{"id":47069,"date":"2020-12-31T09:32:40","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T13:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=47069"},"modified":"2020-12-31T09:35:42","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T13:35:42","slug":"what-radio-projects-and-adventures-await-you-in-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/12\/what-radio-projects-and-adventures-await-you-in-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"What radio projects and adventures await you in 2021?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Tecsun-PL-990-Beach-1.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-47072\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Tecsun-PL-990-Beach-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Tecsun-PL-990-Beach-1.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Tecsun-PL-990-Beach-1-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Tecsun-PL-990-Beach-1-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Tecsun-PL-990-Beach-1-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Tecsun-PL-990-Beach-1-624x832.jpeg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a>This morning, I&#8217;m catching up with email and posts as I&#8217;ve had less online time these past few days (not a bad thing). I&#8217;m also trying to sort out and organize some of the gear in my compact shack\/office.<\/p>\n<p>As I do this, I can&#8217;t help but think through some of the radio projects that await me in 2021&#8211;so I started making a list.<\/p>\n<h1>2021 Radio Goals<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Portable DXing:<\/strong> I hope I&#8217;ll be able to travel again in the latter part of 2021 and take <a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/the-airspy-hf-discovery-and-a-new-era-of-portable-sdr-dxing\/\">my portable SDR pack<\/a> to capture spectrum recordings in the field. I really miss doing this.<\/li>\n<li>Carefully go through my <strong>portable radio collection<\/strong> and &#8220;thin the herd.&#8221; I&#8217;ve no intention of letting go of everything, but I&#8217;ve a number of small, inexpensive portables I never touch and don&#8217;t plan to use for comparisons<\/li>\n<li>Purchase a few more cables and a mic to complete my multitrack recording and <strong>receiver comparison setup<\/strong>. Massive thanks to my friend, Matt Blaze, who&#8217;s helped me through this process.<\/li>\n<li>Finally replace that faulty keypad on the <a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/inbound-a-drake-sw8-hf-vhf-receiver\/\"><strong>Drake SW8<\/strong><\/a>! (This might be the first thing I do in the new year.)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Antenna Farm improvements and upgrades:<\/strong>\n<div id=\"attachment_47071\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/homebrew-remote-ATU-antenna-tuner-1.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-47071\" class=\"wp-image-47071 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/homebrew-remote-ATU-antenna-tuner-1-300x221.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/homebrew-remote-ATU-antenna-tuner-1-300x221.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/homebrew-remote-ATU-antenna-tuner-1-768x564.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/homebrew-remote-ATU-antenna-tuner-1-624x459.jpeg 624w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/homebrew-remote-ATU-antenna-tuner-1.jpeg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-47071\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">It&#8217;s time for the remote tuner box to get a rennovation!<\/p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>I plan to re-build my remote tuner box (that&#8217;s served me so well for a decade&#8211;see photo)<\/li>\n<li>install all new connectors, components, and change the balun<\/li>\n<li>add a remote antenna switching device<\/li>\n<li>beef up lightening protection<\/li>\n<li>and replace all of the coax feed lines.<\/li>\n<li>I also plan to add a home brew 80 meter vertical and possibly a 20M delta loop oriented E\/W<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>QRP EME<\/strong>: I still need to sort out a VHF amplifier, antenna, connectors and cables for my QRP EME station. I hope to have the pieces together by mid 2021.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Build my QCX+ and QCX Mini transceivers<\/strong> (really looking forward to that!)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Continue participating in Parks On The Air (POTA)<\/strong> and write up most <a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/category\/field-reports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">field reports on QRPer.com<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Activate at least ten sites for <strong>Summits On The Air (SOTA)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Tick off a few more goals <a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/social-distancing-nothing-new-to-us-radio-geeks\/\">from my &#8220;<strong>Social DX<\/strong>&#8221; list<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Lake-James-mAT-705Plus-Icom-IC-705-MPAS-Lite-1-1-768x1024-1.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-47099\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Lake-James-mAT-705Plus-Icom-IC-705-MPAS-Lite-1-1-768x1024-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Lake-James-mAT-705Plus-Icom-IC-705-MPAS-Lite-1-1-768x1024-1.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Lake-James-mAT-705Plus-Icom-IC-705-MPAS-Lite-1-1-768x1024-1-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Lake-James-mAT-705Plus-Icom-IC-705-MPAS-Lite-1-1-768x1024-1-624x832.jpeg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In truth? I&#8217;ve more goals than this, but I&#8217;m trying to be <em>somewhat<\/em> realistic. The top priority is investing time in my antenna situation at home. All of the coax lines are aging and I know are no longer up to spec. I see cable and even connectors as long-term consumables and it&#8217;s definitely time to reinvest!<\/p>\n<h1>How about you? What are your radio goals for 2021?<\/h1>\n<div id=\"attachment_47098\" style=\"width: 1210px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Yaesu-FT-817-Buddy-Board-G7UHN-1-1.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-47098\" class=\"size-full wp-image-47098\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Yaesu-FT-817-Buddy-Board-G7UHN-1-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"780\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Yaesu-FT-817-Buddy-Board-G7UHN-1-1.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Yaesu-FT-817-Buddy-Board-G7UHN-1-1-300x195.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Yaesu-FT-817-Buddy-Board-G7UHN-1-1-1024x666.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Yaesu-FT-817-Buddy-Board-G7UHN-1-1-768x499.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Yaesu-FT-817-Buddy-Board-G7UHN-1-1-624x406.jpeg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-47098\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Also been modding the FT-817ND with a Buddy Board prototype by Andy (G7UHN). Installing version 3 in a few weeks!<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/12\/what-radio-projects-and-adventures-await-you-in-2021\/#respond\">Please comment<\/a><\/strong> and let us know what you&#8217;re plotting and planning! Inquiring minds want to know!