About my adventures in amateur radio
Following a suprisingly early retirement in 2022, I moved back to Wolverhampton. I found that the local radio society meets near my new home and, at the age of 59, I considered amateur radio as a possible hobby.
Since 11 September 2022 I have been operating as M0KBJ. The logs on these pages were made with this callsign unless otherwise stated, almost all of them in CW mode (Morse code).
I logged my first CW QSOs in June 2023 and it is the most enjoyable part of the hobby for me. CW operators are almost always willing to slow to my pace and are incredibly encouraging to newcomers. The learning curve is steep and long—but who wants a hobby to be easy? The challenge is what makes it all worthwhile and with other people to help us on our way, it's a very satisfying adventure.
For more background, my location and my club membership numbers etc, see my QRZ.com profile.
In keeping with my passion for CW, I also working with fundamentals. That's why I keep this page as clean and simple as possible by hand-coding static HTML. You won't find any fancy scripting here and it doesn't rely on a flash content management system. With any luck, it should last a while. I started the page in October 2024 and uploaded previous QSOs from my Google Sheet logbook. I also love writing in Markdown, for which my current favourite tool is Typora, so I sometimes start a draft in Markdown and use Pandoc to convert it to HTML.
What is amateur radio?
Amateur radio, sometimes known as "ham radio", allows licensed hobbyists to use a wide range of radio frequencies for learning and for fun.
Amateurs have often pioneered technical aspects of radio since its early days at the start of the 20th Century. I prefer to use Morse code on the high frequency bands but others enjoy using a microphone or digital messaging modes. It's possible to spend a lot of money on powerful and sophisticated stations but I like to keep things simple and cheap, using gear that costs a few hundred pounds at most. In the UK, the Radio Society of Great Britain has supported the hobby for over 100 years and its website provides much more information.
The appeal of the hobby for me is in the way that I can apply new knowledge to the essential human need for communication. When I'm using simple equipment to communicate hundreds or thousands of miles, even across the whole world, without any of the internet's complicated, trillion-dollar infrastructure, it puts a smile on my face.
Highlights of my adventures in amateur radio
2022-05-21 Made the decision to start the amateur radio hobby. Started thinking about learning Morse Code too.
2022-06-03 Received a Senhaix 8600 handheld VHF/UHF radio for a birthday present.
2022-06-08 Passed my Foundation Licence exam.
2022-06-10 Obtained my first callsign, M7DLJ.
2022-06-12 Made my first radio contact.
2022-06-20 Started learning CW.
2022-07-12 Passed my Intermediate Licence exam.
2022-07-15 Obtained callsign 2E0HZB.
2022-09-06 Passed my Full Licence exam.
2022-09-08 Obtained callsign M0KBJ.
2023-04-13 I made my first HF contact and first with my own callsign M0KBJ, using my first HF radio, the Xiegu G90.
2023-06-28 I made my first CW contact.
2024-01-12 Started volunteering at the National Radio Centre.
2024-03-17 Made my 100th CW contact.
2024-10-03 First VK (Australia) contact.
2024-11-06 First ZL (New Zealand) contact.
2024-12-11 First QSO using 1W power.