Why new member Craig passed his radio exam twice

It is good to report that we have a new member, Craig Towler, M7UPA, from Almondbury. He was unable to attend the AGM this week as he has COPD and is on 24-hour oxygen.

He says: 'I have problems leaving my garden. That is about the length of my oxygen tubing. I have an oxygen concentrator for when I do go out, but this limits the amount of time I can be out of the house. Also I struggle with steps.

'At some point I will try to make it to one of the meet-ups. For now I’ll stick to listening to the morning chats and learning radio etiquette.'

Craig has a basic set-up: A Retevis RT95 with psu, AV-400 SWR and power meter, CBC 145/435MHz antenna and two handhelds. He also has a Sharman x-50C antenna waiting to be installed with help from his son. He is now looking for a suitable HF antenna for a small garden.

'My plan is to get used to the grammar and transmission etiquette before I branch out to other frequencies,' he says. 'I have been looking at possibly getting a 10m radio and eventually using computers with the radio. Not just to program the channels but to encode/decode morse code transmissions.'

Craig is not wholly new to the amateur world. He passed the amateur radio exam in 1994 and received the C&G certificate. When he decided to get on the air recently, he contacted OFCOM who said he needed to supply information from the certificate.

'The certificate was in a box in the loft. Because of my condition, going up and looking through the storage boxes would have been a complete pain, so I decided it would be easier to retake the exam, so I did.

'So that’s a bit of an insight into my plans. I know it’s basic stuff, but I want to fully learn how to use my radios properly and what each setting means.'

Club members who would like to help Craig to get on the air can contact him on paxx@hotmail.com