Author: gm5alx
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Get a G in the UK
If you pass your full licence today, you can apply online to get a M0 callsign but you can also apply and get any previously issued prefix. Well, nearly every one. However, it’s not entirely obvious how to do this. In fact, when I spoke to ofcom about reserving a call or putting a hold…
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First attempts at LEO 🛰️
My previous attempt ended with just listening to the astronaut, and whilst fun, it wasn’t what I was actually meant to be doing. I’ve since read the manual and, mostly, figured out the D72. As the radio is quite old there is both lots of info online and also a lack of it, depending on…
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Listening to Astronauts 👨🚀
A while ago I managed to pick up a Kenwood D72 from a SK sale for a good price. This is one of the few handhelds that do full duplex, and is also packed with features, including APRS and GPS. This makes it ideal for FM satellites. I recently picked up an Arrow II handheld…
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A great day on 10
If you’ve been paying any attention you would know propagation on 10m has been exceptional this past week or so. Given my shack relocation, I’ve been missing out on it…until today! I had some time around lunchtime and when I looked at the maximum usable frequency on this site, I was amazed to see the…
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First on Five
For a little while, the Matrix Radio group have been talking about a HF net at some stage. I think I offered to do something, but have yet to do so! Steve, M0XVT, raised that he joins a 60m net and we all thought that sounded like a good idea to try. We’d agreed to…
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Live on Youtube
Was on the computer doing things and switched tabs to YouTube and I saw Callum, M0XXT, of DXCommander, doing a live stream on 40m. Thought I might as well give him a call. My antenna was unplugged, as it comes in through the window and now it’s getting chilly in the mornings, so I had…
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A good evening on 15m
For some reason, I tend to avoid trying out 15 meters, but yesterday I decided to give it a shot, and it went quite well. I began by experimenting with my 39.5-meter random wire antenna in the garden. It has excellent reception, and I could hear approximately 20 Japanese stations. However, when it came to…
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QO-100 Build: Part 2 – The Hardware
I spent a while debating if I really wanted to build this. I knew the build would be fun, but would it be fun using it? I also knew it wasn’t cheap, and would I regret it once I was done? After a few weeks of thinking this whilst researching the build, I ended up…
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Grid square chasing with GridTracker
Shortly after getting on the air with my Xiegu G90, I became intrigued by FT8. After some initial experimentation, I managed to set it up and began making QSOs. Initially, I was thrilled to hear stations from all over the world – Australia, Japan, South America, and various other places. At first, I believed I…
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What to do
It’s both a blessing and a curse that amateur radio has so many different facets and parts…I can’t even begin to list them all: antennas, operating frequencies, circuitry, radios, modes of operation, amplifiers, structures, networks, digital, analog, moon bounce, competitions, prizes, collecting, … and even each of those sections has subsections or intersections of sections…