<\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">Here&#8217;s wishing everyone a happy &amp; healthy New Year!<\/h1>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">Thank you for being a part of the <em>SWLing Post<\/em> community!<\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This morning, I&#8217;m catching up with email and posts as I&#8217;ve had less online time these past few days (not a bad thing). I&#8217;m also trying to sort out and organize some of the gear in my compact shack\/office. As I do this, I can&#8217;t help but think through some of the radio projects that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[545,3,43],"tags":[9061,9060,389,4102,1303,34,8378],"class_list":["post-47069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham-radio","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-9061","tag-2021-goals","tag-amateur-radio","tag-ham-radio","tag-qrp","tag-shortwave","tag-social-dx"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-cfb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":49637,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/07\/a-simple-guide-to-portable-radio-power\/","url_meta":{"origin":47069,"position":0},"title":"A simple guide to portable radio power","author":"Thomas","date":"July 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Over on QRPer.com, I just published a post on portable power that was The Spectrum Monitor magazine's April 2021 cover article. This article is essentially an overview of a few different types of rechargeable batteries including pros and cons of each chemistry. While this article focuses on use in ham\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Accessories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/TSM-Cover-Batteries-rotated.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/TSM-Cover-Batteries-rotated.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/TSM-Cover-Batteries-rotated.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/TSM-Cover-Batteries-rotated.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47950,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/what-is-your-favorite-general-coverage-transceiver-for-shortwave-listening\/","url_meta":{"origin":47069,"position":1},"title":"What&#8217;s your favorite general coverage transceiver for shortwave listening?","author":"Thomas","date":"February 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, at the (Virtual) 2021 Winter SWL Fest, I gave a presentation about QRP general coverage transceivers that I regularly use for shortwave broadcast listening (SWLing). My discussion was limited to QRP--or low-power--transceivers designed for portable use, but they only represent a small fraction of the new and used transceivers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Kenwood-TS-590SG-e1614517402620.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Kenwood-TS-590SG-e1614517402620.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Kenwood-TS-590SG-e1614517402620.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Kenwood-TS-590SG-e1614517402620.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50251,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/09\/anatomy-of-a-field-radio-kit-series-on-qrper-com\/","url_meta":{"origin":47069,"position":2},"title":"&#8220;Anatomy of a Field Radio Kit&#8221; series on QRPer.com","author":"Thomas","date":"September 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"If interested, I've now published both parts of my Anatomy of a Field Radio Kit series over on QRPer.com. This series was originally featured in the June and July 2021 issues of The Spectrum Monitor magazine. Here are links to both articles: Anatomy of a Field Radio Kit Part 1:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/TX-500-Red-Oxx-Micro-Manager.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/TX-500-Red-Oxx-Micro-Manager.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/TX-500-Red-Oxx-Micro-Manager.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/TX-500-Red-Oxx-Micro-Manager.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49934,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/08\/the-new-sihuadon-d-808-portable-shortwave-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":47069,"position":3},"title":"The new SIHUADON D-808 portable shortwave radio","author":"Thomas","date":"August 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adid, who writes: Hi Thomas, Yesterday I found this short animation: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CYEh39RTkd4 So I went to their website to look at this nice black and amber screen new model. https:\/\/xhdata.com.cn\/ (strangely enough, they sell there Tecsun stuff also) I don't plan on buying it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;New Products&quot;","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/SIHUADON-D-808-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/SIHUADON-D-808-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/SIHUADON-D-808-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/SIHUADON-D-808-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51394,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/looking-back-what-radios-did-you-use-the-most-in-2021\/","url_meta":{"origin":47069,"position":4},"title":"Looking back: What radios did you use the most in 2021?","author":"Thomas","date":"December 31, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm not sure why, but near the end of the year I always like to look back at my radio routine and figure out which radios I used the most. Often, the answer is surprising. This year, I realized there was a very clear winner... The C.Crane CCRadio3 The C.Crane\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/CCrane-CCRadio3-AM-dial-Backlit.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/CCrane-CCRadio3-AM-dial-Backlit.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/CCrane-CCRadio3-AM-dial-Backlit.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/CCrane-CCRadio3-AM-dial-Backlit.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48951,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/05\/adid-offers-two-simple-mods-for-the-xhdata-d-808-or-any-portable-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":47069,"position":5},"title":"Adid offers two simple mods for the XHDATA D-808 (or any portable radio!)","author":"Thomas","date":"May 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adid, who shares two inexpensive mods he made on his XHDATA D-808 shortly after taking delivery of it in 2018. One is simply clear tape over the display to protect it from scratches. The second is applying three tiny drops of glue which create\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;How To&quot;","block_context":{"text":"How To","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/how-to\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/D808-2c-mods-e1621334722986.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/D808-2c-mods-e1621334722986.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/D808-2c-mods-e1621334722986.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/D808-2c-mods-e1621334722986.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/D808-2c-mods-e1621334722986.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47069\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}