% off your Coax order at ABR Industries. Code K8MRD10 at checkout.

⭐️Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjETc3psT6i7B5z6S1Y3ojQ/join

⭐️Consider becoming a Patron @ https://www.patreon.com/k8mrdradiostuff
Follow me on Twitter. https://twitter.com/k8mrd

#hamradio #hamradiotube #parksontheair

K8MRD Radio Stuff Youtube

Is ARRL Field Day Becoming Obsolete?

Post author By admin
Post date July 3, 2026

Is ARRL Field Day Becoming Obsolete?

I love ARRL Field Day. But I’m also primarily a portable operator who loves going in the woods with my ham radio. So I often wonder to myself, with the popularity of POTA & SOTA, and so many ham radio operators already operating portable, why do we still make such a big deal out of Field Day? Sure it’s a way to introduce ham radio to the public, meet people, have those eyeball QSO’s, get together with like minded individuals, learn, share, experiment…But honestly, doing field day from inside an air conditioned building, while very comfortable, kinda defeats the entire purpose of it. Why do so many operators wait for the 2 days a year (winter and summer field days) to go outside and play radio? You don’t even have to be doing an OTA. You can just setup in your back yard with a couple cold pops. Go down the street to a local park (which I have done many times before POTA entered my life). Just be outside. Be portable. Practice your skills. What do you need? What do you NOT need? How can you streamline your portable gear to maximize efficiency and minimize bulk and weight? We can only do that by practicing our skillset. We get better and we learn something each time we do it. For me, POTA IS the "practicing our emergency communication skills under adverse conditions". Battery power, often times QRP radios, antennas set up in less than ideal conditions, being out in the elements, going off the beaten path, trying to not get bitten by all the venomous things in Texas that want to kill you, etc. Being off grid. I had no cell signal on this activation either so I got to spot myself via satellite with the iOS app Offline Spotter which was pretty cool. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/offline-spotter-for-pota-sota/id6740120163
Just food for thought. What say you?

Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjETc3psT6i7B5z6S1Y3ojQ/join

⭐️Consider becoming a Patron @ https://www.patreon.com/k8mrdradiostuff
Follow me on Twitter. https://twitter.com/k8mrd

#hamradio #hamradiotube #parksontheair

K8MRD Radio Stuff Youtube

Caitlins First QRP POTA Activation!

Post author By admin
Post date July 1, 2026

Caitlins First QRP POTA Activation!

This morning Caitlin @HamRadioK8FAE and I set out to do one thing. Hike, and Ham Radio. 2.5 miles in and 2.5 mils out to the famous Forrest Gump bench. My absolute favorite place in Huntsville State Park. The bands were a little up and down. The QRM was out in force being the day before field day. Good to hear so many people taking the day off work to play radio though lol! It was a bit of a challenge but she muscled through and we had a great time. She even let me use my radio when she was done!
⭐️Oh, here’s a link to the BNC thing I’m using on my 705 bag, it’s pretty awesome: https://k5acp.net/index.php/product/bnc-molle-antenna-clip-coax/
⭐️Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjETc3psT6i7B5z6S1Y3ojQ/join

⭐️Consider becoming a Patron @ https://www.patreon.com/k8mrdradiostuff
Follow me on Twitter. https://twitter.com/k8mrd

#hamradio #hamradiotube #parksontheair

K8MRD Radio Stuff Youtube

I Crashed 4 Ham Radio Clubs For Field Day!

Post author By admin
Post date June 29, 2026

I Crashed 4 Ham Radio Clubs For Field Day!

Happy field day everyone! I hope you’re having a great weekend. I wanted to do something different this field day. I wanted to see what everyone else was doing. So I set out on a Field Day Rove to visit as many Clubs as possible. I wanted to see their setups, their antennas, their radios, and meet some new people. I was not disappointed. We started our journey Saturday morning by driving all the way to Austin, TX. (3 hours away from me) and working our way back to Huntsville and hitting Field Day sites along the way. It was an awesome day and we met a lot of really great people. I hope you enjoy!
⭐️Austin Amateur Radio Club: www.austinhams.org
⭐️Bastrop County Amateur Radio Club: www.bcarc-hams.org
⭐️Washington County Amateur Radio Club: https://w5aum.radio
⭐️Houston Pota: https://houstonpota.wordpress.com

Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjETc3psT6i7B5z6S1Y3ojQ/join

⭐️Consider becoming a Patron @ https://www.patreon.com/k8mrdradiostuff
Follow me on Twitter. https://twitter.com/k8mrd

#hamradio #hamradiotube #parksontheair

K8MRD Radio Stuff Youtube

How To Setup Your QMX With Winlink Express & VARA HF

Post author By admin
Post date June 26, 2026

How To Setup Your QMX With Winlink Express & VARA HF

I had all but given up on this a while ago but a viewer sent me a Winlink email asking about setting up the QMX with Winlink Express. I didn’t think it was possible but I asked in the chat of @HamRadioCrashCourse live stream on Saturday if it was possible and the answer was YES. So after some tinkering around with settings and some research on the https://groups.io/g/QRPLabs/topic/qmx_ssb_settings_for_winlink/111820559 forum I was able to get it to work. Huzzah! A little niche but for those of us with a QMX (I now have 2 but I need to build the second one) who want to be able to send emails over HF, this is how to do it.
I’m also running Windows on my Mac for this. If you missed the video on how to setup UTM and instal Windows and Winlink Express on your Mac, for FREE here’s the link: https://youtu.be/7jtth4dylBI

Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjETc3psT6i7B5z6S1Y3ojQ/join

⭐️Consider becoming a Patron @ https://www.patreon.com/k8mrdradiostuff
Follow me on Twitter. https://twitter.com/k8mrd

#hamradio #hamradiotube #parksontheair

K8MRD Radio Stuff Youtube

Amazon Prime Day Deals I Actually Use & Recommend

Post author By admin
Post date June 24, 2026

Amazon Prime Day Deals I Actually Use & Recommend

Because a lot of you have said I haven’t cost you enough money already, I thought it might be a good time to go through my Amazon Store and see what’s on sale for Prime Day. https://www.amazon.com/shop/k8mrdradiostuff
As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I didn’t want to just sort through Amazon and find meaningless stuff though. This is all stuff I have purchased, own, and recommend. Except for maybe a handful of things that were given to me from a manufacturer…most of this I paid for with my allowance money.
Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjETc3psT6i7B5z6S1Y3ojQ/join

⭐️Consider becoming a Patron @ https://www.patreon.com/k8mrdradiostuff
Follow me on Twitter. https://twitter.com/k8mrd

#hamradio #hamradiotube #parksontheair

K8MRD Radio Stuff Youtube

We Woke Up And Decided To Go Camping Huntsville State Park TX

Post author By admin
Post date June 22, 2026

We Woke Up And Decided To Go Camping Huntsville State Park TX

Wednesday morning. You wake up and your girlfriend asks if you want to go camping. "Where?" I say. "Huntsville State Park" she says. Been there a million times, never camped there. I can’t say no to that now can I? We got an absolutely beautiful spot. Huge camp site, screened in shelter, right on the lake. We grabbed our gear and set out for this impromptu camping trip mere minutes from my house. This is our story.
Some cool stuff on my Amazon Store in this video can be found under Camping and USB-C Charging Cables. ⭐️https://www.amazon.com/shop/k8mrdradiostuff
As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
⭐️Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjETc3psT6i7B5z6S1Y3ojQ/join

⭐️Consider becoming a Patron @ https://www.patreon.com/k8mrdradiostuff
Follow me on Twitter. https://twitter.com/k8mrd

#hamradio #hamradiotube #parksontheair

K8MRD Radio Stuff Youtube

Solving A Huge Problem With My Teardrop Camper

Post author By admin
Post date June 19, 2026

Solving A Huge Problem With My Teardrop Camper

Caitlin and I realized there was a problem with one of my campers "features" while we were at Lake Somerville State Park. There wasn’t anything I could do about it then, but there’s something I can do about it now.
Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjETc3psT6i7B5z6S1Y3ojQ/join

⭐️Consider becoming a Patron @ https://www.patreon.com/k8mrdradiostuff
Follow me on Twitter. https://twitter.com/k8mrd

#hamradio #hamradiotube #parksontheair

K8MRD Radio Stuff Youtube

What Do You Really NEED For Portable Ham Radio Operations?

Post author By admin
Post date June 17, 2026

What Do You Really NEED For Portable Ham Radio Operations?

As portable operators, we’re always looking for ways to maximize our abilities while minimizing our gear. But for the newbie, some things might not be as obvious. How much stuff do you really need? How much stuff are you willing to carry? How much stuff do you NOT need? Where are you going? What are you planning on doing? In this video I show 5 different portable ham radio go bags that I have setup for various purposes from big 100 watt radios to small QRP radios. Some things change, some stay the same. But the 5 core elements are always there.
⭐️Links to many of the things I use can be found here:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/k8mrdradiostuff
⭐️Save 10% off at https://www.bioennopower.com with Coupon Code HRT
⭐️Save up to 20% off your Coax order at ABR Industries. Code K8MRD10 at checkout.

⭐️BNC Molle Clip: https://k5acp.net/index.php/product/bnc-molle-antenna-clip/
⭐️Fara-J Antennas: https://vfcomms.com/?sca_ref=10776057.9X2g5LehW7Er
⭐️Earn 2X Points At Gigaparts With Code K8MRD:
https://www.gigaparts.com/nsearch/?lp=K8MRD%20INFLUENCER%20PAGE
⭐️Save 10 % off Messi & Paoloni & ABR Industries Coax With Code MP10 https://www.gigaparts.com/nsearch/?lp=Mike%20Coax%2010%20Off#?lp=Mike+Coax+10+Off&search_return=all&res_per_page=60
⭐️10% off Messi & Paoloni Coax
Use code K8MRD for 10% off
https://messi.it
(USA & Canada get free shipping on orders $99 euros or more!)
⭐️Signal Stuff Signal Stick Antennas: https://signalstuff.com/?ref=4089
⭐️Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjETc3psT6i7B5z6S1Y3ojQ/join

⭐️Consider becoming a Patron @ https://www.patreon.com/k8mrdradiostuff
Follow me on Twitter. https://twitter.com/k8mrd

#hamradio #hamradiotube #parksontheair