Ham Radio Operator - M0YKS

We spent last week relaxing at the Galloway Coastline in the south west of Scotland. We had a very enjoyable stay at The Isle of Whithorn just 7yds from the sea. Our accommodation was excellent on the Harbor row, which was only a stone’s throw away from the historic landing place of St Ninian We visited this area for the first time three years ago when we stayed at the Galloway Astronomy Centre and have been revisiting as regular as we can, ever since. The area has lots of historic sites not to mention the stunning views, large empty beaches and plenty of wild life which for us makes up a great holiday. One of our favorite beaches is at Monreith where there is one of Scotlands best kept secerets The Church of Kirkmaiden hidden away but easily found along with St Medana’s Well . The Church of Kirkmaiden St Medana's beach at Kirkmaiden During our many visits to the beach I was able to get some HF Mobiling done with the trusty Yaesu FT-100 on 20m, 40m and 80m with some great cont

Over the weekend I worked a few amateur satellites using my Yaesu FT-847 radio and home made IO-10EL Satellite antenna. Satellite & Station worked SO-50 - EA1JM . VO-52 - G0FGX, HB9OAB, G6NQO & SP3GAD . HO-68 - N1AIA & KB1RVT (FM Mode) . AO-51 - LY1R . HO-68 - M0ITF (SSB) . I still prefer working via the SSB transponders rather than the FM birds, however its all extremely good fun with plenty of fellow Satellite ops that are always very friendly and happy to work you. As usual AO-51 was the busiest of the birds with plenty of activity on each pass. I was especially pleased with my QSOs across the pond using FM via HO-68 which is proving to be a fantastic Satellite both on FM and SSB. I cant wait until HO-68 has been fully commissioned and is switched on all of the time. Check out the Oscar Satellite Status to see which Satellites are operational and have been heard recently by fellow Hams and SWLs all over the globe.

I just got out of my mobile ham shack and noticed that something was different about my dual band antenna? I soon realised it had been modified into a Tree-bander or perhaps a "Twig" (for all of you that can remember the old CB slang for antenna). So here is what happens when you drive down small country lanes with plenty of green scenery everywhere. Luckily no birds nests were harmed in any way and the antenna is still good.

I am very pleased to have recently found out that I had been chosen as a winner of a competition I had entered after visiting the Icom Web Site . I signed up to Icom's news letter a few months ago and have been enjoying reading the latest news from Icom and entering some of the competitions found on their web site. I didn't expect to be the lucky winner of the last competition prize, which is a well presented logbook & diary packed with lots of useful pages and an Icom pen to fill the pages with Call signs and DXCC. Thanks to Icom for this great prize that I won, I now can begin ticking the boxes of all the many different Pre-fixes I work whilst on the air. I hope to get some of you in my new Log soon!

In 1984 I obtained my full motor cycle licence as soon as I turned 17, I had been riding dirt bikes and mopeds since the age of 11 and had developed a mechanical mind early. I have been interested in motor bikes for about the same time as I have radio and I can remember fitting my Honda C-50 out with a Binatone Speedway 40 channel CB and DV-27 antenna back in 1983. These Days I still have four motor cycles that I ride and maintain regularly but since I have been a licensed ham(2004), I have not yet operated amateur radio from any of the four machines. I might try something with the FT-817 on one of my bikes soon, but at present I'm enjoying the ride whilst the warm dry conditions last! For now the Toyota Rav-4 "Mobile DX Machine" & Yeasu FT-100 are both on standby. Right, where's my helmet and gloves........

I have owned my trusty FT-470 for over 6 years and have worked many DX with it whilst working through the FM Satellites. I’ve used it whilst out and about Mobile as well as lots simplex and repeater use for years with excellent receiving capabilities compared to the more modern Hand held’s. I have been running with AA, NiMH 2.300mAh 1.2V Rechargeable battery’s housed in a Yaesu FBA-10 Battery case, which still works very well with hours of quality operating time. About a year ago I managed to acquire a second FT-470 from a local rally for a bargained down price. The latest FT-470 came with an original FNB-10 - 7.2v 600mAh Ni-Cd Battery pack that held its charge for about 15 minutes whilst receiving and a lot shorter when transmitting. To get around the faded FNB-10, I have been using the latest FT-470 with the PA-6, Dc Car Adapter/Charger, fed with a 12v Motor Cycle Battery and the original FT-470 on the FNB-10 Ni-Cd pack whilst hooked up to the Arrow Sat antenna. I like the performan

Just a quick post to inform any readers regarding the abundance of Chinese comments that have been appearing here at my Ham Radio blog. They seem to be just another source of spamming in the form of porn enthusiasts rather than radio ops/ engineering fans. Although I am quite open minded and allow all comments good or bad to be seen on my site I've decided to enable the feature that asks to Show word verification when commenting. This should filter out the Chinese Pornsters unless of course they are truly passionate about Ham Radio. For all those interested in Chinese porn, see the previous comments. For those who like myself will get battered by there YL's for going anywhere remotely near those dubious dodgy sites, I apologise for any unsuitable links they may have attached with the seemingly harmless if not slightly puzzling comments left by my new Chinese followers? Have a great weekend, hope to catch some of you on the bands!