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I passed the UK RAE in December 1981 and received my Amateur Radio license and
call sign June1982. I established my first station during the summer of 1982 in
Tonbridge,Kent. The station at that time was VHF and, UHF only comprising of
Sommerkamp TS280 FM 2M transceiver feeding into a 5 Element Jaybeam mounted on
top of 10M high telescopic mast with a rotator, and a Yaesu FT 780 FM 70cm hand
held transceiver.
In 1986 I moved to Worthing and re-established the station at my new address
using the equipment above, but in the autumn of 1987 hurricane force winds
ripped across the south coast of England, causing considerable damage to my
station mast, and antennas. I managed to salvage enough to get the station back
on the air, but in the spring of 1989 during more storm force gales my mast and
antennas were damaged beyond repair. Discouraged and lacking finance I decided
to pack the remains of the station away until I had more time and money for the
hobby, and forgot I had the equipment.
During the spring of 2006 I got the old equipment out of the loft dusted it off
and started to rebuild the station, much to my amazement the old 2M and 70cm
rigs still worked so my interest in the hobby was rekindled.
Now the station comprises of a FT-7800R 2M & 70cm FM transceiver feeding into a
Diamond X-30 high gain dual band collinear antenna mounted 4M above ground
level,a Yaesu FT-790R FM 70cm hand held transceiver for UHF,and a FDC-150A 2M
hand held transceiver for VHF portable work.
My HF setup is made up of a Sommerkamp FT-767DX (same as Yaesu FT-707) HF
multi-band SSB & CW transceiver with a MFJ-1275 sound card interface, and a
MFJ-901B ATU. I use this transceiver mainly for digital modes such as PSK31,
PSK64, RTTY and so on. I also have a Yaesu FT-450AT all-mode, multi-band
transceiver for HF and 6M that I use mainly for phones. This transceiver
connects to the antenna system via a MFJ-914 automatic ATU range extender.
Both of my HF rigs feed into a Jr. version of the G5RV wire dipole antenna
mounted 6M above ground level.
The station is located in the town of Worthing, which is situated about 15
kilometers west of the City of Brighton, about 20 kilometers east of the City
of Chichester and about 45 kilometers south of the City of London. I live about
2 kilometers north of the sea and because the terrain is almost flat here my
station is only about 10 Meters above sea level.
My QRA locater is IO90st.
I am a member of the WACRAL, my membership number is 1603.
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