In this laid-back Saturday morning video, I run-down of the gear that saw real use during my 2025 ham radio adventures, from backyard operating to countless Parks on the Air activations. I cover standout items like Meshtastic nodes (C-Studio T1000 and Spec5 Delta), the game-changing ArmorLock cage for my FTDX10, the incredibly versatile Hamtop SkyHook system, the Bluetooth-programmable Valet VRN76 handheld with APRS, free logging apps (Polo & Hamrs), the Sofirn Nova flashlight, and the RigExpert AA-33 Zoom antenna analyzer. If you’re looking for proven, field-tested recommendations (or last-minute holiday gift ideas for the ham in your life), these are the gadgets I reached for again and again this year!
links:
SenseCAP Card Tracker T1000-E – https://amzn.to/4iHJPnP
Spec5 Trekker Delta – https://specfive.com/products/spec5-trekker-delta?variant=47360224002288
armoloq – FT-DX10 – https://armoloq.com/yaesu/ft-dx10/
The Ham Stop Sky hooks – https://www.etsy.com/shop/HamStop
VERO VR-N76 – https://www.gigaparts.com/vero-vr-n76-7w-144-430mhz-dual-band-handheld-transceiver.html
Polo Logger – https://polo.ham2k.com/
HAMRS Logger – https://hamrs.app/
SolTac Nova – https://www.soltacusa.com/shop/p/nova
RigExpert AA-35 Zoom – https://www.gigaparts.com/rigexpert-aa-35-zoom-60-khz-to-35-mhz-non-bluetooth.html
RigExpert Stick 230 – https://www.gigaparts.com/rigexpert-stick-60khz-35mhz-analyzer.html
New Tanker Radio Gear:
New Tank Radio Pillow – https://www.etsy.com/listing/4295008136/tank-radio-pillow-for-amateur-radio
New Tank Radio Black Out T Shirt – https://grapevineamateurradio.com/products/tank-radio-black-out-t-shirt-on-demand-order
Tank US Band Plan Pad – https://quirkyqrphamradios.etsy.com/listing/1657938891
Hoodies – https://grapevineamateurradio.com/products/tank-radio-hoodie-limited-time
Boonie Hats – https://www.gigaparts.com/tank-radio-logo-boonie-hat.html
Sticker Pack – https://grapevineamateurradio.com/collections/combo-packs/products/tank-radio-official-sticker-pack
Help support me by:
RollerCam Website – https://classic.avantlink.com/click.php?tool_type=ml&merchant_link_id=6e7562a0-f7b0-4d9a-b15e-25ce3aedb94a&website_id=16611296-f891-4f8b-8010-5fa29c2cab5f
5% off selected Items at Gigaparts- https://www.gigaparts.com/nsearch/?lp=KG5AHJ%20INFLUENCER%20PAGE
5% off at Alpha Antenna – https://www.alphaantenna.com/?aff=20
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/TankRadio
Buy Me a Beer: https://buymeacoffee.com/TankRadio
PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/TankRadio
Amazon affiliate:https://amzn.to/3Zlhjzn
Tank Radios T-Shirt : https://grapevineamateurradio.com/collections/youtubers-bunch/products/tank-radio-short-sleeve-t-shirt-special-order
Follow me on:
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/5gGCq4wY8n Channel Tank Radio
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KG5AHJ
The Patrons have spoken! Tonight we develop the HRCC Emergency Communication Plan
Watch my interview with Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL and Dan Gitro K2DMG after action report on Hurricane Helene: Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL and Dan Mark K2DMG
My intro to Amateur Radio pamphlet is here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/126015747?utm_campaign=postshare_creator
Recommendations from the show:
As an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases
—————————————————————————————————————————
📻 Mobile Radios: https://dxengineering.pxf.io/qz7ROY
📡 You can get $10 off the VGC VN-N76 using the code "josh" here: https://www.verotelecom.com/VR-N76-Dual-Band-Handheld-Radio-p2511333.html?
📻 Handheld Radios: https://dxengineering.pxf.io/9LX1y5
📡 Wouxun HTs: HTs: https://www.buytwowayradios.com/?
