| About me: |
Born in Yorkshire, England, 1948 to Mr Tom & Mrs Olive Johnson, 14 Royston Avenue, Doncaster
Dad served in North Africa & Palestine during WW2 & was detailed to capture Field Marshall Rommel the "Desert Fox"
but he in turn was captured & spent 2 years POW in Italy, subsequently marrying a Jewish girl to save her from the gas chamber
My Mum emigrated to New Zealand to escape the monotony of British life in 1953, bringing her 3 sons to a new life in a strange land
I am the youngest, my eldest bro died earlier this year (2011) at the young age of just 76
I grew up with 3 precious gifts, two encyclopedia's & one stamp album from which I learned about history. Radio came as a shock one day when I saw a crystal set in a Palmerston North army surplus radio shop & I of course was intrigued by the simplicity & intoxicated & have never stopped experimenting since.
First licenced in 1968 as a Grade 1 Amateur in Wellington, with the call ZL2BEJ picked up from Arthur Askey of Makara Radio Station at the time, when Arthur left that posting. I went on to be the Secretary of Hastings Branch 13 (NZART) & served 4 years AREC doing field comms for S&R where I learned operating skills & patience & to keep my head in difficult circumstances. Serving with Jack, ZL2AWZ & Kevin Potroz & Dave Smith ZL2ABI
I was a home brew fanatic, building all my gear until the Icom 701 was produced in 1977 ? buying my first commercial rig in 1978 for an absolute fortune, so it seemed at the time :-) