G4MHJ - ERITH WEATHER
Welcome to my Amateur Radio or Ham Interests section. The reference to G4MHJ is my radio callsign.
This is my "shack", a term used for where my radio equipment is operated from. Below the two monitors I have a Icom ID51E vhf/uhf handheld radio, a Sommerkamp SRG-9600DX HF/VHF/UHF receiver, a D-Star display showing the time when not receiving stations, a mAT-30 HF SSB Tuner, above this I have an Alinco DM-330FX suppying 13.8v to all my equipment, next to the tuner is my main FT-991A transceiver as shown later below.
I can trace my interest in radio from the age of five when while listening to the Home Service or the Light Programme on the radio a voice would suddenly be heard with a man saying "CQ CQ CQ this is George Three Mike Charlie George". At the time I didn't know what this was except I can remember my parents saying that it was a local Ham across the road interfering with the Medium Wave Station. Shortly after this we moved to another house not 500 metres away as the crow flies and we never heard his voice again. Probably my first electronic experience was at the age of seven when I was closely watching my father fiddling with the inside of a TV when I received an electric shock. The next day I was in hospital with appendicitis so at that age I always thought the shock caused it! While at Primary School I communicated with my neighbour in our respective bedrooms using single headphone earpieces connected with a single thin copper wire and an earth link at both ends. Later in my early teens I built a Crystal Set with a small transistor amplifier. My father then bought my brother Michael an ex army receiver (an R208) which he used to listen to hams using morse code. I had the opportunity to listen to Broadcast Stations from around the world. Once I started work I purchased an Eddystone 840C, a rather basic receiver but at least it was up to date technically and it was one of the last valve sets produced - I still have it working over 60 years later. See my page of my original QSL cards from the 1960's Here. My brother went on to obtain an amateur radio licence with the callsign G4AYO. A good few years later I passed the necessary examinations and obtained my licence with a call of G4MHJ having passed the morse code test of 12 words a minute. Over time I have had QSL cards printed as well as my primary school's special event station. Click below to see Short Wave Listener's QSL cards that I have received monitoring my radio signals -> SWL Cards
I belonged to a couple of radio clubs and had many contacts both on the radio and socially in person. I still occasionally meet up with another ham G4ZCV who was in the same radio examination class back in 1980.
The above radio transceiver is my latest radio purchased during the lockdown. I use it mainly for the FT8 Digital Mode on all available wavebands as well as a digital voice mode on the 70cms waveband.
My antenna setup for HF is a HyEndFed Multiband from a manufacturer in the Netherlands. Click here for their external site. I use a Diamond X-50N for VHF/UHF.
The table below shows my last 15 contacts that I have forwarded to the QRZ Logging site.
It has taken me just under three years to obtain this Award for making contact with 100 different countries - quite a milestone with my modest equipment.
This is my "shack", a term used for where my radio equipment is operated from. Below the two monitors I have a Icom ID51E vhf/uhf handheld radio, a Sommerkamp SRG-9600DX HF/VHF/UHF receiver, a D-Star display showing the time when not receiving stations, a mAT-30 HF SSB Tuner, above this I have an Alinco DM-330FX suppying 13.8v to all my equipment, next to the tuner is my main FT-991A transceiver as shown later below.
I can trace my interest in radio from the age of five when while listening to the Home Service or the Light Programme on the radio a voice would suddenly be heard with a man saying "CQ CQ CQ this is George Three Mike Charlie George". At the time I didn't know what this was except I can remember my parents saying that it was a local Ham across the road interfering with the Medium Wave Station. Shortly after this we moved to another house not 500 metres away as the crow flies and we never heard his voice again. Probably my first electronic experience was at the age of seven when I was closely watching my father fiddling with the inside of a TV when I received an electric shock. The next day I was in hospital with appendicitis so at that age I always thought the shock caused it! While at Primary School I communicated with my neighbour in our respective bedrooms using single headphone earpieces connected with a single thin copper wire and an earth link at both ends. Later in my early teens I built a Crystal Set with a small transistor amplifier. My father then bought my brother Michael an ex army receiver (an R208) which he used to listen to hams using morse code. I had the opportunity to listen to Broadcast Stations from around the world. Once I started work I purchased an Eddystone 840C, a rather basic receiver but at least it was up to date technically and it was one of the last valve sets produced - I still have it working over 60 years later. See my page of my original QSL cards from the 1960's Here. My brother went on to obtain an amateur radio licence with the callsign G4AYO. A good few years later I passed the necessary examinations and obtained my licence with a call of G4MHJ having passed the morse code test of 12 words a minute. Over time I have had QSL cards printed as well as my primary school's special event station. Click below to see Short Wave Listener's QSL cards that I have received monitoring my radio signals -> SWL Cards
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I belonged to a couple of radio clubs and had many contacts both on the radio and socially in person. I still occasionally meet up with another ham G4ZCV who was in the same radio examination class back in 1980.
The above radio transceiver is my latest radio purchased during the lockdown. I use it mainly for the FT8 Digital Mode on all available wavebands as well as a digital voice mode on the 70cms waveband.
My antenna setup for HF is a HyEndFed Multiband from a manufacturer in the Netherlands. Click here for their external site. I use a Diamond X-50N for VHF/UHF.
The table below shows my last 15 contacts that I have forwarded to the QRZ Logging site.
It has taken me just under three years to obtain this Award for making contact with 100 different countries - quite a milestone with my modest equipment.