My Personal Interests

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• Amateur Radio - (first licenced in 1960) I operate mostly HF CW and some VHF FM for my radio club nets.
• Aerial and hardware development - high performance RF communications and test equipment, particularly for the HF (short wave) bands. Collecting, updating and re-emgineering Heathkit radio communications equipment. See below for some examples.
• Some technical authoring
• Giving talks on RF Communications topics - either via Zoom or face to face.
• Encouraging new entrants into the RF Engineering profession and the hobby of Amateur Radio. I am a trainer and registered assessor for the amateur radio licence training and examination programme run by the RSGB on behalf of Ofcom.
• Mentoring new and existing participants in RF electronics
• Software development - PIC Assembler; MS-Access; Harbour Mini Gui database development (Clipper compatible); Web site development (2 sites)
• Playing music (guitar and bass)

Some examples of my home constructed projects:

A re-engineered SB-310 covering all HF bands on AM, SSB, FM and CW (full bk-in)

A power supply providing 1100v, 420v, 300v, -150v, 6.3v and 12.6v

An SB-101 that has 160m added to the original bands

Dual Z-Match 1.8 - 146MHz

Station Console

It all started with a crystal set when I was 12 years old and subsequent reading of many electronics books.

Following completion of my engineering qualifications in 1962/3 via my professional institution I have been a design engineer for most of my working life and a Chartered Engineer since the mid 1970s. I started working with RF communications equipment covering LF to 500MHz in 1962 including a stint developing high reliability equipment for the Merchant Marine market and switched over to software and database engineering in the mid 1980s. Now retired, I have returned to designing, constructing and operating RF communications equipment in my amateur radio station. I am married with grown up twin sons. My current activities include:

A stabilised version of an HP-23 for use with an HW/SB-101

A stabilised 13.5V 25A PSU

Aerial switch Box

A stabilised power supply for use with 1.4v filament valves

More information on all of the above units is available from the Heathkit Projects / Information section of my technical web site at http://www.qsl.net/g3oou/

A 2000V 850W DC power supply

An SB-401 transmitter with full break–in and Top Band

Left handed electric bass guitar