$15 off at Radioddity when you use the code JOSHNASS ona G90 or Baofeng Mini https://www.radioddity.com/?ref=bkobuwhc
📻 HF Radios: https://dxengineering.pxf.io/o472VO
🔋 Batteries: https://dxengineering.pxf.io/kOmnJd
🔋 Solar: https://dxengineering.pxf.io/Qj5q23
📻 Want the best HT antenna? Signal Stuff Signal Stick https://signalstuff.com/?ref=622
🚶♂️ Big list of ham radio hiking gear: https://amzn.to/4ojAxQP
🔋 W0AEZ Battery: https://w0aez.com/discount/hrcc5?ref=hrcc
📡 The POTA-20 mast: https://www.gigaparts.com/nsearch/?lp=JOSH
📡 Lil’ Dude Mast: https://www.hamradiodude.com/
📶 TH-DD74 B.B.Link: https://islandmagic.co/products/bb-link-adapter
📡 My Big List of No-Regret Gear: https://amzn.to/415oY6s
📡 My Favorite ham radio portable gear items! Check out Gigaparts for 2x the points off the gear I use the most!
https://www.gigaparts.com/nsearch/?lp=JOSH
📡 I recommend the Ed Fong J-Pole? https://www.kbcubed.com/DBJ-2H-Amateur-Ham-2m-70cm-Dual-Band-Portable-Rollup-Antenna-by-Ed-Fong-p406009746cmid=amsreGRvTmttM0k9&afid=Mkx1eE1uN2M0S1k9&ats=bHNrMHVhZ3lZcjQ9
📡 Chameleon Antennas make the most robust antennas on the market, check them out here: https://chameleonantenna.com?bg_ref=99VqhYXETt
📻 Support Ham Radio Crash Course Content 📻
————————————————————————
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/hoshnasi (includes monthly newsletter, stickers and Patron perks)
📸YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/c/HamRadioCrashCourse/membership (includes early access to videos, membership YT badge and custom emojis)
Shop HamTactical: http://www.hamtactical.com
Shop Our Affiliates: http://hamradiocrashcourse.com/affiliates/
Shop Our Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/hamradiocrashcourse
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
★ FOLLOW ME HERE ★
🪩 Website http://hamradiocrashcourse.com
📸 YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/HamRadioCrashCourse
💻 Twitch https://m.twitch.tv/hamradiocrashcourse
Podcast https://hamradiocrashcourse.podbean.com/
💻 Discord https://discord.gg/xhJMxDT
📸 Facebook https://goo.gl/cv5rEQ
📸 Twitter https://X.com/Hoshnasi
📸 Instagram https://instagram.com/hamradiocrashcourse
📨 Physical Mail Josh Nass P.O Box 5101 Cerritos, CA 90703-5101
Music by Sonic D:
Soundcloud.com/sncd
Twitter.com/sncd
Facebook.com/djsonicd
Ultimate Portable Ham Radio Go-Kit for POTA #shorts
I’m building a compact, portable ham radio setup in my truck, powered by a Power Queen 125 amp-hour battery with Bluetooth control. It’ll run my FT-857D, winch, diesel heater, laptop, phone, and more. Time for some POTA hunting!
👉 Full Video: https://youtu.be/UimimmyPmJI
👉 My RV Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@livingforalivingRV @livingforalivingRV
Today’s Station:
👉 Power Queen 125Ah Bluetooth LiFePO4: https://ipowerqueen.com/products/power-queen-12v-125ah-group27-smart-deep-cycle-lithium-battery?ref=temporarilyoffline
Stack Deals with my Discount and Black Friday/Cyber Monday: My 10% affiliate code Living10 still applies!!
https://ipowerqueen.com/pages/black-friday-battery-sale?ref=temporarilyoffline
👉 Look North Designs suction antenna mount: https://geni.us/SZuqfFf
👉 Gabil 17′ Carbon Fiber Antenna CF5200: https://geni.us/MtFjQm
👉 ATU-100 tuner: https://geni.us/EkazAV
👉 Anderson Powerpole distribution block: https://youtu.be/7rteR00m6iI?si=6S6taFMCEzbWs24M
👉 FT-857D: https://geni.us/JMtH7q
I Built a Complete Ham Radio Go-Bag From My Own Black Friday Deals
This video is the ultimate test: not just talking about Black Friday ham radio deals, but actually using them to build a complete portable ham station. In the industry, we call that dogfooding—where you eat your own dog food to see if it tastes any good.
