Programming the BAOFENG AR-5RM with CHIRP on Ubuntu Linux
A tested Ubuntu 26.04 LTS workflow for installing CHIRP 20260410, connecting the BAOFENG AR-5RM by USB, preserving a radio image, reviewing basic settings, and uploading verified changes.
Fallback Engineering
Category: <span>Amateur Radio</span>
Dated reports from the workbench, vehicle, radio, server room, campsite, and field.
Getting on the Air: Etiquette, Conversation Scripts, and Informal Nets
A practical operating guide for making calls, starting real conversations, joining active channels, handling quiet repeaters and talkgroups, and organizing an informal roundtable without unnecessary ceremony.
Configuring Pi-Star YSF2DMR for the Yaesu FT5DR and BrandMeister
A tested setup for using a Yaesu FT5DR with Pi-Star YSF2DMR and BrandMeister, including DMR ID registration, hotspot security, talkgroup selection, five-digit FT5DR entry, and the current radio-control limitation.
Configuring Pi-Star for the Yaesu FT5DR and YSF Reflectors
A tested, step-by-step setup for using a Yaesu FT5DR with a Pi-Star simplex hotspot in YSF mode, including reflector selection, FT5DR controls, test destinations, and the limits of WIRES-X-style hotspot control.
Understanding Pi-Star as a Digital Voice Gateway
A practical overview of Pi-Star: what a node is, how a hotspot bridges an RF radio to digital voice networks, and where modes such as YSF, DMR, D-Star, NXDN, P25, and cross-mode links fit.
Understanding WIRES-X on Yaesu System Fusion
A practical overview of how Yaesu System Fusion, WIRES-X nodes, repeaters, and rooms work together—and what other operators hear when a station connects.
Measuring Antenna SWR with the SeeSii NanoVNA-F V2
A concise field procedure for calibrating the SeeSii NanoVNA-F V2 and measuring antenna SWR on 2 meters and 70 centimeters.