Biography

Hi, welcome to my QRZ!

For those interested, I am now a WAB'er. ST64, Book No.19740

My interests have traditionally been Meteor Scatter and weak signal communications on 4m and 6m - more recently mostly using the WSJT modes but still resorting to CW and SSB sometimes! Following a few years of progressive degradation of the noise floor in my suburban location I was forced to abandon weak signals in 2010 and rethink my operating arrangements.



I am an electrical, mechanical and lighting engineer and was also an experienced installation electrician and installations inspector, until chronic degeneration in my lower spine and Fibromyalgia left me disabled in 2006.

I started repairing TV’s, videos and later amateur radio equipment from 13 years of age. I passed the City & Guilds Radio Amateurs' Examination aged 15, having read a loaned RSGB Radio Communication Handbook from cover to cover several times and then entering myself in for the examination as an external candidate, without any other tutelage.

I had an old Eddystone RX and was an avid SWL. I was initially mentored into amateur radio by an already ageing G2 who kindly loaned me some 1950’s reel to reel RSGB CW tutoring tapes. He also gave me a 1930's three speed Marconiphone reel to reel tape deck (which I still have!) on which to play them. I started on "slow" and progressed from there!

I moved to Glastonbury in my mid-teens and was taken under G8KBQ’s wing (also silent key), who mentored me in thermionic VHF/UHF amplifier design and practise, and we attended numerous Longleat rallies together until John's long-term illness finally took its toll.

Like so many amateurs now, I mainly forego the joys of design and construction for the ease and convenience of the commercial equipment, however I still insist on designing and building the odd antenna and amplifier when the mind and body agree with each other..... ;o/

From 2012 I have rediscovered HF and MF and take a particular interest in JT65HF and Opera (not the musical one).

Thanks for looking. keep well and of course, Gud DX!!!

73 GL de N!ge.

Equipment

Main Radio: Apache Labs Anan-100D HPSDR.
4m Radio: Apache Labs ANAN-10 + M+E ME4T-Pro 4m Transverter
Backup/ VUHF: Icom IC-7100.
Backup / VHF #2 Yaesu FT-817.
Antenna 1: Random Long Wire / HB 9:1 Unun @10m.
Antenna 2: 6m 5/8λ vertical @10m.
Antenna 3: HB broadband vertical 10m long mounted at ground height.
Microphone: Heil PR40 on an ISK angle poise arm.
Interface: For Apache SDR Not required for Flex - all audio remains in digital domain until the SDR D/A.
For the Yaesu, G4ZLP isolated interface.
For the Icin, Not req as built-in.
Amplifier: Acom 1000.
Other Equipment: HB GPSDO 10MHz frequency and time Standard, Heros SCR Preselector CAT, MFJ 1045C preselector (for RX2), Ameritron RCS-4XL remote 4-way antenna switch.
PC: Self-built Intel 3960k (4.2GHz) Sandy Bridge-E, 32GB 11 11 11 28, OCZ 128GB Vertex 4 x2 in RAID 0 (1000MB/s), GTX-580, GTX-275, triple 1080p monitors.
Netwk Analyser DG8SAQ VNWA 1kHz – 1300MHz.
Spec Analyser Signal Hound USB-SA44B 1Hz – 4GHz.