Licensed since June 1976. Main station operations centre around HF digital modes, with an emphasis on FT4 and FT8 across the 10m, 12m, 15m, 17m, 20m, 30m and 40m amateur bands.
The primary station rig is an Icom IC‑7300 (acquired in 2024 to succeed the IC-7000), which is a very nice radio that's easy to settle into. The touchscreen and the live spectrum display help quickly spot activity. The receiver is clean and quiet. USB connectivity keeps digital modes simple, and the built‑in tuner handles small mismatches without fuss.
A GPA-80 end-fed vertical antenna mounted in the garden for HF radio operation, covering the bands from 80 meters to 6 meters. It features a durable aluminium construction and does not require a counterpoise, making it easy to install.
My primary on-air activity centres on FT4 and FT8 digital modes, on the 10m, 15m, 17m, 20m, 30m, and 40m bands. Digital modes provide high spectrum efficiency and remarkable weak-signal readability, making them ideally suited to modest antenna setups.
