May 2026
Summer 2026 — Monsters, Microwave, and Complete Antenna Madness
31/05/26 17:53
N5XO Blog
Summer 2026 — Monsters, Microwave, and Complete Antenna Madness
Retirement was supposed to mean slowing down.
Apparently, my version of “slowing down” involves climbing towers, rebuilding antenna arrays, replacing equipment vaporized by lightning, developing new Amateur Radio software at 2:00 in the morning, and consuming enough Monster Energy drinks to medically qualify as an alternate power source.
Welcome to Summer 2026 at the N5XO house in Converse, Texas.
Honestly… I’m having the time of my life.
This summer is shaping up to be one giant Amateur Radio adventure, and I’m more excited about the hobby right now than I’ve been in years.
Of course, Mother Nature apparently noticed I was having too much fun and decided to get involved.
As many of you know, we recently took a lightning strike that turned several pieces of equipment into very expensive decorative paperweights.
Among the fallen heroes:
But every ham knows the rules.
If smoke escapes the equipment… the project simply enters “Phase Two.”
And honestly?
I already had major upgrades planned anyway.
So instead of being depressed about it, I decided to lean fully into the madness and launch what can only be described as:
Operation: “Well… While We’re At It…”
The primary tower is scheduled for a full antenna makeover this summer.
Current plans include:
Because I honestly suspect that microwave and 10 GHz operation may end up being the final summit of my Amateur Radio career.
There’s just something fascinating about pushing farther and farther into the weak-signal and microwave world where everything becomes more difficult, more technical, more precise… and somehow even MORE fun.
The higher you go in frequency, the crazier the adventure becomes.
And apparently, I looked at that and thought: “Yep. Sign me up.”
Of course, tower work is never complete without wildlife interference.
Specifically the local buzzards and hawks who remain fully committed to destroying my horizontal omni antennas for 2 meter SSB.
At this point I’m convinced they hold planning meetings nearby.
Every time I think I’ve solved the problem, one of them lands on the antenna system with the grace and subtlety of a bowling ball dropped from orbit.
I’m fairly certain they wait until I finish repairs before launching the next attack.
Meanwhile, software development insanity continues at full speed.
Along with all the antenna projects, I’m continuing development on several Amateur Radio software projects focused heavily on VHF/UHF operation, propagation support, logging, and communication tools.
But the project that currently has me REALLY excited is a brand-new Meshtastic terminal application.
My goal is simple: Build something flexible, useful, informative, and actually enjoyable to use.
A lot of modern software feels like it was designed by engineers who are personally angry at humanity.
I’m trying very hard NOT to do that.
The new software focuses heavily on:
But honestly, one of the BEST parts of this summer has been working with other Amateur Radio clubs and helping promote weak-signal VHF/UHF activity through the HAMsters group.
That part has been incredibly rewarding.
I’ve really enjoyed encouraging operators from local and regional clubs to step outside the normal repeater world and discover just how exciting simplex, weak-signal, SSB, microwave, and long-distance VHF/UHF operation can actually be.
Because once people experience it…
Once they hear a distant weak signal rise out of the noise…
Once they work stations hundreds of miles away on frequencies most people think are “line of sight only”…
Something changes.
Suddenly the hobby becomes an adventure again.
And THAT is what I want people to experience.
Not just talking THROUGH infrastructure… …but actually communicating station-to-station.
Building antennas. Experimenting. Learning propagation. Chasing openings. Improving stations. Trying crazy ideas. Having fun.
That spirit is still very much alive.
You just have to discover where it’s hiding.
So yes…
Summer 2026 currently includes:
I wouldn’t change a thing.
73, Greg Lewis — N5XO
Summer 2026 — Monsters, Microwave, and Complete Antenna Madness
Retirement was supposed to mean slowing down.
Apparently, my version of “slowing down” involves climbing towers, rebuilding antenna arrays, replacing equipment vaporized by lightning, developing new Amateur Radio software at 2:00 in the morning, and consuming enough Monster Energy drinks to medically qualify as an alternate power source.
Welcome to Summer 2026 at the N5XO house in Converse, Texas.
