Top all-time · #5322
KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog
Personal blog · kb6nu.comhardwarepolitics
KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog is a personal blog at kb6nu.com about hardware and politics. Since 2015, 15 different Hacker News readers have linked it 15 times. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-11-01, and you can follow it by feed.
Too few sampled comments (11) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
HN readers link KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog mainly for its No-Nonsense study guides for US amateur radio license exams, which are praised for exam-focused, mechanics-based explanations.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 11 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Most-linked posts?
- /study-guides/3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2018-10-07
What Hacker News says?
You may wish to know that the current executive budget proposal would shutter the NIST time radio broadcasts (WWV, WWVH, and WWVB)[1][2][3]. [1] https://swling.com/blog/2018/08/information-from-the-nist-re... [2] https://www.kb6nu.com/nist-to-shutter-wwv-wwvh-wwvb/ [3] https://www.nist.gov/director/fy-2019-presidential-budget-re... "Illustrative program reductions in FY 2019 -$6.3 million supporting fundamental meas…
Comment linking /nist-to-shutter-wwv-wwvh-wwvb/
on “EU to stop changing the clocks in 2019”Submitted Back to the future: Are hackers the future of amateur radio? as a story · 168 points
HN discussionBig fan of the No-Nonsense Technician-Class License Study Guide. In addition to vocabulary and terms, there's also sections about units and conversions and basic maths involved to understand the flow of electrical current as it passes through a system https://www.kb6nu.com/study-guides/
Comment linking /study-guides/
on “Ask HN: What are some good resources to learn how electricity works?”Submitted Are HF digital modes a national security risk? as a story · 4 points
HN discussionCheck out The No-Nonsense Study Guides[1]. They are stripped down to just the essential knowledge for the exams. They won't help you master the material, but will give you more than enough information to pass the exams. I used them with great success to pass all three tests on my first attempt. [1] http://www.kb6nu.com/study-guides/
Comment linking /study-guides/
on “When everything else fails, amateur radio will still be there and thriving”Submitted FCC proposes new fees for amateur radio licenses – KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog as a story · 2 points
HN discussionThat's fine for governments and corporations, but expensive for most individuals. Also, a geostationary amateur radio satellite is being launched in 2017: http://www.kb6nu.com/first-amateur-radio-geosynchronous-sate...
Comment linking /first-amateur-radio-geosynchronous-satellite-launch-2017/
on “When everything else fails, amateur radio will still be there and thriving”Submitted Another ham radio business owner shoots himself in the foot (2017) as a story · 1 points
HN discussionhttp://www.kb6nu.com/ham-ham-radio-ham-radio-amateur-radio/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology_of_ham_radio > I don’t think that you can argue with this. Let’s avoid confusion by using “amateur radio” when writing about our hobby/service. I’d even urge the ARRL to rethink their use of “Amateur Radio.” Sometimes, it may be OK to use “ham radio,” but it’s just not correct to use “HAM radio” or just “HAM.”
Comment linking /ham-ham-radio-ham-radio-amateur-radio/
on “American Red Cross Asks for Ham Radio Operators for Puerto Rico Relief Effort”Apparently this exercise was not quite what it was made out to be: http://adam.curry.com/html/PleasecancelyourARRL-1508324966.h... http://www.kb6nu.com/weighing-puerto-rico/ (FCC Amateur Extra class here)
Comment linking /weighing-puerto-rico/
on “Ham radio operators are saving Puerto Rico (2017)”1. You found your call sign already, but if you're interested in upgrading, the https://www.kb6nu.com/study-guides/ were very helpful for me becoming a general which lets you play in the world of HF radio. There are exams in almost everywhere about once a month http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-sessi... and they're just multi-choice which aren't too difficult. 2. For me, three things. There are…
Comment linking /study-guides/
on “Ham vs. Ham as Radio Amateurs Are in Conflict with ARRL”Newly minted HAM here. HamStudy is excellent, but / and works very, very well with these "No Nonsense" guides: https://www.kb6nu.com/study-guides/ They are excellent - they're built around the exam questions, but structured in a way that you understand the mechanics behind everything. I'd attempted my license before, but never managed. After finding HamStudy + those guides, got my technician, general and extra class…
Comment linking /study-guides/
on “Ham Radio 101: What is WSPR?”Also FWIW here are the two easy study guides used for US Tech/General licensing that can be downloaded. You shouldn't have any difficulty getting 35/35 on each in ten minutes. No Nonsense Technician Class Study Guide https://www.kb6nu.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2018-no-non... No Nonsense General Class Study Guide https://archive.org/details/NoNonsenseGeneralClassStudyGuide NB Tech now has 15 revised questions in…
Comment linking /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2018-no-nonsense-tech-study-guide-v1.pdf
on “Switzerland: Welcome to the Drone Valley”Currently studying to take the test next weekend. There's actually some really great free resources for anyone looking to learn[0][1]. That said though, a couple guys at my work have really gotten into it and have started volunteering at some of the events around the Boston area where I live. There's actually a surprisingly large demand[2] for amateur radio operators at public events like the Boston Marathon and par…
Comment linking /wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2014-no-nonsense-tech-study-guide-v20.pdf
on “Amateur Radio in Play in Aftermath of Nepal Earthquake”The Slinky antenna goes back to at least the 1970s.[1] It's not just a dipole. The helical coils give it a much longer effective length than a straight wire. Some preppers are into Slinky antennas. Compact in storage, easy to set up, reusable. [1] https://www.kb6nu.com/the-slinky-antenna/
Comment linking /the-slinky-antenna/
on “Slinky-Coil Dipole (2021)”
