Welcome to RF StateSide — Where RF Engineering Meets Practical Innovation

A New Home for Modern Amateur Radio Engineering

Welcome to RF StateSide, a dedicated hub for RF design, high-performance amplifier technology, embedded control systems, and practical engineering for the modern amateur radio operator.

Whether you’re a seasoned RF engineer, a builder, a contester, or someone who simply enjoys understanding how things work, RF StateSide was created to give you real-world tools, real engineering insight, and real innovation—designed and built right here in the USA.

Why RF StateSide Exists

Amateur radio has evolved dramatically in the last decade.
We now operate in a world of:

• High-power LDMOS amplifiers

• Software-defined radios with exceptional dynamic range

• Embedded controllers that protect, monitor, and automate

• Wideband couplers, sensors, and real-time metering

• Digital modes and remote-control operation

• High-efficiency power systems like Eltek and data-center rectifiers

Yet even with all this technology, the quality of support hardware, measurement tools, and control software varies widely.

RF StateSide aims to bridge that gap by providing:

• Tools built for engineers and operators

• Open technical transparency

• Practical, measurable design improvements

• Hardware and software you can trust in the shack

From Workbench to Web: Sharing the Engineering Journey

For years, I’ve been designing and building:

• LDMOS amplifier controllers

• Directional couplers and RF sensors

• Teensy- and ESP32-based embedded systems

• Qt-based cross-platform desktop applications

• Precision current, RF power, and SWR measurement systems

• High-power switching and protection circuits

• Remote monitoring interfaces and Nextion UI layouts

• Station automation hardware

Much of this development is done on an RF workbench packed with analyzers, test gear, simulation tools, and a never-ending set of real-world challenges.

RF StateSide is where that journey becomes shareable.
Every design, lesson learned, measurement, graph, and breakthrough will now have a home.

Projects You’ll See Featured

Here’s a preview of what RF StateSide will be showcasing:

🔹 RaySspaController

A Teensy 4.1–based controller for multi-kilowatt LDMOS amplifier systems, featuring advanced protection, RF sensing, temperature management, and full Nextion UI.

🔹 MercuryLuxPc

A modern Qt (C++) desktop controller for the KM3KM Mercury LUX amplifier—cross-platform, fast, and packed with features beyond the stock app.

🔹 RayEltekController

An ESP32-S3 based controller for Eltek HM34 / Flatpack2 power systems, enabling smart control, monitoring, and integration into modern stations.

🔹 RF Couplers & Sensors

Custom high-power directional couplers, overload detectors, RF sampling hardware, and ADS1115-based precision measurement modules.

🔹 Nextion UI Systems

Custom display interfaces for power amplifiers, shack controllers, and station automation.

This is only the beginning.

What to Expect Going Forward

RF StateSide will feature:

✔ Engineering writeups & project breakdowns

✔ Schematics, block diagrams, and practical circuits

✔ RF measurement tips & analyzer plots

✔ Firmware and software insights

✔ Tutorials for amplifier builders and experimenters

✔ Behind-the-scenes development updates

✔ Photos, 3D renders, and workbench showcases

✔ Product pages for key ongoing projects

The goal is simple:
Give the amateur radio and RF engineering community a resource built by someone who builds, tests, and uses this gear every day.

Thank You for Being Here

Whether you're here to learn, collaborate, or follow along with new designs, I’m glad to have you as part of the RF StateSide community.

There’s a lot more coming—and the journey is just beginning.

Stay tuned for new project releases, technical articles, and engineering deep dives.

73,
Ray / KB1SO
Founder, RF StateSide, LLC