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PO Box 1,  PEEL, Isle of Man,  British Isles

This page give information on Amateur Radio Station GD6IA located on the beautiful Isle of Man.  There is a links to the main www.gd6ia.com web pages with further links to local websites for tourism and more ham information.

      Hilltops House 

ISLE OF MAN LOCATION


The Isle of Man is located in the Irish Sea between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.  The Island measures about 50 by 20 kilometres (30 by 13 miles)  For DXCC Awards the Isle of Man counts as an entity under Rule 1 - Political Entities.


POLITICAL

The Isle of Man is NOT part of the British UK even though geographically we are located in the middle of the British Isles.  Our country is a British Crown Territory.  In practice we have much greater autonomy than other crown territories.

The Government of the Isle of Man controls our laws, taxes, social services, education system and currency.  The government website has lots of information.  The people of the Isle of Man are called Manx.  Our Parliament has been in existence for about 1030 years.  Around 78,000 people live here.

We have no political representation in the parliaments of the British UK or in the European Union but enjoy free access to European Union markets through Protocol 3 of the UK Treaty of Accession.

The Isle of Man Government actively supports ham radio with, amongst other things,  repeater sites and QSL cards. 


GD ACTIVITY

Many callsigns with our GD, MD and 2D prefixes can be heard each day on the HF and VHF bands.  Most hams live in towns and have modest wire antennas.  Only about ten hams have good permanent HF stations located in rural areas.  They often get spotted on the DX Cluster and tend to get pile-ups.  It can be a bit frustrating for those who enjoy ragchewing when the persistent breakers move in.  There are a few organised radio events each year such as on our national day called TYNWALD DAY celebrated on 5 July.  


The STATION and QTH 

The GD6IA station is located on top of a 200 metre high ridge about 10 km (6 miles) from the sea.  The property is surrounded by farm land. The HF takeoff is excellent in all directions.  There are spectacular views over the Isle of Man and across the Irish Sea to the coastlines of Wales and England.  The mountains of Scotland and Ireland can be seen from a nearby vantage point.

ANTENNAS and EQUIPMENT

The main HF antenna is a SteppIR 4-element beam for the five bands 20 through 10 metres.    Other HF monoband multiband yagis have been used here from time-to-time but the SteppIR is much more effective and convenient.  There is also a stack of five element M-Squared 6M5X beams for the 6 metre band and wire antennas for 80, 40 and 30 metres operation.  In 2009 a 4 metres station was added for DX-ing on this increasingly popular band. (70.0 to 70.5 MHz)

Additional temporary antennas for HF can be erected in the adjacent field for contest operation. These may include dipoles, delta loops and verticals for the low bands and other beams for 20, 15 and 10 metres.  The crank-up towers are normally lowered to minimum height between November and March for survival in the severe winds experienced each winter.

The shack is configured for Single Operator 2 Radio operation (SO2R).  The equipment comprises Icom IC756 PROII transceivers controlled by a DX Doubler.  An Alpha 76A amplifier and a Kenwood TL922 amplifier complete the HF station.  An OM2006 amplifier is used on 6 metres since June 2009.  Antenna selection is automatic or manual using an Array solutions Six Pack.  The normal DX operation software is Logger32 with full rig and rotator control.  For contesting Writelog, WinTest and N1MM Logger are available with WinTest the favourite.

VISITORS AND HOSTING

A warm and friendly welcome is given to all including the occasional tourist visitor who drops in to see the station.  In the past, the station has been used by visiting hams for expeditions and contests, but unfortunately that is no longer possible..

THE QSL POLICY

All cards received DIRECT with ONE new Nairobi design IRC issued and franked after 1 July 2009 plus an envelope with your return address will receive a QSL card 100%.   No QSL Bureau.   No eQSL. 

This is the ONLY WAY to get a GD6IA QSL card.    The address is GD6IA, PO Box 1,  PEEL City, Isle of Man.  

ONE new IRC is OK for all the world.  It must be the NEW Nairobi design.  If it has two hands or it is NO GOOD  Also if it has no issue date imprint it is no good.

OR

Two (2)  US Dollars with a return address envelope is OK for all the world  instead of one IRC.   Cost is now the same for every country.

Please do NOT send Manx (Isle of Man) stamps.  Please do NOT send postage stamps of other countries.  Recently GD6IA has received USA, English, UK, German and Brazilian stamps on return envelopes. All NO GOOD.

See you on the ham bands.