Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on ones perspective, each of my long term hobbies comes with the ultimately expensive adage: ’one can never have too many ’nnn’s’ – where one substitutes ‘nnn’ for: in the case of Photography… lenses, in the case of making music… synthesisers, and of course in the case of amateur radio…radios! Presently, …more
First times are often a mixture of things we either don’t wish to remember much about or conversely we certainly do, todays first was certainly the latter. The first for me today was a foray into what appears to be a current favourite amongst many UK amateur radio enthusiasts, that of Bunkers on the Air. …more
It was very much a last minute thing, but at the latest club night, a few members of my radio society were asking about Railways on the Air which, we thought this year we were not going to participate in. However, earlier this year the club moved QTH to a new location which is pretty …more
I am heading to Steepholm Island in the middle of the Bristol Channel on Sunday 20th August and plan to operate SSB on the 40m and 20m HF bands from around 10:00 UTC. I will also have my FT70 handy with me which I will couple to my Slim Jim and so can operate a …more
My amateur radio club (Newport Amateur Radio Society) entered the Practical Wireless 2M QSP contest on 11th June which of course needed someone to scout the proposed location for suitability, and so the day before the contest I headed up to a gorgeous spot on the southern side of the southern Brecon Beacons called The …more
I mean come on…. outstanding views, clear skies, temperatures around 24°C, a motorcycle and an Icom IC-7300 – what more could anyone want! I guess to summarise my experiences of this gorgeous hillside location, there’s little else to say except that this was simply a wonderful ride to the middle of nowhere, coupled with some …more
With the skies totally devoid of cloud, the sun shining and the temperature a few degrees above 20°C, this could only mean that in my part of the world spring has finally sprung, which ultimately meant that a last minute Sunday afternoon ride was on the cards! Grabbing the Yaesu FT-70 and my Uniden 125 …more
Well, a few weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon after I had finished work, the weather was the warmest it has been so far this year, so at 3:00 in the afternoon I decided on a quick ride the 10 or so miles to the small car park on the South side of Twmbarlwm, just …more
Getting prepared for motorcycle adventures on HF this summer has moved a tiny step closer. After making a few phone calls trying to decide where I should source the foam for my motorcycle back-box, I took a trip across the old Severn Bridge earlier this week to a company in Bristol – Foam Cutting and …more
This is a very belated post about last years Lighthouses On The Air event in August. Thought I should at least document something. Lighthouses have long served as beacons of safety for seafarers navigating treacherous waters. But did you know that lighthouses also play an important role in the world of amateur radio? In Newport, …more