Honestly… I’m having the time of my life.
This summer is shaping up to be one giant Amateur Radio adventure, and I’m more excited about the hobby right now than I’ve been in years.
Of course, Mother Nature apparently noticed I was having too much fun and decided to get involved.
As many of you know, we recently took a lightning strike that turned several pieces of equipment into very expensive decorative paperweights.
Among the fallen heroes:
- My tower-top camera system that let me monitor antenna alignment, weather, and generally keep an eye on the horizon like some retired suburban NORAD operator.
- The Meshtastic relay system.
- One of my Flex 6400M radios.
But every ham knows the rules.
If smoke escapes the equipment… the project simply enters “Phase Two.”
And honestly?
I already had major upgrades planned anyway.
So instead of being depressed about it, I decided to lean fully into the madness and launch what can only be described as:
Operation: “Well… While We’re At It…”
The primary tower is scheduled for a full antenna makeover this summer.
Current plans include:
- Adding a 45-element loop Yagi for 900 MHz weak-signal SSB operation.
- Replacing the stacked 32-element loop Yagis on 1296 MHz with stacked 45-element beasts.
- Replacing my disappointing 220 MHz quad with a proper high-performance Yagi.
- Continuing the slow but exciting move into larger antenna arrays, microwave operation, and eventually 10 GHz work.
Because I honestly suspect that microwave and 10 GHz operation may end up being the final summit of my Amateur Radio career.
There’s just something fascinating about pushing farther and farther into the weak-signal and microwave world where everything becomes more difficult, more technical, more precise… and somehow even MORE fun.
The higher you go in frequency, the crazier the adventure becomes.
And apparently, I looked at that and thought: “Yep. Sign me up.”
Of course, tower work is never complete without wildlife interference.
Specifically the local buzzards and hawks who remain fully committed to destroying my horizontal omni antennas for 2 meter SSB.
At this point I’m convinced they hold planning meetings nearby.
Every time I think I’ve solved the problem, one of them lands on the antenna system with the grace and subtlety of a bowling ball dropped from orbit.
I’m fairly certain they wait until I finish repairs before launching the next attack.
Meanwhile, software development insanity continues at full speed.
Along with all the antenna projects, I’m continuing development on several Amateur Radio software projects focused heavily on VHF/UHF operation, propagation support, logging, and communication tools.
But the project that currently has me REALLY excited is a brand-new Meshtastic terminal application.
My goal is simple: Build something flexible, useful, informative, and actually enjoyable to use.
A lot of modern software feels like it was designed by engineers who are personally angry at humanity.
I’m trying very hard NOT to do that.
The new software focuses heavily on:
- Better communication flow
- More usable information
- Increased flexibility
- Better situational awareness
- Real-world functionality
- And fewer moments where users scream at the monitor
But honestly, one of the BEST parts of this summer has been working with other Amateur Radio clubs and helping promote weak-signal VHF/UHF activity through the HAMsters group.
That part has been incredibly rewarding.
I’ve really enjoyed encouraging operators from local and regional clubs to step outside the normal repeater world and discover just how exciting simplex, weak-signal, SSB, microwave, and long-distance VHF/UHF operation can actually be.
Because once people experience it…
Once they hear a distant weak signal rise out of the noise…
Once they work stations hundreds of miles away on frequencies most people think are “line of sight only”…
Something changes.
Suddenly the hobby becomes an adventure again.
And THAT is what I want people to experience.
Not just talking THROUGH infrastructure… …but actually communicating station-to-station.
Building antennas. Experimenting. Learning propagation. Chasing openings. Improving stations. Trying crazy ideas. Having fun.
That spirit is still very much alive.
You just have to discover where it’s hiding.
So yes…
Summer 2026 currently includes:
- Tower work
- Antenna upgrades
- Microwave experimentation
- Meshtastic development
- Weak-signal operation
- Club activity
- Contesting
- Propagation chasing
- Fighting buzzards
- Replacing lightning damage
- Drinking alarming amounts of Monster
- And probably inventing several new curse words along the way
I wouldn’t change a thing.
73, Greg Lewis — N5XO