Extra Gear Mentioned In This Video:
👉 Bag: https://geni.us/1c3pY4
👉 Lenovo Tab One: https://geni.us/s8Y3OrK
👉 Custom Morale Patches: https://geni.us/oDrZ0AL
👉 Grab Bag of Morale Patches: https://geni.us/fWM3RJ
👉 Pocket Organizer: https://geni.us/9YMj
👉 Field Notes Hard Bound Journal: https://geni.us/gnQIJ
👉 Btech GMRS Pro: https://geni.us/M0NM4
👉 Btech UV Pro: https://geni.us/58yF1B
👉 Vero VR-N76: https://geni.us/trRsf0
👉 KV4P Andorid Radio: https://geni.us/eJ9Ra
👉 NanoVNA F V2: https://geni.us/JGSqUGz
👉 Ninja Woodfire Pro Connect: https://geni.us/87dx
👉 PowerQueen MPPT Charge Controller: https://geni.us/WCLfE8t
Hardware:
👉 6 pin mini din cable: https://geni.us/vkr3
👉 8 pin mini din cable: https://geni.us/x0gd
👉 Lever Nuts: https://geni.us/nE412y3
👉 power cord: https://geni.us/Pm7xg
👉 Wire Stripper/Crimper: https://geni.us/LejLm
👉 K1 Wire: https://geni.us/VMupc
Storage:
👉 Go-Bag: https://geni.us/q578a1
Almost everything is from Amazon Black Friday deals, and I’ll show you whether this setup actually works, how it fits in the bag, and why I chose each part for this loadout.
This series will walk through the full portable station build: radios, power, bags, antennas, apps, and setup. No theory, no hypotheticals—just hands-on field gear and making it work.
This is ham radio the way it was meant to be: real gear, real mistakes, real setup, and real results.
Click the 👍 Like Button, 🤡 Leave a Comment, ❤️ Subscribe
👉 Support The Channel 👈
❤️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/temporarilyoffline
📺 Youtube Memberships: https://www.youtube.com/temporarilyoffline/join
💸 Tip Jar: https://paypal.me/temporarilyoffline
🛒 Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/shop/temporarilyoffline
📻 Use Code TO15 for $15 off at Radioddity: https://www.radioddity.com/?ref=bpajyqft
🖍️ How I make my Thumbnails: https://partner.canva.com/c/3622632/647168/10068
⚡ Meter I use in my videos: https://kaiweets.com/?sca_ref=2859744.05ZtMxNK23
👉 Fun Stuff 👈
🫵 We want YOU on TOADs Discord: https://discord.gg/97tkMEc
🕊️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KiloMike9Golf
😸 Github: https://github.com/TemporarilyOffline
Where possible, all links are affiliate links, this youtube thing is an expensive endeavor and every little bit helps.
40m 4-Square - Four Mistakes I Made - How I Fixed It
After seven weeks on the editing floor, the final chapter of the Holly Farm 40m 4-Square is here. Four verticals, four phasing lines, a control box, and a huge amount of head-scratching finally lead to the moment the array locks in – proper directionality, proper front-to-back, and that beautiful silence off the back.
In this video I walk through:
– Why four-squares only work when X = 0 on every element
– The real trick: ignore SWR, chase reactance
– How to tune phasing lines to the same Z-minimum
– Why my central mast should have ruined everything… and why it didn’t
– The software mistake that killed the front-to-back
– The moment the relays finally go clickity-click
– On-air tests showing the array suddenly behaving like a real four-square
– There’s plenty of B-roll, mistakes, dogs running around, and a few unexpected discoveries along the way.
But the result?
A rock-solid, directional 40m system with astonishing front-to-back.
If you’re building or tuning a four-square, this will save you hours – and maybe your sanity.
If you want to truly level up your HF station, you can’t rely on luck, power, or wishful thinking. HF success comes from understanding how every part of your station works together. In this video, we break down the Five Pillars of HF Operation — the core fundamentals every HF operator should master to work more DX, improve signal quality, and get more out of the bands.
Whether you’re a new General class or a seasoned HF veteran, this guide will help you understand the why behind the what of HF radio.
