I was first licenced in 1966.  I'm not very active on the amateur bands as I spend too much time doing other things such as electronics, computing, general short wave listening, the 'net etc.  I have been involved in radio all my life.  I spent some years as a sea-going Radio Officer with the Marconi Company and subsequently worked for the Radio Services Department Wireless Telegraphy Section (posh name for the GPO as it was then called) in the Coast Station Service at Portishead Radio (GKL) and Anglesey Radio (GLV).   I'm a member of the Dragon Amateur Radio Club.

The latest addition to the shack is an Icom IC-756PRO2.  I had an IC-756PRO before and was very impressed with it and had already decided to upgrade to a PRO2 so when a gentleman came along and offered me good money for the PRO I let it go.  After some looking around I located a PRO2 and it now has pride of place in my shack.  The PRO2 is a superb radio.  Some people refer to the PRO2 as the 756 Mk3, the PRO being the Mk2 and the original 756 as the Mk1.  This really gives the wrong impression as although there may initially appear to be more than a passing resemblance between the original 756 and the PRO's, they are totally different animals.  Whilst the original 756 was a perfectly adequate radio the PRO's incorporate a lot of digital circuitry and cutting edge technology.   I've had most rigs through the shack, including a couple of FT-1000's, but I firmly believe the IC-756PRO2 really is the best of the bunch at the moment.  If you're a cw operator like myself you will find the filtering in the PRO to be one of the many things that leave the competition standing.  Come on Yaesu, you've been basking in your own glory for long enough, the FT1000 is a dated design, time to move on.  One day all radios will be built this way......

My other radio is also an Icom, the IC-775DSP, another superb transceiver and in many ways not too dissimilar to Yaesu's FT1000, but with Icom's superior quality of course!  (by now you will have realised I'm an Icom fan).  A short while before purchasing the PRO I spent a lot of money buying cw filters for the 775, if I'd have known I was soon to become the proud owner of a PRO I'd have kept my money!   These two radios really do complement each other.  The PRO is small and quite 'dinky' whilst the 775 is a big radio and actually has some features lacking in the PRO.  A number of controls which appear on the 775's front panel have to be accessed via the menu on the PRO simply because it is physically quite a bit smaller and the front panel obviously has less room for various controls.

There is a lot of excellent information on the 'net relating to the IC-756PRO so I may, when time allows, collect some URL's and list them here...

The PRO and the 775  have built-in cw keyers but I normally use my own electronic keyer, a Logikey, built from a kit produced by Idiom  .

Over the years I have had an enormous number of different old receivers.  These include the R107, R208, PCR2, B40, various Eddystone models, BRT400, RA17/RA117, Marconi Mercury, AR88, CR100/150/300  etc etc.  My latest 'baby' is a Hammarlund SP600 or R-274B/FRR which is in very good condition.  I hope to spend the next few months restoring this  receiver to it's former glory.  Want to see what an immaculate Hammarlund SP600  looks  like ?  There are a number of very good boatanchor sites on the web and also a newsgroup (rec.radio.amateur.boatanchors) that caters for lovers of the old classics.

My present antenna is a Carolina Windom manufactured in the USA by Radio Works.  In over 30 years as an Amateur I have only ever purchased one commercially made antenna, a Mosley TA33 Jnr.   All my other antennas have been home-brewed so it was with a feeling of some shame that I purchased this Carolina Windom!...I consoled myself that the cost of the individual parts would have been considerable but really all that is required to make a windom for 40 meters and above is 66' of wire, 2 end insulators and a balun.   So does it work and was it worth it?  Check out the Carolina Windom.  I've had lots of emails about this antenna.  I did promise (a long time ago...) to write an update to my Windom page and I intend doing that shortly...

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