Grab a Coffee. Let's Talk Radio.
Brew & Activate is the weekly N1JUR live show about taking amateur radio outside, trying things, learning what actually works and talking about the stuff that happens between the perfect YouTube moments.
POTA is a big part of the conversation—but we also get into antennas, portable gear, SOTA, Tiles, operating skills, experiments, challenges, guests and whatever questionable radio idea the Brew Crew gets into next.
Radio Is the Topic. The Conversation Goes Everywhere.
Brew & Activate isn't a lecture and it isn't another perfectly scripted gear review. It's a live conversation about getting on the air, trying things, learning from each other and occasionally discovering that the Brew Crew has taken us somewhere completely different than we planned.
Field Radio
POTA, SOTA, Tiles, portable setups, antennas, activations and the lessons that only show up once the radio leaves the shack.
Ideas & Experiments
New challenges, weird operating ideas, gear experiments and plenty of opportunities to ask, “Will this actually work?”
Brew Crew Conversation
Live chat, questions, polls, opinions and viewer experiences are part of the show—not something happening quietly off to the side.
Guests & Radio Stories
Operators, builders, activators and other people doing interesting things in amateur radio stop by to share what they're working on and what they've learned.
Start With the Latest Show
Missed Friday? Start with the newest Brew & Activate and then work your way through recent conversations, challenges, guests, portable-radio experiments and whatever rabbit hole the Brew Crew found that week.
Refined takes the conversation from Brew & Activate and condenses it into a shorter version when you want the useful stuff without committing to the entire live show.
Radio Talk Without the Screen
Sometimes watching a livestream isn't practical. Brew & Activate is also available as a podcast, so you can bring the conversation along for the drive, the workbench, the dog walk or the next attempt at organizing the shack.
Portable radio, activations, antennas, gear, experiments, guests and Brew Crew conversations— just without needing YouTube open in front of you.
Don't Just Watch the Show. Be Part of It.
Brew & Activate works because the people watching are part of the conversation. The live chat isn't background noise—it regularly changes where the show goes next.
Bring a question, share what happened on your last activation, vote in a poll, take one of the challenges, or tell us why the questionable radio idea we're discussing is either brilliant or completely ridiculous.
Show Up Live
Fridays at 10 AM Eastern. Bring coffee, questions and opinions. We can handle at least two of those.
Jump Into the Chat
Ask questions, share experiences and help steer the conversation while we're live.
Take the Challenge
Some episodes turn into something you can actually go try on the air and report back to the Brew Crew.
Keep It Going
Continue the conversation, share what you're working on and stay connected between Friday shows in the Brew & Activate Discord.
Help Keep the Coffee Hot and the Radios On
If Brew & Activate, the videos and the other questionable radio projects around N1JUR bring something useful to your week, memberships are one way to help support the work behind them. No telethon required.
Don't Let Friday Be the Only Time We Talk Radio
Field Notes brings the useful stuff from around N1JUR straight to your inbox—new videos, upcoming shows, activation ideas, projects, gear worth knowing about and the occasional deal that might actually be worth opening another browser tab for.