Welcome to the Website of

Amateur Radio Station VE6ARJ

Operated by Bob Burley








Early Beginnings

My interest in Amateur Radio started before I was 16 years old with the hobby of Short Wave Listening. I was fascinated with radio's, especially the ones that could pick up signals from around the world. I soon discovered that distant radio stations were not the only type of signals floating around out there in the ether. All manner of squawks, whistlers, morse code, teletype, ship to shore, military, and encrypted signals could be heard if you were patient and spent enough time tuning back and forth. I am sure that this was the beginning of my "night owl" personality.

SWL QSL Cards

I learned how to send signal reports to these distant overseas radio stations and receive colorful and rare QSL cards that became proof that you had actually been able to receive their broadcasts. The best and rarest QSL cards were from the weakest, most distant stations having unpredictable broadcast schedules. The challenge of hunting for the rare and unusual cards helped improve listening skills, antenna building skills, and eventually, radio servicing and alignment skills. Sometime during this period, I also became aware of two-way amateur radio transmissions. The people involved in these communications could talk almost anywhere in the world, had excellent electronic and radio skills, and even exchanged QSL cards of their own as proof of contact with particular stations in various countries. Now, it seemed, Short Wave Listening was second best and I had to obtain an Amateur Radio License.

Amateur Radio Licence

I studied for the exam, which was a lot more difficult then than it is today, and in less than a year, I was ready to write it. The only problem was that back then, in Canada, you had to be 16 years old to obtain a license. The short wait wasn't easy, but not long after my 16th birthday I applied for an exam date and in February, 1972, I wrote and passed my exam with flying colors and received the callsign "VE6ARJ".

On The Air!

My first Transmitter/Receiver combination was a Navy Surplus TCS-6 which generated TCS-6 Receiver about 40 Watts of R.F. power on C.W. (morse code). I had purchased this rig from Vanguard Electronics, a military surplus electronics store, in Edmonton, Alberta "as is". My reverse engineering skills both came in handy and got a boost of experience with the tackling of this project. I disassembled the radio and traced out a complete schematic for both transmitter and receiver. I was then able to wire up a power supply that I had built in grade 10 electronics class. The power supply had very clean power and that receiver had the quietest background noise that I have ever heard. I still miss it to this day. I made many contacts with that rig, and of course, many new friends.

High School Club Station

During the 1972/73 school year, myself, Ken Marianix (VE6BBC), Craig Howey (VE6AFH), and possibly VE6AQE QSL Card others, formed an Amateur Radio Club Station at Queen Elizabeth Composite High School in Edmonton, Alberta. A callsign of VE6AQE was assigned, A Collins 32-RA-9 Transmitter and a Hallicrafters SX-99 Receiver were aquired, and a longwire antenna was constructed. The club station was on the air! On April 3, 1973, I went home after school while Ken Marianix stayed and manned the club station. We made contact and I now have a QSL card to prove it. It was not easy getting young people of that age interested in Amateur Radio and the club station only lasted a couple of years before it was shut down.

More Contacts

On April 5, 1973 Ken Marianix (VE6BBC) made contact with my station just for the purpose of exchanging QSL Cards. It was not a very difficult contact as we both lived in Edmonton. I operated my TCS-6 radio from April 1972 to December 1974 when fast cars and other interests distracted me from the radio hobby. I still remained active in the Amateur Radio Clubs and communicated with local amateurs through the VHF radio bands but it would be almost 14 years later before I returned to the shortwave (HF) bands for making worldwide contacts.

Two of my more interesting radio contacts were with the Astronauts of the Soviet Space Station "MIR". On the first occasion, I spoke with Musa Manarov (U2MIR) on November 22, 1988. I was using a Yaesu U-MIR QSL Card FT-208R handheld radio with a power output of 2.5 watts connected to an external ground-plane antenna. I was to later learn that the Astronauts were using the exact same radio and power level to make their contacts. Don Moman (VE6JY) was one of the first radio amateurs to make contact with MIR on November 15, 1988. He received considerable publicity for this accomplishment along with an article published in TCA - The Canadian Amateur Magazine in February, 1989. I also received some publicity in a newspaper article "Local Hobbyists Reach Into Space" published in the St. Paul Producer, January 17, 1989. I was fortunate enough to also make a second contact with the space station on February 19, 1989 when I spoke with Aleksandr Volkov (U4MIR).

His Majesty King Hussein I

Royal Visit One of the highlights of my Amateur Radio career was attending a reception for His Majesty King Hussein I of Jordan. King Hussein was the holder of Amateur Radio Callsign "JY1" and it was occaisionally possible to make radio contact with him when his busy schedule would allow him to pursue his radio hobby. The Amateur Radio League of Alberta organized the reception allowing a few of us to meet a most remarkable leader in person on October 16, 1989 in the Penthouse Suite of the Palliser Hotel in Calgary, Alberta.

Meeting King Hussein
During the reception, Paul Neufeld, Calgary Regional Director of Communications Canada presented the King with a framed permit giving him the Alberta callsign of "VE6JY1". Victor Post, VE6VIP then presented King Hussein with a framed QSL of Morraine Lake followed by a Yaesu FT411 handheld radio that the King could use to contact local radio amateurs. King Hussein met with each Amateur Radio Operator in attendance and presented "eyeball" QSL cards to commemorate the "in person" contact.


Calgary Club Station JY1 QSL Card After the reception, King Hussein returned to his L-1011 aircraft for the long flight home. During the flight, I made my way to the Calgary Amateur Radio Club station, (VE6AO), located on the outskirts of Calgary where I, along with Hart Lemmie (VE6PA), Victor Post (VE6VIP), Bill Austin (VE6WP), and Eric Austin (VE6BBP) made radio contact with King Hussein on board his aircraft.

It was certainly an honour to be able to participate in this event and I was left with an extraordinary impression of King Hussein's warmth and friendship.

Several newspapers and magazines carried articles covering the event such as;


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Website created and maintained by Bob Burley, VE6ARJ
Website last updated November 3, 2002
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