👍Join this channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdJlIoWR3mf7apfB1dXS97A/join
👍Support TheSmokinApe Channel on Patreon Here: https://www.patreon.com/TheSmokinApe
If you liked this video you can see more like it here:
👍http://www.youtube.com/TheSmokinApe
You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram:
👍http://www.twitter.com/TheSmokinApe
👍http://www.instagram.com/TheSmokinApe
Ham Radio Antenna Adapters Decoded: Never Buy Wrong Again
A tough question for people starting out, which antenna adapters do you need for your ham radios? Thanks to SignalStick for sending these adapters for the video. https://signalstuff.com/?ref=622
My intro to Amateur Radio pamphlet is here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/126015747?utm_campaign=postshare_creator
The Coolest Ham Radio Gear:
As an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases
—————————————————————————————————————————
📻 My new favorite beginners Radio – Baofeng Mini: https://www.radioddity.com/products/baofeng-uv-5r-mini?ref=bkobuwhc
📡 My Big List of No-Regret Gear: https://amzn.to/415oY6s
📡 You can get $10 off the VGC VN-N76 using the code "josh" here: https://www.verotelecom.com/VR-N76-Dual-Band-Handheld-Radio-p2511333.html?
$15 off at Radioddity when you use the code JOSHNASS https://www.radioddity.com/?ref=bkobuwhc
📡 My Favorite ham radio portable gear items! Check out Gigaparts for 2x the points off the gear I use the most!
https://www.gigaparts.com/nsearch/?lp=JOSH
📡 My favorite Handheld radio antenna is from Signal Stuff Signal Stick https://signalstuff.com/?ref=622 (This is an affliate link)
📡 I recommend the Ed Fong J-Pole? https://www.kbcubed.com/DBJ-2H-Amateur-Ham-2m-70cm-Dual-Band-Portable-Rollup-Antenna-by-Ed-Fong-p406009746
📡 Check out Radioddity ham radio radios $15.00 off Coupon code: JOSHNASS https://www.radioddity.com/?ref=bkobuwhc
📡 Great Value HTs: HTs: https://www.buytwowayradios.com/?cmid=amsreGRvTmttM0k9&afid=Mkx1eE1uN2M0S1k9&ats=bHNrMHVhZ3lZcjQ9
📡 Chameleon Antennas make the most robust antennas on the market, check them out here: https://chameleonantenna.com?bg_ref=99VqhYXETt
📻 Support Ham Radio Crash Course Content 📻
————————————————————————
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/hoshnasi (includes monthly newsletter, stickers and Patron perks)
📸YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/c/HamRadioCrashCourse/membership (includes early access to videos, membership YT badge and custom emojis)
Shop HamTactical: http://www.hamtactical.com
Shop Our Affiliates: http://hamradiocrashcourse.com/affiliates/
Shop Our Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/hamradiocrashcourse
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
★ FOLLOW ME HERE ★
🪩 Website http://hamradiocrashcourse.com
📸 YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/HamRadioCrashCourse
💻 Twitch https://m.twitch.tv/hamradiocrashcourse
Podcast https://hamradiocrashcourse.podbean.com/
💻 Discord https://discord.gg/xhJMxDT
📸 Facebook https://goo.gl/cv5rEQ
📸 Twitter https://X.com/Hoshnasi
📸 Instagram https://instagram.com/hamradiocrashcourse
📨 Physical Mail Josh Nass P.O Box 5101 Cerritos, CA 90703-5101
Music by Sonic D:
Soundcloud.com/sncd
Twitter.com/sncd
Facebook.com/djsonicd
In my video titled "The Most Dangerous Thing A Ham Can Do" I asked for suggestions and ideas for bags that had a little pouch on the side to hold the mast so I could take my QMX portable. A large amount of viewers suggested to get a sewing machine and learn to sew. While that’s most likely never going to happen for me, Lisa, KC1YL, took it upon herself to make exactly what I was looking for and I love it. This video is really more a thank you to her, but I thought it would be nice to show off her modifications to help others who are looking to do the same.
⭐️Links to most of the stuff I’m using can be found on my QMX Essentials page on my Amazon store: 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
★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:
★Save 10% off at https://www.bioennopower.com with Coupon Code HRT (NON AFFILIATE)
★Save up to 20% off your Coax order at ABR Industries. Code K8MRD10 at checkout.
https://abrind.com/?sld=2 (affiliate)
★The SkyHook Portable Mast Antenna Mount (non affiliate)
http://www.thehamstop.com/
Code K8MRDRADIO for 20% off
★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
