Station Info
G7UFO
Me
Back in (around) 1993 I completed the Novice course and exam and was issued the callsign 2E1CJA. I spent most of my time on Packet radio and the local-ish 70cm repeaters (GB3NT, Newcastle (433.000MHz) and GB3DC, Sunderland (433.275MHz)). The 1 watt from my trusty Yaesu FT-708R did very well into a HB9CV antenna mounted on the roof of the house.
Eventually I decided to go for my (old style) B licence, as the club I attended were running courses. My dad (now M0BAR) had decided he may as well use the gear he was paying for so decided to get licenced too. I had to wait for a couple of months for the callsign G7UFO to be handed out but it was worth the wait.
In 1997 I moved up to Edinburgh for university. As GM7UFO I didn’t really have (or make) much time for radio. In 2017, after 20 years I moved back to Durham and returned to radio. I had a lot to catch up on, a lot of things had changed.
Location
QTH is in the small village of Browney (IO94er) just outside Durham City.
Gear
HF
I use a FlexRadio 8600 with SmartSDR on MacOS or iPadOS with a CTR2-Quad and TeensyMaestro.
VHF / UHF
I don’t operate much VHF / UHF to be honest. I’d like to get into LEO satellites but I’d need to upgrade from my general purpose Diamond V-2000 for 2m/70cm (and 6m).
Portable
For portable use I have an Elecraft KX2 and the magic Elecraft AX1 (and AXE1).
When I have a bit more time (not often!) I also have a DIY599 PA500 amp/ATU, a SotaBeams Bandspringer Midi and SotaBeams Tactical Mini mast to use.
Satellites
QO-100
My current fascination and where I spend most of my operating time at the moment. I’ve been QRV since January 2023.
I started off using an IC-9700 and a DX Patrol Full Duplex Groundstation into a 60cm dish with a DX Patrol LNB and Helix.
In April 2023 I finished my SDR build (Pluto+ based - post coming soon) and upgraded the dish to 80cm dish. I also changed to a Bullseye LNB and a DC8PAT Ice Cone v2.1. With that setup I use SDR Console which is an awesome piece of software. In fact, its the only piece of software which has got me to run Windows in over 20 years!
As of August 2023 I’m using my FlexRadio with my Groundstation 1.5 to work QO-100. See this post for details.
Social
Motorbike
Also spend time on my motorbike, a Triumph Tiger 1200 XCA and enjoy rides out and camping weekends with my Dad and his club.
