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Well, Northern England that is… Just received some bitter sweet news that great pal of mine has been given the all clear from Cancer, only to find that his Mum is ill with it. I’m not mentioning names or call signs, but you are one hell of a guy, and you know where I am if you need anything at all.

I was hoping to go to Tiree this year as part of an activation with “The Black Country DX and Contest Group”. Being out of work in 2011 has put paid to that. Even though I am in work and it’s going well, I don’t want another big bill to jump up and slap me round the face and force me to drop out at the last minute.

It’s also looking like I won’t be in the CQWW 160 CW this year, as the forecast winds are high, and I don’t have anywhere to guy “The Beast ” to…

Anyway, bar that, I’m doing good, Wendy and Jack are as noisy as usual and we have some time off planned in May, a bit o’ radio and a lot of sight seeing. I’m looking forward to being a bit more active in 2012 with our little group, so come the better weather, I am really looking forward to being up at our site and knocking some new ones down. I ain’t doing too bad from home either, the DXCC score is rising sharply. Oh for a couple of acres with no neighbours though!

Thanks for reading, and hope to hear you on the bands.

Kev

To one and all, friends, family and fellow amateurs worldwide.

Yes I know it should strictly be kept on my GB2HI page, but this video is so good, I wanted to post it here!! Cheers Mart!

Hi all..
Sorry for not updating so regularly, but, I have had a rough time of late with work, and I am only just getting back on my feet.
I have found employment, I am now in charge of a small fleet of vehicles used in the processing of waste food oil, and turning it into Bio Diesel. It’s local to me, about 15 minutes and is very challenging but I am getting a real buzz from it!

Radio wise I haven’t had chance to do much, as the 12-15 hour days leave me without much time, but hopefully that will ease soon. I have received my Worked All States award, and I also can now confirm that I worked all 50 States of the USA in 24 Hours operating on 10M, happy? Very!

I would also like to apologise publicly to my dear Pal Tim, M0URX, as my work with 4W6A QSL has had to take a back seat due to work pressures, I am sorry you have had this final part put on you Tim, but you know the last month or two has been hard for me.

Anyway, off to work I go, we are installing a new Bio Diesel plant in the factory, and I am learning about the gubbins of it!!!

Just received confirmation that I have now Worked All States, that’s another milestone passed in amateur radio, one I am sure Uncle Merv would have been chuffed to hear about!

Thanks to Bob, K0BH for the confirmation, the TNX shack wall is going to need extending for all these ARRL Certificates!

Yup, the last couple of weeks has been THAT eclectic..
My radio activities always seem to revolve around long periods of planning, talking and waiting, followed by intense, relatively manic periods of frantic activity… It seems ages ago now that Mart and I were wrestling with a 40 foot pole in a gale, and being bellowed at by the amateurs of the world.. Since my return from Hilbre, a lot has happened, both in life and radio wise. Unfortunately, my struggle to find a job I can setle into is continuing, but I will remain positive and keep looking. Radio wise, it’s been a meteoric weekend.

I’ve just taken part in my first ever CQWW SSB contest, to non radio friends that read this, it’s a world wide competition to contact as many stations worldwide as possible in a set time. I can’t explain it, if you don’t understand contests, but it gives you the chance to “work” stations that sometimes don’t have a fully active radio amateur presence. They are stressful, challenging on your resolve as well as your equipment, but can be so rewarding. To achieve in less than 24 Hours operating, what some amateurs will never do in a lifetime is fantastic.. Some of the contacts I have made this last 48Hrs have been awesome.. To hear the flutter of an auroral signal from Alaska (Where your signal has bounced off the Aurora Borealis) is amazing. You can hear the flutter and the tones of a voice are altered slightly. To then hear signals literally coming around the world is amazing, you first hear the signal coming it’s shortest route, then milliseconds later the echo as the signal going the long way round arrives.. Truly, truly stunning

I also have found out what a great bunch of pals I have,my support crew on CQWW SSB 2011 has been fantastic, I cannot thank you all enough. I’m sat at home now, having a cold one and just chilling out. My head is still buzzing with all the callsigns and the noise of a contest, to be able to decode the call signs through the noise of a contest and the atmospherics makes you realise that the best form of filters are your MK1 Ears..
Here’s some pics of the antenna that made my (radio) dreams come true, to The Lee’s, Barry, Ron DIY, Saggy, Ronnie COC, Mart and my beautiful missus, thanks one and all, I couldn’t have done this without your help and superb support.

Back off Hilbre, and after a bath, food and a good nights kip, I wanted to put a personal note down for the people that email me and tell me they read my drivel regularly!

I forgot to mention the wonderful support from my beautiful Missus Wendy. When I found out that I needed to get fuel, jerry cans and the generator, I had spent my last bit of available funds, Wen told me to dip in the joint and get money from there, thanks babe, any chance of an FT-DX 5000, 120 foot strumech and stacked MONST ir’s please? heheheheh…

Hilbre was a lot harder this time, we actually had less kit in the car, as we had no generator to carry through Lee’s (G0DBE) kindness. The difficulty came when we were alone on the Island, the wind was blowing a hoolie and we were really struggling. We so wanted to get on air and start giving EU120 out. The mast, as yo will see in the next photo was getting some serious stick, we had it guyed at 4 levels, at 120 deg, this will be changed for the next outing it has, to guying at 90 deg. Martin and I were a bit fraught doing this, and because we knew a) we couldn’t get off the Island! and b) we are good friends, we refrained from strangling each other! The other bit of pressure came when the ATU blew up, created a high voltage point on the 10M tuning section of my linear and melted a soldered joint. It was an easy fix, but one that we definitely could have done without. It meant though, that the ATU, even on through, would not let us use 10M, so that band will have to wait another time, even though we made a few contacts early on, before the band was open properly.

