I started playing 2m in the mid seventies at 16 years old (after passing the 'Regs' self-taught as VK5ZWP)with a
great ICOM IC-202 driving a self-made amplifier using a 2N5590 (over !) driving a 2N5591 (both devices crudely diode-biased into AB1) for about 30W out. This basic setup drove into a converted Ch5A TV antenna on the tower of Myrna VK5YW (tower built by (deceased) Norm, VK5NM) at Warradale in the Adelaide SW where my station was set up.
I worked a few stations in VK3, VK6BE and VK6WG, and other notables such as Gordon VK2ZAB (now VK3EJ) ,and ZL1BHX in Kaitia ZL via sporadic E around 1989.
My 'mentor' was (sadly, recently-deceased) Mitch VK5ZHM (later VK5AZM) with whom I attended Brighton High School. Mitch taught me much, but made me 'work it out'- "try different values and see if it gets better or worse !" ..and "that's not how you do it, here's a better way !" I really miss old Mitch whose funeral was attended by a vast throng of friends and Amateur Radio friends..
Later the IC-202 was replaced with a used but
still very good ICOM IC-251A (later donated to, and still used by VK5AAQ) which drove a converted airband (TCA ?) amplifier with 2 X QQV06As in a great big grey case for around 150W of SSB out...never exactly measured ! I think this PA came already modified from Roger VK5NY with RX-TX changeover relays and AB bias, and still survives in the collection of Andy VK5AAQ.
In the early eighties I had a 52MHz
(also great) ICOM IC-502 with which I worked JAs with 3W on the 502's internal whip. I then assembled a (DSE-kit) 100W Bipolar amplifier and made the
(poor) purchase of an ICOM IC-505. The IC-505 had a problem with bad IF leakage past its crystal filter and was not a good radio until donated to Andy VK5AAQ who fixed the problem...he is/was always a better tech then me as I am entirely self-taught...
I then lived on Kangaroo Island for nearly 30 years and had my station set up in a few locations on the Island.
I ran a
(clunky !) but useable ICOM IC-720A with wire antennas as VK5ACY after passing the CW exam in 1987(entirely self-taught and without ever having had a contact - even across a table with a buzzer - I amaze myself at times !)
At this time I used a
fairly good 2m multimode mobile ICOM IC-290H driving a
(DSE-kit) 100W PA but modified for 'transistor bias' - this still makes the DSE-kit PA a very good amplifier which will make a fairly clean 150W SSB with the PA transistor base-bias 'stiffened' with a transistor current supply. My antenna was then an
excellent 12 element DL6WU with a 6m boom of aluminium tubing
which I walked from 'Hills' at Edwardstown to Brighton (quite a walk across main roads) where the boom was drilled with the help of my old dad. The Yagi was assembled there and then roped to the roof of my
smelly old Holden HQ for the ferry trip (after dark !) to Kangaroo Island. I worked Italy via EME with this crude setup ! - oh yeah, with a
great VK5 WIA ESC 2m Preamp...not even in a case...
Later on KI I bought
a used ICOM IC-751A which was an absolutely excellent rig, modified later with an after-market (Piexx) RAM board after I allowed the back-up battery to die....I was the sole HF operator on KI - OC-139 - and made thousands of contacts for the IOTA program, using both wires and a multi-band vertical through an SB-200 PA.
For 6m at this time I had a
used but perfectly functional ICOM IC-551D via a 5 element HB Yagi and made many contacts on 52..
About 6 years ago I had an accident in which I lost my right hand, have learned to live and drive this way and moved here to Bowhill on the Murray - around 90km East of Adelaide. This old farmhouse sits on a hilltop in the middle of paddocks 2km from the highway, no neighbours for 8km, a brilliant take-off to the E and SE, and absolutely ZERO NOISE even on 160m....it's an excellent location aside from the 100km/h+ winds at times ! ...but...it gets to -5C in winter and 46+C in summer..
I went back to Kangaroo Island about 3 years ago with an angle-grinder and returned with my little 10m tower..with the help of John VK5AJL (I made him get an Amateur ticket - along with Damien VK5FCOL who just needed a bit of a push) which is now planted outside the shack window to reduce my VHF/UHF feeder lengths.
Peter VK5PJ built 2 X
excellent 13 element YU7EF Yagis - one for each of us - and this was installed on my little tower along with an ATN 8 element 'broadband' 6m Yagi which sort-of works. John VK5AJL drives from Adelaide to help me with my tower work - the (tilt-over)tower is winched down with a chain block as used to lift truck engines..a slow, laborious process...shared by VK5PJ and VK5AJL. .
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
An electric winch is in the works for solo operations.
I had a bit of money from the sale of my KI house so bought the -
wonderful, amazing - ICOM IC-7600 with which I have worked 50MHz stations unreadable on other receivers. This rig continues to amaze me with its RX DSP.
I use an
excellent ICOM IC-7000 on 144MHz now - again hearing some weak stations only due to its RX DSP - into the 13el YU7EF but assisted by a
very good HENRY 2002A PA incorporating the magic little 3CX800A7....I get heard well with this PA 'coasting' at 400W PEP on the BIRD 43 with after-market PEP adaptor..
Just recently VK5AJL again 'dropped' my tower and installed my 70cm Yagi - it was an ATN 'wideband' Yagi but I pulled it to bits and converted it to a DL6WU with 17 elements, using the excellent PC program modified by John VK5DJ. This DL6WU Yagi really works well, allowing me to hear the VK3RGL 70cm Beacon most of the time at a distance of 540km. Feeders are short 14m of LDF4-50A.
Last week I completed my 70cm PA, a project actually started about 10 years ago ! It uses 2 pairs of MRF650 Bipolar transistors combined via the 'Simple 432MHz Combiner' about which a thread exists on this forum. With the 30-odd Watts of drive from the IC-7000 (or my
'pretty good' ICOM IC-820H) I see a healthy 220 Watts of SSB or carrier, the amplifier stuck in a nice box with its
(again VK5 WIA ESC) CF300 MESFET preamp and 500W MEANWELL SMPS. I took a gamble, put it together and 'whistled it up'...hoping the SMPS didn't 'talk up' with all the RF inside the case and over-volt the MRF650 16.5VDC max Vce...it didn't ! Also in the case is a (W6PQL) 70cm Low Pass Filter with twin directional couplers driving a (W6PQL) bar-graph display for Forward/Reverse Power indication.
I worked Lou, VK3ALB at 579km on 432.1MHz just before I screwed the lid down at 2200 local time after a marathon 12 hours completing this PA.
There's also a
very good ICOM IC-746 here on HF/6m standby, which rather rudely for its worth, gets used only as a 2m FM talk-back link to VK5PJ and other keen, local VHF/UHF blokes, via a vertical collinear 'thing' at the top of the little tower..
There will be other rigs forgotten, including some really crappy handhelds...bought but seldom used...
So, there you go - not just rigs but a bloody great bio-essay - typed with one left-handed index finger - everyone should have a go !
Thanks and apologies for reading this far.
Bill VK5ACY
PF95sb.