CQ zone 30, ITU zone 59, Locator QF22it, Shire of Macedon Ranges. DXCC: CW, Phone, 80m, 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, 15m, DXCC Challenge. WAZ.

Member: Wireless Institute of Australia, Midland ARC, Macedon Ranges ARC, ODXG, Radio Amateur Old Timer's Club #1432, FISTS #9697, CTC #2803, 30MDG #2652, DXCC, ARRL, TAPR.

Located in the peaceful Benloch valley, 10km NW of Lancefield, 80km NNW of Melbourne.

Tailenders Please Note: I rarely call CQ, so if you hear me in QSO, I have likely answered a CQ call, and it is not my QRG. So, unless I am on a run, give me a call up or down 0.5-1 kHz or so, after I sign and I will see your signal onscreen and most likely respond! On SSB, drop your call and nominate a frequency, and I'll be happy to meet you there.

If you simply must arrange a QSO with VK3 (we're not that rare!) I'm happy to make a scheduled contact attempt. I'm active and fairly capable on all HF bands and modes. Drop me an email.

About Luke Steele

First licensed in 1981, during second year of Army Apprenticeship as Electronics Technician. Served ten and a half years in the Royal Australian Corps of Signals as a technician, working in workshop and field, fixed and mobile communications units, from line to UHF radio relay, HF and satcoms. Worked through the '90s in private industry, eventually as a technical writer. In 2000 took up professionally a recreational activity - endurance horse trainer, working in Abu Dhabi stables for a few years. Since 2004, built up business trimming horses' feet. So, a childhood hobby of electronics became a profession, and now a hobby again, and a recreational interest in horses has become a profession.

Now I've turned into a DX-er!

Check my HRD OnlineLog at the bottom of this page.

Callsigns previously held: VK5NLS (Jun 81-Oct 81), VK3DIC (Nov 81 - Nov 82), VK4CEK (Nov 82 - Jun 86), VK3CEQ (Jul 86 - Jan 90), VK5HJ (Jan 90 - ?94?). VK3HJ since Jan 1990. (Dates from memory.)

Currently set up on 160m-2m.

HF Station

1:High Performance Software Defined Radio (Mercury/Magister/Penelope), FL-7000 (my primary station)
2: IC-735, FL-2100z
3: FT-901
4: FT-817 (My 5 W QRP rig. For DXCC QRP and use during mains outage!
5: FT-102

Spare: AL-811H

Antennae:

160m long centre-fed doublet
Hustler 6BTV
40m bobtail curtain
W5GI multiband antenna
Broadband (G3TXQ) Hexagonal Beam 20, 17, 15, 12, 10m.
80m dipole
160m vertical; 18m top loaded, capacity hat 6 x 6.5m wires.

VHF/UHF Equipment: tri-band FT-726R. 3 el Yagi for 6m, 12 el Yagi for 2m, 14 el Yagi for 70cm.

Operating modes: CW, SSB, Digital.

Main Operating bands: All HF Bands and 160m. Higher bands now picking up.

Current interests: DX, CW, SDR.

Next project: catching up on QSL-ing! Any direct QSLs received are usually answered immediately. In process of answering latest batch from Bureau.

Working on: Honour Roll, 5BDXCC, QRP DXCC.

Awards: DXCC -Current tally: 296 logged, 290 confirmed 23 May2012.
DXCC; Phone, CW, 15m, 17m, 20m, 30m, 40m, 80m, DXCC Challenge. Now qualified; 12m, Digital.

WAZ.
Country and Zone winner CQ DX Marathon 2010 (224/39/263).

DXpeditions: VK9LA Lord Howe Is 2009, YJ0VK Vanuatu 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Finding interesting DX just about daily, higher bands are great lately. Main mode, CW.
With few new DXCCs to work, I'm starting on my QRP DXCC, to fill in time! QRP tally 8 April 2012: 44 countries worked.

I usually upload to LOTW, eQSL, QRZ.com and Club Log on a weekly basis. You can also request a Bureau QSL card by using my Club Log Log Search page http://www.clublog.org/logsearch/VK3HJ

My eQSL profile is:http://www.eQSL.cc/Member.cfm?VK3HJ

I've just figured out this live web log thing, so check out my on-air activity below!