G'day... and welcome to my website. My name's Chris (VK3PAT) and I've produced this web site to help others who, like me, want to get into the fascinating and sometimes exciting world of amateur radio. Why did I write it? Well, for one thing I like writing, but the main reason is to explain in plain English the steps you need to take and to help you avoid some of the traps I fell into. I'll also tell you things that you need to know but won't find in any amateur radio books or on official training web sites.
This site is written from an Australian perspective but if you're a Pom, a Yank or a Kiwi, or from anywhere else for that matter, you'll still find plenty of good stuff here. Just remember though:
First a bit about me and some of the radios I have used
I was born at a very early age in the middle of a snow storm in 1947 in Stoke-on-Trent, which is roughly in the geographical centre of England. Stoke is not a very pretty town but at least it has a half decent football team. When I was about two years old my parents moved to London, which is where I grew up.
I had a benevolent uncle who was an electronics engineer. He did lots of top secret stuff during the War and I never did find out precisely what. Anyway, when I was about 10 years old we built a crystal set in an old cigar box. Or rather, he built it while I watched. He did teach me how to solder - which is an essential skill for a radio Ham.
There were three medium wave stations in London in the 1950s; The Home Service (news and current affairs), The Light Programme (popular music), and The Third Programme (classical music). As a young takker I was only interested in pop music. Unfortunately the crystal set was not very selective, (you'll learn the difference between selective and sensitive when you do your exams), and the crystal set would only receive The Home Service across the entire medium waveband. The following year we built the Mark II version which had not just one, but two germanium diodes and a 30 metre (100 foot) wire antenna suspended from an apple tree at the bottom of the garden - problem solved. My interest in all matters radio was ignited.
I attended St Benedict's School in London. On my 14th birthday we received a letter from the school principal. It read something along the following lines:
This site is written from an Australian perspective but if you're a Pom, a Yank or a Kiwi, or from anywhere else for that matter, you'll still find plenty of good stuff here. Just remember though:
- Prices are in Australian dollars (AUD)
- Measurements are metric - no feet and inches here my friends... well not many
- Temperatures are in Celsius not Fahrenheit, so water freezes at 0 degrees not 32
- We spell as follows: centre not center, programme not program, colour not color, licence not license etc.
First a bit about me and some of the radios I have used
I was born at a very early age in the middle of a snow storm in 1947 in Stoke-on-Trent, which is roughly in the geographical centre of England. Stoke is not a very pretty town but at least it has a half decent football team. When I was about two years old my parents moved to London, which is where I grew up.
I had a benevolent uncle who was an electronics engineer. He did lots of top secret stuff during the War and I never did find out precisely what. Anyway, when I was about 10 years old we built a crystal set in an old cigar box. Or rather, he built it while I watched. He did teach me how to solder - which is an essential skill for a radio Ham.
There were three medium wave stations in London in the 1950s; The Home Service (news and current affairs), The Light Programme (popular music), and The Third Programme (classical music). As a young takker I was only interested in pop music. Unfortunately the crystal set was not very selective, (you'll learn the difference between selective and sensitive when you do your exams), and the crystal set would only receive The Home Service across the entire medium waveband. The following year we built the Mark II version which had not just one, but two germanium diodes and a 30 metre (100 foot) wire antenna suspended from an apple tree at the bottom of the garden - problem solved. My interest in all matters radio was ignited.
I attended St Benedict's School in London. On my 14th birthday we received a letter from the school principal. It read something along the following lines:
"Your son, Christopher, is now old enough to be enrolled into the School's Combined Cadet Force (CCF). Entrance into the CCF is entirely voluntary, however, the Headmaster prefers that all boys are enrolled."
That was it. I was in heaven. I just loved the CCF. This was 1961, just 16 years after the end of World War II, hence most of our equipment was ex WWII, including the radios. I was desperate to get into the Signals section. After my initial training I was accepted and I passed my Assistant Cadet Signals Instructor (ACSI) exam. Now we could play with some real radios.
First was the "38 Set". A manpack transceiver developed in 1942 for short range Infantry communication. Frequency range 7.4-9.2MHz. This was a portable (read luggable) dry battery powered radio, with a separate dry cell battery pack and 12 foot copper rod antenna working on HF with an RF output of 0.2 of a watt. The official range was a mile but in reality if you were within shouting distance then you were in radio range.
First was the "38 Set". A manpack transceiver developed in 1942 for short range Infantry communication. Frequency range 7.4-9.2MHz. This was a portable (read luggable) dry battery powered radio, with a separate dry cell battery pack and 12 foot copper rod antenna working on HF with an RF output of 0.2 of a watt. The official range was a mile but in reality if you were within shouting distance then you were in radio range.
The next radio was the 19 Set. This was a base station that was originally designed for use in tanks. It ran on a 12v car battery. I never actually heard ours work. Although it was delivered with a nice new battery, its arrival coincided with the battery in the quartermaster's (also the Phys Ed teacher's) car failing. He "borrowed" the 19 set battery and it was never seen again.
Finally the 12 set. Aaah... the 12 set. This was my favourite. Wireless Set (also known as Sender) No. 12 was developed in 1940 as a medium range general purpose transmitter for static and mobile use. The No. 12 Set was self-contained and fitted with an internal mains power supply. When after the war the No. 12 Sets were released to the surplus market, they were very popular with radio amateurs as virtually nothing else was required to get them working on the 160 to 20 metre amateur bands. Although relatively small numbers were produced, these sets are still around, many in original unmodified condition.
