Biography

Hi
I have been licensed since November 2002 but have been involved with radio, all be it CB, since 1982 when my father brought home his first radio, an Amstrad 901 for the UK FM CB band.
Things stepped up a gear in October 1994 when I passed my driving test, this then meant that I was no longer restricted to operating hours or location. Most of my operating was then /M, or if out longer /P, and many hours was spent talking either around the UK, or the globe, from 1 of several favoured spots.

Then in 2002 a close friend informed me he was taking his Foundation Licence and encouraged me to do the same. So in November 2002 two friends (M3WBS & 2E0EJA) and myself made our way to the Newbury and District Amateur Radio Society(NADARS) foundation course. Well you know the outcome.

Although many of you will ask, why haven't I progressed with my licence? the answer to me is quite simple. In all the years that I played with CB my greatest achievements were always at the lowest possible output power (enough to make the contact). After all it was a good friend from CB that quoted,
"You cannot transmit further than you can hear".
It took me a while to work out this quote, but eventually it sank in.

I enjoy the practical side of the hobby, in particular constructing my own antennae including matching devices etc. and not just using wire. I try hard to make sure that these antennae perform and I will rarely use a tuner, after all I need to make the most of my 10watts.

The below station setup was put into place early this year (2022) and to date has performed well with the vertical really proving a winner for me.

Equipment

Station HF Transceiver: Icom IC756Pro with SM20 mic
Antennae: 10mtr vertical fibreglass pole with a wire fitted with slight helical winding fed via 49:1 unun with 14ft counterpoise for 20-10mtr bands.
40mtr End Fed Half Wave wire again fed via 49:1 unun for 80-10mtr but also tunes Top Band with the internal tuner of the 756Pro.

VHF/UHF Transceiver: Yeasu FTM400XDR with HRI200 running on seperate computers for both and Wires-X
Antenna: Maas copy of an X200 mounted at the apex of my house roof above TV antenna.

Mobile HF Transceiver: Kenwood TS480SAT
Mobile VHF/UHF Transceiver: Icom IC2820

Favourite operating mode is Ft8 currently with occansional use of Ft4