One step forward ... three steps back.

One step forward ... three steps back.

From Foundations of Amateur Radio by Onno (VK6FLAB)

March 7, 2026 · 6 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges of troubleshooting in amateur radio and the importance of a systematic approach.

Foundations of Amateur Radio Still excited from my minor victory in discovering a missing puzzle piece associated with the project I'm working on, I spent the past week introducing my head, if not literally, at least figuratively, to the surface of my desk in a traditional head-desk troubleshooting move that you might be familiar with. I suppose it's an improvement on the "Bear with a Toothache" approach. In short, the Yak is losing hair .. rapidly. You might be wondering why I'm telling you about it, since in the land of milk and honey nothing ever goes wrong and all the answers are presented on a silver platter, except when they're not. Within the amateur radio community, it appears to me that the inclination to fiddle is ingrained and widespread. Given that the hobby is all about experimentation and learning, that's not a bad thing, but there are times when this behaviour can be counterproductive. Specifically when you're troubleshooting. Faced with a problem, there are times when a systematic approach is warranted. For some, the first time they come across this phenomenon is during the practical test component of their amateur radio license. Presented with a station, they're…

Topics covered

  • troubleshooting
  • amateur radio
  • experimentation
  • learning

Keywords

  • troubleshooting
  • amateur radio license
  • experimentation

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Yak, GNU Radio, Orange, Lemon, Onno VK6FLAB

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