The combination of the nature of amateur (ham) radios within microwave bands and the lack of any kind of store-bought gear that operates within these bands raises the need for home-made equipment. When the design for a 10 GHz ham radio station was discussed within the amateur radio community, a key missing block was a reliable low-noise amplifier (LNA). This application note describes how a 10 GHz LNA was custom made with the use of NI AWR Design Environment™ circuit design software.