G3MGQ

Hi, I'm Phil and my home QTH is on the north edge of Robertsbridge, 10 miles north of Hastings .

About me

I'm a retired mechanical & electrical professional engineer and also a governor at the local secondary school. I got into amateur radio helping my father build equipment for his station in the late 1950's because I wanted to put radio control into a model aircraft I had built. I still have the 10W AM Tx and ATU we built and the AR88D Rx we modified to copy SSB, which was then an exciting and difficult new mode! My father got his licence, G3MGQ, in January 1958 and was a member, and later chairman, of the original Hastings ARC. I passed the City & Guilds RAE in 1959 but went to Uni and didn't get back to amateur radio until I joined the Harwell ARC in 1993. I took up my father's call-sign in September 2003, and joined the present Hastings Club (HERC) in September 2004 after a chance meeting with its then chairman, Peter (G0FUU).

My Interests

Apart from playing golf, my main interest is in how things work and building gear, rather than operating, although I enjoy field days and initiated the HERC annual BBQ in August 2005. Apart from the home-built gear, I've an IC706 Mk2g for the station main tcvr and an IC240 tcvr for 2m mobile.  Aerials include an off-centre fed dipole (Carolina Windom 80), a full size G5RV which I bring to the HERC BBQ, and a Slim Jim for 2 metres. Unfortunately the QRM here is S8+ on HF and I can't work into the Hastings repeaters on VHF as we're over the hill (QTH, not me ).  I joined BSARS so I could do some operating, chat to interesting and like-minded people and perhaps learn something about using data modes!

Projects in hand (OK, in mind!) for this winter include replacing the diode matrix frequency selector and tone burst in my ancient IC240 by a PIC controlled PLL and CTCSS using the existing switches and perhaps including a LCD readout, using the G4FON trainer to get my CW up to scratch before I try using it on the air, getting my aerials up higher (as soon as the wx allows roof access!) to improve reception, and (in my dreams!) building the softrock RxTx kit and fitting it with my SDR Si570 VFO kit, designing a FET series modulator for the 80m Pixie ( a "talking Pixie"),  putting together an effective field station to activate the Hastings Harbour rear light (UK0010) on the West Hill in the ILLW in August 2009, ... all subject of course to getting that pink ticket from my better half!
Projects recently completed include making a new 4:1 balun for the CW80 which proved that wasn't the problem with the CW80, and developing simulator models to illustrate how various radio modules work for the Advanced Course concluding with the talk given to HERC in November 2008.

Training

At the AGM in February 2005 I joined the HERC Committee as Schools Coordinator, organising a week-long visit of GB4FUN to five schools in the Hastings & Rother area in July 2006. In July 2007 I took over the HERC Training role from Bob, G7DME, trying to capitalise on the GB4FUN legacy in the schools and started my first Foundation Course at The Grove School that September. It was the help & support that I received from Tony(G4KLF) and Steve (M0SSR) with the Morse and HF Operation for that course that first intoduced me to the Club at the Bunker. With that help, so far 15 people have got their Foundation licence, 7 of whom went straight on to get their Intermediate licences. 4 of those are now studying to take their Advanced in 2009. I hope to start another Foundation courses at The Grove in January and I've already got 5 who want to do their Intermediate at the next opportunity. If you are interested, just contact me at phil.parkman@virgin.net .

73 de Phil.