Hi there. Thanks a bunch for the interesting Q S O and stopping by.A little about myself,I have 78 years on the clock and have been retired now for 7 years.How I ever found time to work il never know

I spent the last 30 years of my working life [with no time off for good behaviour,or parole ] working for the Local Government Authority of my city,mainly in Administration.Fortunately my home is only 3/4 of a mile from the office,just a 6/8 minute stroll away so no commuting

I have always been interested in radio since the days of crystal sets and cats whiskers.For years I operated on "other bands" no doubt like many older hams have,until I was peruaded to sit for my liscence by "The Man" to get it, or else.Needles to say I got it.

Liscenced in 1990 with c w at 12 w p m ,not quite the good old days of 20 w p m, I rushed home clutching my precious piece of paper attesting to the fact that I was a general class Ham,I fired up on 20 mtrs c w put out a c q in my finest fist at a respectable speed { I thought } of about 10 w p m got an answer back at what I thought was 50 w p m, got such a hell of a freight that i switched the dear old 520 off and havnt been game to get on c w since.

First lesson learned get an Elmer for the first few contacts until one gets the feel and rythem.Well thats my story and I am sticking with it.

My band of preference is 20 mtrs with a resonant inverted V up at about 30 ft,it must be working as so far the countries worked are 213.Have recentley erectec a 35 ft tower with a Mosely th 33 junior,having fun even in this low cycle.

Being retired I have other hobbies and toys to keep me amused and off the streets.I ride a Suzuke 750 v twin m/cycle with a group of other "mature grey haired bikers but only on the nicest of days.A 100 mile ride a big mack a coke and we are rejuvinated for another few weeks until the next sunny day.

One of my other hobbies is home theatre I am a real movie nut. There is nothing nicer than watching Arnie do his thing on my 120 inch screen.

My other main interest is over seas travell. Usualy my vacations are temprature dependant,that is when it gets cold say about 8-10 degs cen. blows and rains I am off to warmer climes for 2 - 3 months.Usualy park my self on some nice tropical island with white sandy beaches some where in Asia and ride out the worse of the N Z winterSo far my tally of isands is 27 mainly in Indonesia, Thailand Malaysia Myanamar. Indonesia alone comprises of over 1200 islands so I have a few more to see yet.Some fabulous dx sites but due to political and government policies no chance to operate unless as a gust operator.

Well once again thanks for stopping by an reading this far, yoy are one tennacius fellow. I can confirm that there is life after 40 50 60 no 78 years of life. CHEERS 73 de gino ZL2GRZ