Andrew, 2E1BRT

Andrew has been licenced since 1993 and an RSGB member since 1993.

He first became interested in amateur radio as a youngster through his Dad, who bought him an FT690 Mk2 when he gained his licence. That rig gave him the DX’ing bug on 6 metres and he says that he is still a 6-metre merchant at heart, despite becoming more broadly active on HF. His 6m activity up to year 2000 saw him apply for his first two RSGB Operating Awards: 50 Mhz Countries and 50 Mhz QRA squares awards. Apart from these, it is the Worked all Britain (WAB) awards scheme that drives a lot of Andrew’s operating.

Andrew’s operating approach, focused on chasing specific awards, is described by him as “tactical”: in order to log QSOs with the stations required for a particular award, he thinks about the propagation paths and times of day that suit best, about the bands where contacts are most likely to be found, and then he does a lot of listening, seeking out the required stations.

On the operating front, Andrew has a list of awards that he wants to work towards, including completing the IARU R1 and the 50 Mhz awards programmes with his refurbished station setup.

Alongside the RSGB awards, Andrew wants to complete the WAB award programme as a homage to Martin PA3EHW, who was particularly keen on this, as recognition of his role, together with Andrew’s Dad, in introducing Andrew to a hobby that he gets so much enjoyment and satisfaction from.

Category: Award Stories