Biography

Born in 1967, SWL since age 7. First Licensed in 1982 at age 14 (as G6IUT), then progressed to full licence (and my present callsign) by passing the 12wpm Morse code test at age 15. I became a fan of CW, going on to teach Morse to several pupils at the Bletchley Park Morse centre. I was appointed an RSGB County Morse examiner in the late 1990s, recognising my dedication to helping others in following what has become a passion for me.

I am extremely active as an SWL - I have over 352,000 QSOs logged; in 337 DXCC.

My main areas of interest are DXing; CW; data modes (mainly RTTY/FT8/FT4/MSK144); antennas; NDB & other beacons; and VHF DX. I have logged at least 100 DXCC entities on every band from 160m right through to 6m. My main ambition is to get WAC and WAS on 6m. My 6m WAS tally is, so far: 38 States. WAC: Still need Oceania.


* Married (my XYL also holds a full amateur licence, although she is not active at the moment). We have 3 daughters, plus cats (currently 4), rabbits (currently 4) and a guinea pig.

* I was the International Editor for WRTH (World Radio TV Handbook), from 2001 until the company ceased in 2022.

* Freelance Technical Writer/Author and a co-author of the RSGB book 'Computers in Amateur Radio', writing both the introduction and the chapter concerning data-mode software.

* Have also produced logos and advertising materials for several clients.

Please visit my radio website: http://www.hfradio.org.uk

73, and hope to hear or work you on the bands!

Sean, G4UCJ

Worked DXCCs:

Equipment

Main HF Transceiver: Yaesu FTdx10 Hybrid-SDR covering HF, 6m and 4m.

VHF & Backup HF: Icom IC-756proII (on loan from G4IRQ as my 756pro has died) with 2m TXCO controlled transverter + 90w linear amplifier.

Portable HF: Xeigu G90 Multimode SDR 20w TRX.

HF & VHF Receivers: Racal RA1792; RFspace SDR-IQ SDR; Airspy HF+ Dual Port SDR; Airspy HF+ Discovery SDR; Airspy R2 SDR; Funcube Dongle Pro Plus (FCDpro+) SDR; Yupiteru MVT7100; Baofeng GT3TP MKIII, 8W dual band handheld TRX; BF888+ 70cm handheld TRX, x2; Quansheng UV5K (8) handie; CommRadio CR1; Sangean ATS-909 (Roberts R861); Roberts R5504; Degen DE1103; XHData D808.

ADSB Rx: Prostick+ RTL-R820T2 based dongle with ADSB Filter and 2 element colinear (in the attic), into RPi then feeding 360 Radar and FlightAware.

Antennas: The current antennas in use are a 20m circumference triangular sloping loop, apex fed via a 4:1 balun (apex at 6.5m). The loop resonates on 10m, where it is 2 wavelengths long. The loop is good for 20-6m. Other antennas up at the moment are a 5-element short-boom PowaBeam yagi for 2m @ 6.5m, hand rotatable only; a 6m half wave dipole at about 7m all mounted on a fibreglass telescopic mast (extendable to 15m). In the garden is a 1m diameter aluminium loop fed with a CCW loop amplifier, which is a very low noise antenna, with extremely sharp nulls, mounted at 0.5m above ground. A CCW (Cross Country Wireless) active receive-only delta loop (2m span) at 1m above ground, which is used as a phasing antenna together with the other active loop (via a modified MFJ 1026 phaser). For 4m, I use a 2-element 4m 'VK2ABQ style' mini-beam (in the attic).

To help combat some of the man-made interference, I use an MFJ 1026, which has been a real lifesaver on many occasions! Providing you can supply a good noise signal on one antenna and a stronger signal than noise on the other antenna, you stand a fair chance of improving the overall clarity of the wanted signal. Doesn't work 100% every time, but it works to some degree on most problems.
A second MFJ1026, modified for 160 and MW DX, is in the shack. Also available is a kit-built 'X-phaser' (from 'Raduso', in Poland - which is of a different design to the usual, eBay available, x-phase units from the Far East).

For calibration purposes, I have a GPS/satellite locked frequency standard (Trimble Thunderbolt) that is accurate to around 2ppb, or better.

The antennas here tend to change every so often as I decide to try something different. Antennas I have used in the not-too-distant past are a discone (general vhf/uhf receive); a turnstile (for weather satellites); a tri-band (6/2/70) vertical; I've even had the CCW active delta on top of the mast).
For HF, I've tried various dipoles; an 'Off Centre Fed Dipole/Windom' and of course, an End Fed Half Wave (EFHW). I couldn't give the EFHW a fair trial as the 49:1 balun was only rated at 20W PEP, so if more than about 10W of FM/Data were put through it there was a real chance it could over-heat. Put 20W of FM/Data on a band that it is not a good match for and I'm pretty sure it would start smoking/cook the ferrite in the balun so that was no longer usable!
I intend to try the EFHW again, once I have made, or obtained, a much higher power 49:1 or 64:1 balun.

This year (2024) I have decided to increase the number of QSOs I have. By February, I had already eclipsed the number of QSO's from the past 5, maybe 7 years. I had spent those years SWLing and just making the odd contact here and there when I found an interesting station. It is April now and I am approaching 400 QSOs - not that many really, but it's far more than I usually make in a whole year. My other intention this year was to work at least 100 DXCC entities. So far, I am around 75 DXCC and there are still a lot of 'easy' ones to make. I'm keeping a separate log of my QSO's so they don't get lost in my main station log. In addition, I am keeping a visual record of these by using a map with virtual 'pins' indicating the grid locator of each station, with a different colour for each mode. Being somewhat nerdy, since 1996 I have been keeping statistics of Stations/DXCC/Prefixes/Grid Squares/WAS/US Counties/WAC heard. When you have almost 30 years of data, certain trends can be seen (such as the 11-year sunspot cycle progresses with a shift towards the higher bands or lower bands, as the minima is approached). Each year I set a target for myself which helps with motivation. The most common target I set is to beat the previous year's scores! I also target DXpeditions, to hear them at the least, and on as many bands/modes as possible. If the DXpedition is audible at a decent enough strength I may try to work it. With the advent of FT8, this has become a more common prospect than it used to be.

Well, that is it, for now. 73 and thanks for taking the time to wade through my ramblings. I hope to work as many of you as possible, and I never refuse a QSO. If you have called me and haven't heard a reply, it may be that I haven't heard/seen you
or I have heard/seen you but I was already calling/trying to work someone. Hang around because I will call you as soon as I am free to do so. Best wishes to all, good DX, be courteous to others (if they are using a mode you do not wish to use, or do not like for whatever reason, there is no need to be nasty to them. There is far too much of this going on throughout the various social media platforms (FT-haters,
Those who are phobic/nasty/deriding towards new licence holders, etc).

Enjoy this wonderful hobby, and let others do the same! G4UCJ ...-.- . .