Amateur Radio - G4BEE 'today'
From 1980, Amateur Radio operation by G4BEE was very sporadic. Two further house moves occurred with only the latest QTH offering any reasonable room for aerials.
Most operation was on 144MHz mobile using the ICOM IC-24G and a 5/8 whip on a magnetic
mount. Ten log book pages covered the period 1980 to 2002, an average of 10 QSOs
a year!
In 2002, I celebrated my long service award with the company and received a wadge
of gift vouchers to spend. I couldn't decide what to spend them on so I contacted
one of the 'big' dealers to see if they would take the vouchers. They agreed to
do so if I matched their value so a Yaesu FT-817 was purchased. The purchase of
this kit led to a bit of a revival in 'Ham Radio' activity, mainly using the FT-817
for portable operation during 144MHz 'backpacker' contests. I have also used the
FT-817 for operating on holiday in Malta as 9H3BR, using a 20m dipole on the SOTA
mast.
The station has now undergone a bit of a technology refresh with the old faithfull
FT101B now replaced with the ICOM 7400. A nice piece of equipment but I still haven't
figured out everything it can do. Recently, the Alinco handheld was also replaced
with the FT60E, which cost roughly half of what the Alinco originally cost - technology
moves on !
Activity is still a bit sporadic, I like to participate in contests, not with any
degree of seriousness, particular the 'backpacker' contests on 144Mhz although I
tend to remain sat in my car rather than walking up some hill with the gear unlike
many truly dedicated operators.
I also dabble a bit using PSK-31 on the HF bands, using the HRD software suite which
is incredibly sophisticated for a freebie!
Currently trying to get the CW speed back to what it was in readiness for a QRP
trip to 9H as 9H3BR (Malta).