I’m a relative late comer to Amateur Radio, though I have two enduring memories of from my primary school years. As a young cub scout, Mr. Brown, a local amateur, helped me build a crystal set for my radio badge. After my dad and I strung a length of copper wire across our garden, I would fall asleep at night with the tiny speaker tucked into my pillow slip. The other was my best friend’s dad’s voice emanating from the TV when it was his turn to read the local amateur news. Fast forward about thirty years, and a protracted recovery from an injury left me with an plenty of time and a restless mind; the perfect ingredients to study for, and gain my amateur radio license.
Buying my first HF radio, a TS-590, exhausted the “toys” budget, but I had a strong interest in portable operating. I was enticed by the low cost of QRP CW only rigs, and so my CW journey began. With the help of LCWO I learned the standard 40-character set. As soon as I knew the characters, taking a big leap, I packed my straight key, headed for my closest WWFF site and had a thoroughly rewarding session. Working more DX to North America and Europe with five watts than I’d ever managed at home with SSB and a hundred watts was a revelation.
It quickly became clear that despite achieving my goal of being able to activate summits and parks, there was so much more that CW had to offer.
And so began my journey toward the ultimate expression of CW, the rag chew.
I tried a range of self-guided tools to increase my speeds and comprehension, but felt I was going around in circles. Enter CW Academy. I signed up for the Standard course with Tom K7MOZ, who’s enthusiasm for CW and encouragement really lit the fire within, despite feeling that I was barely keeping my head above water the whole time. The results however were self-evident. Twelve months later I signed up for the Advanced course under Phil NE0S’s tutelage. The gap between courses with plenty of operating and copy practice really helped consolidate what I knew, and so the Advanced class, whilst still like drinking from a fire hydrant, was a little easier. At the conclusion of those eight weeks, I once again marveled at the progress made. Was I really copying half sentences at 35 wpm?
I’d like to thank those who have guided and supported my journey, from my CWA facilitators and class mates to the QSO partners who, from my earliest attempts on the air, persisted with the contact despite my faltering CW. To have achieved the milestone of CWops membership is indeed something I am immensely proud of.
I am a software engineer by profession, whilst enjoying white water kayaking and woodworking outside of the shack.
Kind regards from Under Down-Under.
This biography is what appeared in Solid Copy when the member joined CWops.