I thought I better put something in this here blog, been neglecting it over the last few weeks. Mind you, I haven't done as much radio in the last couple of weeks as I normally do, I've been spending a lot of time working on some of my websites, it's amazing how time flies when you are sitting in front of the computer.
Anyway, my good friend Ian, M0IAT has gone down to Cornwall for a few days for a well-deserved holiday, after all lying around on his couch is really tiring work, sorry Ian, I couldn't resist that. You might have guessed that Ian and myself are pretty good mates. Anyway, he took with him his radio and a home-made vertical antenna which he made out of a fishing pole. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't expecting to hear him, but yesterday I went on for 40 m and started putting some calls out, about 25 min later I heard the dulcet tones of young Ian down there in Cornwall. Not a particularly strong signal, about 56, but perfectly readable, it was absolutely fantastic to hear him. I put the video on and recorded our QSO so he could hear how he sounded. Funnily enough, I kept it running for about 35 min so some of the guys who I spoke after can also hear how they sound down here in Brixham.
I spoke to Ian a couple of times today on 40 m again, once in the late afternoon, and then again this evening when we had our club meeting, he was actually really strong today, a little over the 9, 40 m absolutely kicking this evening, some really strong stations from G land.
So, you can check the YouTube video out for yourself, here it is
I was extremely pleased to receive an e-mail from my good friend Ian this evening informing me that he has passed his advanced amateur radio test and is now a fully licensed radio amateur. He's obviously been lucky to be able to obtain the same suffix as his intermediate call, Ian is now M0IAT and operates from Paignton in Devon.
Congratulations mate, I knew you could do it
