Biography

Amateur radio training with the Victoria Short Wave Club, VE7EZ.
Morse code with Freda Muskett VE7TH and technical theory with Dave Aitkin VE7A.
Amateur since 1970. Advanced amateur in 1971.
Favourite HF bands are 80m 40m and 20m.
VHF on 2m.

Continued in electronics at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, BCIT.

Net: BC Public Service Net 3729.kHz 0130Z bcpsn.com

Favourite Amateur radio event: VE7EZ 1971, 1972 field days organized by George Redzik PEng, in Metchosin on Windy Bluff sheep farm 565 Wootton Road. Help from Al Muir VE7BEU and his van with 2m to guide club members to the site , The VSWC setup 3 stations: Setup was 3 weekends before, one weekend after to tear down. Lots of PL259 terminating into antenna switches and SWR meters. Lots of rope guying towers often to one of many large stumps. Several ground rods were pounded in at stations, main generator and tower anchors.
South Station, 80m + 40m dipoles, 20m yagi on 40ft Delhi with excellent CW operators eg: Sid Young VE7SM 40+wpm vibroplex, long time editor of VSWC magazine Zero Beat; Al Robson VE7. A 40 ft motorhome, generator Onan 3kw. Also powered the food tent, nicely provisioned by club XYLs. 2m was a Motorola Porta-phone on 147.33 simplex. Two delta loops and a sloper leading down the bluff. Radios: Drake R4-B, T4XB owned by Gordie Robson VE7, beautiful linear amp 1kW quad 572B built by John Foss VE7. Truck camper. Saturday afternoon we saw amazing operators like Brent Ewing VE7BD (Olds 442) and Dale Green VE7SV who brought their own Signal-one CX7 transceiver, keys and headphones. Their skills at getting weak signals into the log were excellent mentoring.
North Station was a 20-15-10 yagi at 48 ft, 2 delta loops on 40m in Bob Earl's VE7BQF van, running a Collins KWM2 HF transceiver and Collins 30L1 amplifier.
The main generator was a civil defence trailered 15kw 4 cylinder Hercules gas engine, extended gas tank was a 45 gallon drum installed by Wilf Stevens VE7WS. This generator was located between the South station and the middle station, heavy 3/12 and 3/10 extension cords.
In the early hours there was a cold wind, we were glad to have the shelters, and yes we
needed the heat on. Check or dupe sheets were double sided 8.5x11, prefix codes: K no underline, W circle, WA underline, WB double underline. These saved many dupes !
Queale Electronics loaned 2 Rohn telesopic steel masts that provided about 30 feet for a yagi tuned for the CW portion of the band
Don Thorne VE7AST, Harold Karcher VE7BCI and Alan Thomson VE7BDT stayed in my parents tent trailer, near the middle station. Too hard to sleep with the wind buffeting the trailer and alarm for “live” refilling the 2 smaller Onan generators each hour.
Notes to self: always bring sun UV protection, face cream for windy locations like Windy Bluff Farm. Outdoor noises like wind, generators and conversations are a good environment for headphones. VSWC FD budget for misc hardware, gasoline, food, was exceeded however the experience, comradery, listing in QST and skill sharing was easily worth it.

Equipment

HF receiver is Drake R4C, Transmitter is Drake T4XC.
HF Antenna: 80M dipole, 40m delta loop 20-15-10m yagi.
VHF transceivers: Icom IC-211. Yaesu FT-221