Communicating with the world

Radio Hams communicate using short wave radio. Given

suitable equipment and the right atmospheric conditions, you

One day when I was quite

small, my Grandmother

gave me an old radio.

This radio was fitted with

a short wave band and I

was soon listening to

radio stations from all

over the World. This

ancient radio had its

limitations and then, for

Christmas, my parents

bought me new receiver

which could receive

single sideband (SSB)

signals. With this I was

able to hear Radio Hams

for the first time and I

decided I would join them.

I studied for my exams

and in 1971 I got my first Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) licence.

The middle photograph shows me operating G4AXA in the early days (probably 1972). The radio I am using is a Heathkit HW100 transceiver. The

other pictures show a radio contest at Liverpool University, me operating from a field and my first short wave listening station.

You can still find me on the radio waves from time to time.

 

Do you need a license?

Yes, a license is needed. To

obtain one you need to take a

training course and  an exam.

It is quite easy to get started

with a foundation license and

you can get details of how to do

this from the Radio Society of

Great Britain website.

What is G4AXA?

A ham radio stations have a

callsign. Mine is G4AXA.

The “G” is the country letter and

indicates my station is in

England. The rest of it is just

my identifier.

Things that interest me