Ham Radio – a hobby that is enjoyed by many – and endured by their family, friends and neighbours.

I got my Ham “ticket” in 2001 after passing what was then known as the City & Guilds RAE plus the 12wpm Morse test to get the old Class A (or “Full”) licence.  Over the years, my interests have moved from VHF “square-chasing” to operating across HF and using CW a fair bit.

Although chasing the DX makes my logbook stats look pretty, I’m happy to have a chat if conditions allow – if I’m on CW, I usually call at around 18wpm but will QRS if asked.  Aerials include: An 80m Doublet, a 20m loop and a VHF/UHF “white-stick”.  Plus, there’s a 2m/70cm radio in the car.

In recent years, I’ve enjoyed operating portable in order to make the most of a better location.  A 40m Doublet is my preferred HF /P aerial.  For 2m, a home-made Slim-Jim on FM, a 5ele yagi for SSB, plus simple dipoles for 4m+6m.  Portable logging is taken care of via an Android tablet and my own tabLog application.

How are the bands?  I often use the NOAA website to see how HF is looking – if there’s a colourful “splodge” (what I like to call a Jackson Pollock) on the map then things may not be good.  The Solar Levels here also give a good indication as to conditions.