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Amateur Radio Station M0BLF (also licensed as W0BLF in the USA)
My home station includes an Elecraft K3, Icom IC-706Mk2G, Bencher CW paddle, and a 30m dipole, as well as very handhelds and other bits of kit.
That said, I regularly operate from portable locations with other kit, including an Elecraft KX2 for SOTA activations.
I am a keen amateur radio contester, mainly with the Camb-Hams (G3PYE) and Cambridge University Wireless Society (G6UW/M4A) in various UK and international contests, on both HF and VHF. Many of these contest entries are from the Camb-Hams van, Flossie.
In recent years, we have won the RSGB Affiliated Societies Super-League, as well as the Low Power, Assisted, Portable category in SSB Field Day. We are generally also highly-placed in England in the CQ WW SSB contest.
Latest blog post: CQWW CW 2021 as CT9/M0BLF (29 November 2021)
DXpeditions are trips radio amateurs go on to visit rare or obscure places, so that other people can contact the destination.
I have been on many DXpeditions, including most recently to UK SBA as ZC4UW and before that Monterrat (VP2MUW), St. Pierre et Miquelon (FP/M0BLF), Svalbard (JW/M0BLF), Iceland (TF/M0BLF), Bermuda (VP9/M0BLF) and Ascension Island (ZD8UW). Each year I also join the Camb-Hams on their more local DXpedition within the British Isles.
Latest blog post: The VP2MUW DXpedition – Montserrat 2018 (25 November 2018)
I enjoy hill walking and the countryside, so naturally taking portable radio equipment to the top of a hill is something that appeals to me. I've got over 500 points in the Summits on the Air award scheme, and I'm currently working towards the target of 1000 points, which is 'Mountain Goat' status. The area near where I live in eastern England is notoriously flat, so I have to travel to get to hills, leading to regular trips to Wales, France, Ireland and other places to enjoy the mixture of amateur radio and the great outdoors.
Latest blog post: Pyrenees SOTAs 2023: EA2/NV-021 Saioa & EA2/NV-023 Zuriain (16 July 2023)
I am QSL manager for most (but not all) of my trips, and also for most Cambridge University Wireless Society operations. Cards are despatched, both to the bureau and direct, on a regfular basis. I ask that you use OQRS where provided for requesting a card from me, because I have a fairly optimised system for handling several hundred cards per year.
I am active on LotW but I do not use eQsl, QRZ, or other QSO verification mechanisms that are not valid for the major award schemes.
I collect cards for my own contacts as M0BLF, but for other callsigns I do not need your card.
I am a committee member of Cambridgeshire Raynet. While Raynet exists as an emergency communications provider, we use our skills throughout the year (but predominantly in spring and summer) to support local events taking place over large areas, or areas with poor mobile phone reception. Event organisers, often working on behalf of small charities, are grateful to us for offloading the communication duties to us, and it gives us a good opportunity to hone our skills as communicators.
Latest blog post: Resurrecting a PK-232 TNC for Winlink email (15 April 2018)
I've been licensed since 1996 and my website is almost as old, dating back to 2001. The archive contains old webpages from my various activities over the years.
I have no idea what this page is about... What is amateur radio?