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G-QRP Club Member 9024
When I started in amateur radio I was fascinated by morse-code. I made it my goal to get a G prefix before they were no longer issued in the UK. I joined a local radio club and was introduced to one of the most patient but stern gentlemen I have had the pleasure in meeting who began to teach me the code. Six months past and I seemed to be getting no where. I threw in the towel, maybe I wasn’t cut out for morse after all. The following year, with the start of another class, I decided to give it a fresh go but again it beat me!
The turning point came with the announcement of a Class A Novice License which gave me a goal I might be able to reach, a morse requirement of 5 wpm. This proved to be the step on the ladder needed. A couple of us had a go and we succeeded. An offer of a TenTec Century 22 just seemed too good to miss and 2E0ABM was soon on the air working one station after another on 15m, a 3 watts restriction was never a limitation.
The G callsign did eventually come and I chose the callsign G0SBN...its easier to send in morse, but not so easy to say, you can’t win them all! Even though QRO is available, I still get the biggest buzz from working stations QRP. So even though I now operate other modes I most often will be found around the QRP frequencies especially 20m.
I operate portable whenever possible and use a MFJ 9020 (5w max) with a 20m wire dipole and battery power. I have since sold the TenTec Century 22 to another QRP’er and the Icom 706mkII with the obligatory CW filter fitted is too heavy on the battery juice even on RX and makes me feal guilty when I use it QRP.
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