About Amateur Radio
Amateur Radio (AR) is a fascinating hobby and one that I have been involved in for many years. To become a Radio Amateur, you need to pass a technical examination and understand all the rules and regulations. This is different from "Citizens Band" (CB) radio that allows anyone to transmit without any technical knowledge. So what is the difference between AR and CB?Well, for a start, on CB you are limited to specific frequency bands and transmit powers. This means that radio communication is possible usually over only short distances and is quite restrictive. With AR, there is a much larger range of frequencies to use and the maximum permitted transmit power is a lot higher. This allows long-distance communication as well as more reliable shorter-range communication. Also, Radio Amateurs can try many different types of transmission including data, TV , the use of satellites and even bouncing signals off the moon. Many Radio Amateurs also build their own equipment and experiment with many types of radio communication. More information on Amateur Radio can be obtained from the web site of the Radio Society of Great Britain (click the link at the side).
How I Started
I was always fascinated by radio communication and started to get interested after I went to visit a relative who was a Radio Amateur. He showed me his radio equipment and gave me a demonstration of how it all worked. Then, a few years later when I went to University at Liverpool, I joined the University Radio Club and decided to take the exams.I sat my exam at the Riversdale Technical College in Liverpool. This was a written test and covered technical topics and the rules and regulations. In order to obtain the full (class A) licence, I also had to take a Morse code test. This required me to send and receive a message at 12 words a minute and I did this in the Liver building and was supervised by a Naval Officer! I was successful in both tests and was allocated the callsign "G4AUF". After I was licensed, I soon took advantage of the University's radio equipment and started to notch up contacts. However, I regret to say that I didn't like using Morse code and I soon got out of practice!
These days, the Morse code test is no longer required and the exams have multiple-choice answers to tick rather than requiring written answers. There are 3 levels of exam: The Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced that allow progressively more use of available frequencies and power levels. The exams are still challenging, however.
The Early Years
I was quite active in the early years and obtained my own radio equipment. I could be heard quite often on HF and VHF and I made quite a lot of interesting contacts all over the world. I regularly spoke to other Amateurs in Europe and the USA. I also managed to contact Australia and Japan and a few other distant countries. I moved to London when I started work and soon joined my local Amateur Radio Club - "The Radio Society of Harrow". In the 80s we were extremely keen and I regularly participated in contests with the Club. This involved going out over a weekend to high spots and erecting frightening amounts of metalwork (the antennas) and then using as much power as we are allowed to contact as many other stations as possible as far away as possible. It sounds dull but in fact it was very exciting and involved a lot of planning and organisation, ingenuity and hard work.
Nowadays
These days, I don't have too much time for contests or even talking to others on the air. I am, however, still active in my radio club in which I have served in a number of posts including Newletter Editor, Treasurer and Chairman. I also maintain the Club's website.The Club is still quite active and we meet regularly for talks, video eveings, junk sales and lots of other activities. If you are interested, you can learn more by visiting our Club web site by clicking on the link at the side. Here there are details of where we meet, our programme of events and general information about Amateur Radio.