The Ham Radio Lab

Helping people get on the air and have fun

Beyond the Static: A Tech-Sector Guide to Digital Voice and Data Modes

Digital Voice, Data, and APRS: Decoding the Digital Amateur Radio Ecosystem

A technical guide differentiating Digital Voice (DMR, Fusion, D-Star, AllStar) from Digital Data (FT8, Packet) and APRS. Discover how these modes work, their historical ties to TCP/IP, and why they are dominating the airwaves today.

Posted by "Chris - K5CTW" on Wednesday, June 4, 2025

From Spreadsheet to Speaker: The Digital Handshake for Your HT

Deploying Your Config: A Technical Guide to Software-Based HT Programming

Master the Read-Import-Write to seamlessly move your organized frequency lists from a spreadsheet directly into your handheld radio.

Posted by "Chris - K5CTW" on Sunday, May 18, 2025

Mastering the Handheld: A Systematic Guide to Programming Your HT

From Chaos to Control: A Systematic Framework for Handheld Radio Programming

Learn how to research, organize, and program your handheld transceiver (HT) like a pro.

Posted by "Chris - K5CTW" on Sunday, May 4, 2025

Mac in the Shack

My Experience Navigating the OS Landscape in Ham Radio

There is a lot of love for open source and Linux operating systems in Ham Radio. However there are some Windows hold outs. I hope to show you don't need both but can get by with whatever OS you like... sort of

Posted by "Chris - K5CTW" on Sunday, January 19, 2025

Digital Dead Ends: When the Internet Fails in Your Ham Radio Journey

Digital Frustrations with the lack of or outright wrong information out on the internet

Personal frustrations with bad information or just a lack of good information on armature radio topics

Posted by "Chris - K5CTW" on Sunday, January 12, 2025