English Amateur Radio Station

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          Operator:  Steve Bridgeman         

Station locator:  IO91AN

County: Wiltshire

QTH:  Brinkworth

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Hi, & welcome to my website.

Don't forget to sign my Guestbook! I always reply.

What other hobby can link you worldwide with others with a similar interest? You can even talk to the astronauts on the International Space Station!

As you have probably gathered from the above, my name is Steve. I live in the village Brinkworth which is in the county of Wiltshire, in the South West of the UK.

I currently run a varied selection of Amateur radio equipment, some of which can be seen on my equipment page. Antennas in use are a Magnetic loop for 40M, a full size G5RV and a Delta loop for 40M. To date my station has contacted 287 Countries all QSL confirmed. A QSL card is like a post card which contains details of a radio contact, and is sent as confirmation of the radio contact.

So, what is Amateur Radio?

Amateur radio is all about the skill and fascination of communicating using radio. Radio amateurs even have their own communication satellites, you can talk to the international space station, and you are often are at the very cutting edge of communications technology in many areas. 

Amateur Radio operators come from all walks of life. They are all ages, sex's, income levels and nationalities. Whether they prefer Morse code, voice communication on a hand-held radio, or computerized messages transmitted via satellite, they all have an interest in what's happening in the world, and they use radio to reach out to each other.

Some are attracted by the ability to communicate across the country, around the globe, or even with astronauts on space missions, (I myself have had a contact with the International Space Station using Slow Scan Television). Others  like to build and experiment with electronics, which is also another aspect of the hobby I enjoy, and I spend many a happy hour tinkering with some electronic device in my shack. I've made all my own computer to radio interfaces, which are used to transmit  digital modes. Those with a competitive streak enjoy "DX contests," where the object is to see how many hams in distant locations they can contact.

Some like the convenience of a technology that gives them portable communication, so that they can chat to friends from any location using often simple setups like a small vertical antenna mounted on top of a car. I am a keen operator of portable and mobile stations and can often be found operating from nearby hills, parks and places of interest.

Want to know more about the hobby? Or maybe your interested in getting a license I suggest a visit to the R.S.G.B web site, where you will find all the information you need. Just click the R.S.G.B logo above.

An interesting thought.
We are seeing more and more cheap Chinese import hand held radios, such as Jintong, Kington and Quansheng, which to be honest work very well considering how much they cost new.
How long before the Chinese companies jump on the Amateur Radio band wagon and start producing cheap mobile VHF/UHF radios and cheap HF radios for the shack or even a shack in a box like the FT-897 or IC-706. Imagine an all band, all mode shack radio for less than half the cost of current big name models on offer, I wait with baited breath.