- Frequency range 1.2 - 17.5MHz in four ranges.
- RF output approximately 7W AM and 25 W CW.
- Power supply 100-250 V AC mains. About 260 watts consumption at full power.
- The transmitter has three stages: ATS25 (807) Master Oscillator (VFO or crystal controlled), ATS25 (807) Buffer/Amplifier and ATP35 RF Power Amplifier.
- Modulation is done in the suppressor grid of the RF Power Amplifier.
On leaving school at the age of eighteen I was fortunate enough to pass the Admiralty Selection Board and gain a place at Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth and train as a naval officer. My naval career spanned a number of years and I served in the following ships:
The Navy had some serious radios. Everything from VLF for communicating with submarines underwater to UHF and beyond. The VLF transmitter was in Rugby and its antenna 8 Kms long!
- HMS Torquay (Type 12 Frigate)
- HMS Albion (Command Carrier)
- HMS Hubberston (Ton Class Minehunter)
- HMS Phoebe (Leander Class Frigate)
The Navy had some serious radios. Everything from VLF for communicating with submarines underwater to UHF and beyond. The VLF transmitter was in Rugby and its antenna 8 Kms long!
Moving on 50 years
After the Navy I followed a career in banking, financial marketing, advertising and accounting. I married Pat, an Australian girl, and emigrated to Australia in 1981. You may have noticed that my callsign is VK3PAT. I thought it would win me lots of brownie points - didn't work! I became interested in four wheel driving when our two boys were at school and joined the Wesley College 4WD Club. This required fitting a CB radio to my vehicle. First we were on 27MHz then we upgraded to UHF. You can read more about my views on CB on one of my blogs.
One of the members of my club is a Ham and a year or so ago he took some of his equipment along on one of our trips. Within minutes of setting up camp he had thrown a piece of wire up into a tree and he was talking to someone in South America - from the middle of the Australian bush! I thought, "How cool is this - I've gotta get a piece of this action."
Then, last May, Pat and I took a short holiday in Cobram in northern Victoria. While Pat did the "frock shops" I wandered into the local bookstore, Pages of Cobram. This was to be a life changing experience. Unknown to me, the proprietor, Peter, is a keen amateur radio enthusiast and he had an excellent selection of radio books. He persuaded me to buy a copy of Your Entry Into Amateur Radio. This is an excellent book published by the WIA. If you can't find one in your local bookshop the WIA will sell you one for $25. Check out their website. Peter also gave me some very good advice - JOIN YOUR LOCAL AMATEUR RADIO CLUB.
On returning home I immediately joined the Eastern & Mountain District Radio Club (EMRDC) whose club rooms are in Burwood (an eastern suburb of Melbourne). I was immediately made to feel very welcome. Most clubs run regular courses and licence assessments. I soon discovered that, contrary to popular belief, not all hams are geeks who talk about nothing but oscillators, modulators and sine waves. Some are quite normal people like you and me.
Unfortunately, I had just missed a Foundation Licence course so I had to wait until August 2015 for the next course and assessment. My first callsign was VK3FINE. I then did the Standard Assessment a couple of months later and chose the callsign VK3PAT. Pat is my wife's name and I hoped it would make her like my dipole antenna just a little bit - didn't work!
In the meantime I bought some equipment and set up my shack. The rest, as they say, is history.
73s
Chris
VK3PAT
After the Navy I followed a career in banking, financial marketing, advertising and accounting. I married Pat, an Australian girl, and emigrated to Australia in 1981. You may have noticed that my callsign is VK3PAT. I thought it would win me lots of brownie points - didn't work! I became interested in four wheel driving when our two boys were at school and joined the Wesley College 4WD Club. This required fitting a CB radio to my vehicle. First we were on 27MHz then we upgraded to UHF. You can read more about my views on CB on one of my blogs.
One of the members of my club is a Ham and a year or so ago he took some of his equipment along on one of our trips. Within minutes of setting up camp he had thrown a piece of wire up into a tree and he was talking to someone in South America - from the middle of the Australian bush! I thought, "How cool is this - I've gotta get a piece of this action."
Then, last May, Pat and I took a short holiday in Cobram in northern Victoria. While Pat did the "frock shops" I wandered into the local bookstore, Pages of Cobram. This was to be a life changing experience. Unknown to me, the proprietor, Peter, is a keen amateur radio enthusiast and he had an excellent selection of radio books. He persuaded me to buy a copy of Your Entry Into Amateur Radio. This is an excellent book published by the WIA. If you can't find one in your local bookshop the WIA will sell you one for $25. Check out their website. Peter also gave me some very good advice - JOIN YOUR LOCAL AMATEUR RADIO CLUB.
On returning home I immediately joined the Eastern & Mountain District Radio Club (EMRDC) whose club rooms are in Burwood (an eastern suburb of Melbourne). I was immediately made to feel very welcome. Most clubs run regular courses and licence assessments. I soon discovered that, contrary to popular belief, not all hams are geeks who talk about nothing but oscillators, modulators and sine waves. Some are quite normal people like you and me.
Unfortunately, I had just missed a Foundation Licence course so I had to wait until August 2015 for the next course and assessment. My first callsign was VK3FINE. I then did the Standard Assessment a couple of months later and chose the callsign VK3PAT. Pat is my wife's name and I hoped it would make her like my dipole antenna just a little bit - didn't work!
In the meantime I bought some equipment and set up my shack. The rest, as they say, is history.
73s
Chris
VK3PAT