
The Youth Forum at the 2026 Santa Maria DXers & Contesters Convention, April 11, 2026, featuring Violetta Latham KN2P, moderated by Dick Norton N6AA, ARRL SW Division Director

The Youth Forum at the 2026 Santa Maria DXers & Contesters Convention, April 11, 2026, featuring Violetta Latham KN2P, moderated by Dick Norton N6AA, ARRL SW Division Director

Tower #2 is slowly becoming a proper little engineering project now. In this video I’m upgrading the guy spreaders to stainless triangular plates, replacing temporary hardware, sorting the orphan guy stakes, and generally trying to make the mast stronger, cleaner and easier to maintain before the 15m Yagi goes on top.
There’s also a bit of discussion about guy tension, shackles, turnbuckles and why getting the foundations right matters before adding antennas and weight. And yes… after nearly losing the tower recently, I’m double-checking everything now 😅
Next episode: the 15m 3-element Yagi build and why I managed to get a near-50Ω direct feed without a gamma match.
Enjoy the video and enjoy your radio!

Take a look inside this radio unboxing. Features foam padding for protection and includes the owner’s manual.
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Last night, Mast #1 taught me another expensive lesson! I was checking the remote camera during some rough weather when I noticed one of the top guys flailing around in the wind. At first I thought a rope had snapped, or another shackle pin had worked loose. By the time I got up to the field, the weather had gone absolutely wild.
Turns out the culprit was a turnbuckle that had gradually undone itself under load.
This is exactly why I test things properly. You don’t learn much lowering towers every time the forecast looks a bit lively. You learn by discovering the weak points, fixing them properly, and improving the design.
In this video:
– Remote camera footage of the storm
– The moment I realised something was wrong
– Why the mast survived
– What failed
– Why the prototype 160m top section probably increased the wind loading
– What I’ll be changing next
Sometimes experience comes from books. Sometimes it comes from nearly losing a tower at night in a storm.
Enjoy the video guys.
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I upgraded to a dual MMDVM hotspot and it unlocked something most hams don’t even realize they’re missing: two time slots at once. In this video I show what that actually means in the real world, how TS1 and TS2 can run simultaneously, why single hotspots feel limiting once you see this, and whether a dual hotspot is actually worth it for your setup. If you’re into DMR, BrandMeister, talkgroups, or just want to get more out of your radio gear, this is the upgrade that changes everything.
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Tried tuning the W1AW 20m Direct Conversion Receiver local oscillator with an oscilloscope and got strange readings — so I grabbed my Yaesu FTdx10 instead. Tuned to 14.047MHz, listened for the carrier, and adjusted trimmer C1 until I had a nice ~600Hz beat note. Sometimes your HF rig is better test equipment than your test equipment! Part of my W1AW Direct Conversion Receiver build series.
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A special hexagonal anniversary badge celebrates 25 years of Baofeng. Featuring a walkie-talkie and sound waves, it marks a quarter-century of innovation.
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