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RSGB

Find out how to become a Radio Amateur in the UK

ARRL

the US national organization of Amateur Radio operators.

I became interested in Amateur Radio in the 1970‘s after discovering ways of transmitting signals to a medium wave radio as a young boy - although I only transmitted a few meters it was the start of the radio bug for me. I was under 10 years old!!

My interest in radio was boosted as a teenager when I discovered CB radio in 1979 and dreamed of owning one of my own. In 1981 somehow I managed to persuade my dad that it was a good idea if he bought a CB, since we were living in a remote part of North Wales at that time and we might get snowed in!!. In fact we did get snowed in that winter, but the radio didn’t help much! It was a great tool for making new friends though.

I was living very close to the Arfon VHF voice repeater (GB3AR) and I could receive its signal on an old broadcast receiver. I heard Radio Amateurs for the first time and I wanted to know more. Still it took me until 1988 to finally get licensed.

Over the years I’ve played with many areas of radio technology including television transmission and slow scan television. I ran a packet radio node and worked on my own double speed packet modem design, but sadly packet radio sort of died a death when the Internet became popular. But still its nice to know that the work that Radio Amateurs were doing contributed to things like GPRS and mobile Internet. What would the world do without us? !!

I am also a member of the Norman Lockyer Observatory Society and have a keen interest in Solar observations and their relationship with radio wave propagation, climate change and other weather phenomena as well as meteor detection.

In 1997 my brother (also licensed) and I experimented with an early VoIP program called “Pow Wow”. Those early experiments kindled a technical interest in linking radios via the internet. At that time we still used dial up modems!! - But interest grew and since 2003 I have operated a UHF Internet gateway in Exeter City (430.050 Mhz)

My Present Station Setup:

HF & 50 MHz

Main TRX - Alinco DX70TH (I run only 50W PEP / 20W AM or less)

QRP and AM: Homebrew 80m AM 2.5W rig using IRF510 / MFJ2940 20m SSB QRP (at 5W)

Antenna: choice of either 90 ft Doublet, or G7FEK nested marconi multiband vertical - 80 thru to 6m

VHF / UHF

FDK Multi 700E - An Old 1970’s 2m FM transceiver (My first rig and still going) into a HB9CV antenna

Portable VHF/UHF - Alinco dual band handie talkie.

About Mike, G7FEK

A very brief history of how I became interested in radio.