W0ZW Ham Radio Logbook

The Station Notebook, By Wayne Greaves, W0ZW.

There is a station accessory that no Amateur Radio shack should be without. It works with stations that operate HF, VHF, UHF, microwave and even moonbounce. It is useful to both "Big Gun" and QRP stations, casual operators, contesters, DXers and rag chewers alike. It doesn't matter if you operate phone, CW or data modes.

Best of all, it is readily available and costs under five bucks. This amazing addition to your shack is the Station Notebook. Every ham should maintain one for his or her station. Here's what it is and how to use it.

Quite simply, the station notebook is a collection of technical or operational details specific to your station that you document in a journal. The Station Notebook is a living document that grows over time as your station evolves. What kind of information goes into the Station Notebook? Some examples include:


Station block diagram
List of equipment models and serial numbers
Antenna descriptions and dimensions
Record of measured SWR versus frequency for each antenna
Document radio memory settings for stored frequencies and other variable settings
Station RF exposure evaluation
Results of tests and experiments
Description of changes, additions, or modifications to equipment
Your notes can be as simple or as detailed as you want, but the important thing is that they get written down!

Ham Radio logging with W0ZW