Biography

About Me

I've been tinkering with electronics since I was a kid, getting into the hobby with Dick Smith's Funway into Electronics guide from the early 80s.

I've played with radios since I was a teen, using an AN-PRC/77 during cadets at school, a CB 27MHz radio, and other various widgets throughout my cadets journey. More recently, I've gotten into Amateur Radio, and the rest is history.

Licence History

I gained my ACMA Amateur Radio Foundation licence in March 2022, which allowed a range of bands and modes up to 10W maximum. While quite limiting, I have been able to make digital mode QSOs around the world with relative ease.

I have since upgraded to my Amateur Radio Standard licence in July 2022 which allows power up to 100W for SSB modes, and 30W for UHF/VHF.

Equipment

ICOM:

Icom IC-705 multi-band QRP radio - basically only used for digital modes.

Icom ID-51A dual band handheld with DStar - this has been retired, as the radio constantly powers off despite a full charge. It lived a tough life before it came to me, so I think it's had it.

Radioddity:

Radioddity GD-77 dual band UHF/VHF HT, with OpenGD77 firmware - usually only used at home for hotspot use, and it doesn't get used often.

Radioddity GA-510 dual band UHF/VHF analog radio, programmed for CB UHF frequencies as well as some licensed frequencies used by a volunteer organisation of which I am a member. This is my work horse, and if I'm leaving the house, it's always with me in the car ready to go in its boot-mounted custom-built charger.

Other miscellaneous digital radios:

Anytone UV878 dual band UHF/VHF HT - sold this as I just wasn't using it. On the plus side it did APRS, but on the downside, the codeplug software was a complicated mess and it was annoying to program. I'm glad it's found a better home.

TYT-MD9600 (mobile) flashed with OpenMD9600 (OpenGD77) - sold mainly because it took up room and I just wasn't using it in the car very much.

Tait TM9300 - sold because I just wasn't using them in the car ever.
Custom-programmed NSW GRN radio:

Motorola XTS5000 which scans the NSW Government Radio Network (or NSW GRN). This is a receive-only radio, and mainly sits at home.

Motorola APX6000 which also scans the NSW GRN. This one tends to go with me when I'm at work. It's a receive only radio, but it is programmed with ham frequencies for UHF FM and UHF P25 repeaters.

Motorola APX6500, car-mounted NSW GRN radio. Basically the same codeplug as the APX6000 - scans the NSW GRN and has some ham frequencies in it too.

Most of my radios are also programmed with additional frequencies:

UHF Citizens Radio bands
Licensed VHF frequenciesfor organisations of which I am a member

Test