Austin, M0MNE

Austin, M0MNE has a very appropriate call sign for a mariner (Merchant Navy Engineer)!

Austin first became interested in radio through hearing short wave broadcast stations. Even as a young teenager he was exhibiting the experimenter’s curiosity of a radio amateur, stringing up different lengths of wire in the garden to improve reception.

Teenage and early career pre-occupations delayed his pursuit of a licence until his early 30s. With the guidance of Warren, G7MWB he studied for and obtained his Foundation licence through the Angel of the North Radio Club (MX0GGP).

Receiving support during lockdown in 2020 over 2m and Zoom, Austin went on to obtain his Intermediate licence, studying whilst at sea as a marine engineer on Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) vessels. This has led to him also joining the Royal Navy Amateur Radio Society (RNARS) combining his radio and maritime interests.

Awards chasing has given Austin a focus during his development in amateur radio. As a Foundation licensee, he achieved the Foundation Silver award, and has then progressed to the Intermediate 100 and IARU Region 1 Class 3 awards, each being an incremental step forward in his operating achievements.

He has also acquired awards through other special event activities, such as YOTA (Youngsters on the Air) and WARD (World Amateur Radio Day) In fact, his very first award was the WARD 2020 special event Silver award from the Spanish national society URE, operating as M7AVX with 10 watts into wire dipoles.

He is now particularly interested in working SOTA as an activator and exploring satellite working, aiming to achieve SOTA and AMSAT awards.

“Awards give me something to aim for despite having less than favourable working conditions at home, and it’s quite a challenge with a modest station.”

Category: Award Stories