I have been a Radio Ham for about a quarter of a century. I originally held the UK Class B (VHF/UHF only) callsign G8FNT but have held the Class A call G4CLF for about twenty years. In the early 1970's I was a member of the Swindon Amateur Radio Society (SDARC) VHF Contest Group and, with G3ZVC (now KF6C) and others, operated GW3FEC/P from the Welsh Mountains. When I commuted between Cheltenham and Swindon in the 1970s and 1980s I used to be very active on the Swindon Repeater GB3WH. I have also, at various times, held the callsigns:-
I have also operated from 4X, DL, GJ, GM, GU, GW, HB0, HB9, I, KH6, LA, OH, ON, VE, W0, W1, W6, W9 and /MM from the English Channel.
My interest in Amateur Radio is more constructional than operational. I have built whole rigs (including the G4CLF SSB transceiver) but I am more interested in gadgetry to assist operating. At various times I have built an Iambic Keyer which does NOT use the Curtis chip but three pieces of cheap 4000 Series CMOS, an auto TX timeout for repeater use, a smart T/R controller for mobile operation, a Semi Break-in Keyer T/R Controller which steals its operating power from its own T/R line, and many others. I scarcely own any piece of commercial ham gear which has not been modified or added to in some way. Email me if you want details of any of my gadgets or if you would like to discuss any project you may have - many of them have been published here and there (Wireless World, Practical Wireless, Ham Radio, Radio Communication & QST to name but a few).
I am not very active at present - I run an IC-706 MkIIG into a Cushcraft R7000 on HF SSB (but I have to put it up to operate - no planning permission at present) and a VHF/UHF colinear on FM and occasional SSB. I have one CW QSO per year whether I need it or not. I occasionally appear in contests or to work DX but my operation is mostly chatting with friends worldwide on skeds.
I always QSL when asked. If I owe you a QSL please let me know.
When travelling I carry 2m & 70cm HTs and use them in repeaters wherever I may find myself.
Despite not being very active I have large numbers of friends who are Hams and visit them all over the World.
