The year 2025 went quite well here at K5ND. The usual activities occurred, such as installing new antennas and taking part in the VHF contests in January, June, July, and September. I also activated DM85 in the Texas Panhandle. Additionally, writing the contest results for the ARRL June and September VHF contests has been a real pleasure.

Internet Traffic Update

The traffic here on k5nd.net increased to 84,116 pageviews from the 77,000 recorded in 2024. The Six Meter Antennas blog remained at the top, with “Guide to 6 meter DXing” in second, and the free eBook “Magic Band Revealed” stayed at third. My post on the IC-7100 and Meteor Scatter remained in fourth and fifth places. The meteor scatter post received most of its traffic during the big meteor showers. See the nearby graph of activity.

Magic Band Revealed eBook Count

The latest third edition has now been downloaded over 6,000 times. This is a strong comparison to the first edition with 7,000 downloads and the short-lived second edition with 1,000. So, I’m spreading the word on six meters.

Contest Update — VHF Single Op Portable

I started competing in this VHF contest category in 2024 and continued into 2025, all while operating from EM01wv. It’s worked out incredibly well, and I’ve won the category every time I’ve entered. I’m getting ready to head out there this weekend for the January 2026 VHF contest.

VHF Grid Chase

My FFMA count is now at 486, having worked DN00 this year. The only remaining grids are CN71 and CN75 — just waiting for a kind rover to show up, along with great band conditions.

Ham Shack Update for 2026

The main task in December was assembling the pieces to upgrade my ham shack for 2026. That started with a new computer. I had been pleased with the Beelink computer I bought a couple of years ago because of its features and low cost. However, it tended to overheat and then crash. That simply doesn’t work for me.

So I researched and found that the Dell Pro Micro Plus would meet my needs perfectly, offering plenty of display and USB ports in a very compact size. It’s more than I need for ham radio, but I’ve always believed that overkill is underrated. I’ve also added a second SSD, more RAM, and a large fan to keep it cool. It also comes with a user manual! Which really helped with all the updates I’ve done. Here’s a photo with the four-display setup.