Some of the operating we witnessed was disgraceful, stations calling over QRP guys, we were sworn at a couple of times if we didn’t pick up a particular person straight out of the pile up, we had abuse from an Italian (allegedly, he used a false call sign) station on the DX cluster. I had spoke with Tim, M0URX on his return from East Timor, and Tim had mentioned they had been sworn at too.. I wish these people would actually get into their thick skulls we would love to work them, but they are either a) too weak, or b) too busy calling as we are asking for them to make their call, so they never hear us… The money, grief and time invested in even only a small activation is large, but then again, most of them would never dream of getting out, gaining permission to stay somewhere and putting themselves out. Unreal.

I love operating a pile up, hearing the wall of sound that comes back to you if people want to call you is amazing. But to hear strong UK stations be pushed into the noise by JA and VK operators is superb. I must admit, I have yet to come across a discourteous JA operator, or VK for that matter, it must be something from the pacific! Also, it was great to hear Frank, VK7BC come straight over the pile up, normally Frank is middle of the pile, and for some reason I can always hear him call, weird. But, to hear him at 10 over 9 at times was superb. The other really cracking contact was ZD8O on 40M, Ascension Island is always wanted, and to hear it so strong was superb, one call I had hoped to work didn’t call in, Bob VP8LP from the Falklands was a seriously missed contact.

I’ve got a bit of work to do before Friday, I’m running in the CQWW contest, what band I am going to run is yet unclear, just keeping an eye on the weather. But there are a few repairs that need to be effected here at TNX towers before the next Hilbre Jaunt, yup, I am definitely going back there, I’m also trying to get Charles, M0OXO to do an activation together, we’ll see how that goes on.

Thanks for reading, sorry to moan, but it gets my goat that people do not see the hard work, hours of preparation, money and grief that go into even the smallest activation. Catch you after CQWW

it’s just after 02:44 local, I’m off to Hilbre in just under 10 hours and I’m like a kid at Xmas!!
Really looking forward to getting going today, I hope Mart and I can make some good contacts. Weather looks a bit iffy, but we’ll still be giving the low bands a bit of a bash. Radio is my lovely Mk5 Field, the antenna for 40-160 is a 40 foot vertical section, sloping inverted L to about 20 foot. It’s a version of 1/2 a W3DZZ made to work on 160. The antenna will be fed against about 1.2Km of radials, varying from 8 feet to just under 140 feet.. A real field of wire! We will have some power assistance too, in the form of my old amp supply co amp. I’m just going to set the databases up for the logging programs, we’ll be using Ham Radio Deluxe on SSB, and when I’m on CW, I’ll be using N1MM logger, which also allows me to send CW and log it at the same time, from this laptop.

Hope to hear you on the bands!
dit dit!

Last few days on the radio have been superb, really enjoying the conditions, and working some great DX. Had a run on 30M this morning, couldn’t sleep, so got up and pounded the key.

Had a run of around 20 state side stations on 30M CW, was called by VE7SV, who was amazingly loud, but fluttery as anything, must have been coming over the pole?

Really chomping at the bit for Hilbre Island now, me and my pal Martin are out as GB2HI at the end of this month and I really hope that we are blessed with these superb conditions! Our QSO tally last time was 1500 and some, It would be very nice to come near that, and operate on a few bands we didn’t get chance to use last time there due to antenna constraints and band conditions.

Back to the radio!

For those that don’t speak my native tongue, Lancastrian, Eyup! is a greeting pronounced hay oop!
It means good to see you, glad to be with you.

I’d like to say Eyup! to all the gang back from Atauro, the last few weeks have really taught me something about myself, and about the amateur radio hobby and fraternity.
First of all, the fraternity. As in any close knit community, there are bad apples, it takes a rare DX entity to weedle these out. The idiots constantly calling whilst being told to “stand by” or “QRX”… It must mean something else to the lids (poor operators) I have had the pleasure of listening to, it must mean “keep calling even though the DX station you are trying to work is calling you back, you tit”

The flip side is that I have met some really, really decent amateurs. Polite, courteous and respectful, isn’t that what the hobby is about?
I received an email from Al, W5IZ, in which Al states..
“If anyone complains, they should go to Timor and experience first hand what the team did…before their complaints would have any credibility.

We sit in our air conditioned shacks with reliable electricity, foods and safety and then try to second guess the wonderful folks who sacrifice themselves to activate rare dx spots…SHAME ON US!!!”

Al, you have hit the nail right on the head. These guys have gone to a very poor part of the world, with poor facilities and worked and average 21 Hr day, yes 21 Hrs, for the whole dxped to give us the chance to work a new one.

So what have I learned about myself? I am unbelievably passionate about the hobby, I was also awake for long stints sorting out a lot of the emails received, sorting the log enquiries. I know I am ready for another chapter in amateur radio to open up.

The most important thing I have learned is that I am a good operator. I have set my standards high, and want to raise them further. I have great friends that will keep me straight and tell me if I do something incorrectly.

To all the guys on the 4W6A team, it has been my pleasure and privilege to be a small part of the DXped, Tim and I are now working on the logs and sorting the QSL’s out.
Thanks for the trust shown guys.
To all the idiot operators, who will never learn that it is better to listen, to not be a crocodile, you keep calling, the split button and ignore list are growing..