The Daily Ham

The calendar just flipped to April, and for ham radio operators that means one thing: outdoor operating season is here. Whether you're planning POTA activations, prepping for Field Day, or hoping to catch some DX from the backyard, now is the time to shake off the winter rust and get your station dialed in. I run through this checklist every spring. It takes a weekend at most, and it has saved me from some genuinely frustrating moments in the field. 1. Inspect Your Antennas and Feed Lines Winter is hard on antennas. Ice loading, UV degradation, wind stress — even a well-built antenna develops problems over a rough season. Before your first spring QSO, run an SWR check across every band you use. If readings have shifted, start at the connectors and work outward. Corroded PL-259s, water-infiltrated coax, and cracked balun enclosures are the usual suspects. If you run portable gear, spread it out on the garage floor and inspect every component. Check your mast sections, guy lines, and...

Field Day 2026 Logging: Which App Should You Actually Use? Field Day 2026 is June 27-28, and if you're anything like me, you're already eyeballing antenna designs and checking battery prices. But here's the question nobody thinks about until the night before: what are you logging with? I've fumbled this enough times to have opinions. Last year I showed up with software I hadn't tested, spent 20 minutes troubleshooting a CAT control issue while contacts were calling, and ended up hand-logging on paper for the first hour. Never again. The Usual Suspects Let's be honest about what's out there. N3FJP's Field Day Logger is the default choice for a reason. It's purpose-built for Field Day, handles the ARRL exchange format natively, and most clubs have at least one person who knows how to set it up. The interface looks like it was designed in 2004 � because it was � but it works. If you're running a multi-operator setup with networked compute...

POTA Logging in 2026: What Actually Works in the Field Spring is here, the bands are cooperating, and every park within driving distance is calling your name. But before you toss the radio in the truck and head out for your next POTA activation, there’s one question worth asking: is your logging setup actually helping you, or are you fighting it between every QSO? I’ve run about forty activations over the last year using different logging tools, and the gap between a smooth activation and a frustrating one almost always comes down to the logger. Here’s what I’ve found actually works — and what doesn’t. The Paper Log Diehards Let’s get this out of the way: paper logging still works. There’s a whole camp of operators — especially the QRP crowd — who swear by a waterproof notebook and a pencil. No batteries to charge, no app to crash, no screen glare in direct sunlight. I get it. The problem hits you when you get home. You’re staring at forty handwritten callsigns that need to b...

Picking the Right Band for Spring POTA as Solar Cycle 25 Fades If your 10-meter POTA activations felt a little quieter this month, you're not imagining things. Solar Cycle 25 peaked back in late 2024 with sunspot numbers north of 200, and we've been on the downslope ever since. The SFI has been hovering in the 130s–140s lately — still decent, but noticeably off from the 160+ averages we got spoiled by last year. So what does that actually mean for your spring activations? Mostly good news, honestly. But you do need to be smarter about band selection than you were twelve months ago. The Bands, Ranked for Spring 2026 20 meters (14 MHz) — Still king. This band remains your most reliable daytime option for POTA, and that's not going to change anytime soon. It opens early, stays productive through the afternoon, and reaches both coasts from pretty much anywhere in the continental US. If you're only bringing one antenna to the park, cut it for 20. 40 meters (7 MHz)...

Spring is here, the bands are cooperating (mostly), and every ham I know is planning their next Parks on the Air activation. But here is the thing nobody tells you before your first outing: your logging setup matters more than your antenna. I have watched guys with killer rigs and perfect propagation lose contacts because they were fumbling with a clunky logger. And I have run smooth 50-contact activations on 5 watts because my logging workflow was dialed in. So let us talk about what is actually out there in 2026 and what works when you are sitting in a camp chair with one hand on the mic. What You Need From a POTA Logger Before comparing apps, let us agree on what matters in the field: Speed — You need to log a contact in under 10 seconds. Anything slower and you are losing your pileup. Callsign lookup — Auto-populating name, grid, and state saves time and reduces errors. ADIF export — POTA requires ADIF uploads. If your logger cannot export clean ADIF, it is a non-starter. Offlin...

You just worked VP8 on 17 meters, your hands are still shaking, and the first thing you do after logging the contact is open a spreadsheet to see if that was a new one. Sound familiar? If you're chasing DXCC � or WAS, WAZ, or any of the other major ham radio awards � you've probably discovered that tracking your progress can be almost as challenging as making the contacts. With Solar Cycle 25 still delivering solid conditions on the high bands, a lot of us have been racking up new entities faster than we can keep track of them. So I spent the last few weeks testing the most popular award tracking setups to figure out which ones actually keep up with an active DXer's pace. The Old-School Approach: Spreadsheets and LOTW Let's get the elephant out of the room. Plenty of hams still track DXCC with a spreadsheet and periodic LOTW checks. It works � technically. You log contacts in whatever software you use, upload to Logbook of the World, and then manually cross-reference w...

The trees are budding, the temps are climbing, and if you listen closely you can hear the faint sound of a thousand Buddipoles being unfolded in state parks across the country. Spring POTA season is here. But this year is different. Solar Cycle 25 is sitting right at its peak � possibly even a second, stronger peak that forecasters have been watching since late 2025. The solar flux index has been consistently above 130, and 10 meters has been doing things that most of us haven't seen since Cycle 24. If you've been waiting for a reason to dust off the portable rig and hit a park, this is it. The Bands Right Now Are Absurd Let me just lay it out. During a typical POTA activation over the last few years, 20 meters was your bread and butter. You'd set up, call CQ POTA on 14.290 or find a spot on FT8, and work your ten contacts over an hour or so. Reliable, predictable, sometimes a little slow. Right now? 10 meters is wide open during the day. I'm talking dipole-and-100-wat...

Best POTA Logging Apps in 2026: A Field Test Last weekend I hauled my KX2 and a wire antenna out to a state park for a POTA activation, and halfway through my second pileup, my logging app crashed. Lost three contacts. Had to ask a guy on 20 meters to repeat his callsign because my screen went blank. That was the moment I decided to actually sit down and test every POTA logger I could find. Not just install them — actually use them in the field, on a picnic table, with gloves on, in 40-degree weather. Here is what I found. Why Your Logger Choice Actually Matters When you are running a pileup during a POTA activation, every second counts. You need quick callsign entry, instant dupe checking, and clean ADIF export so you can upload to POTA and LOTW when you get home. A clunky logger does not just slow you down — it costs you contacts and makes the whole activation less fun. But here is the thing most comparison articles miss: the real test is not just how fast you ca...

Your New Source for Ham Radio News Welcome to The Daily Ham � an independent blog covering everything amateur radio. From POTA activations and band conditions to gear reviews and operating tips, we are here to keep you informed and inspired. Whether you are a seasoned Extra class operator or just passed your Technician exam, there is something here for you. We will be publishing daily articles on topics like: Parks on the Air (POTA) activation reports and tips Band condition forecasts and propagation analysis Gear reviews and comparisons Operating tips for HF, VHF, and digital modes Logging tools and software reviews Stay tuned for our first real article tomorrow. 73 de The Daily Ham!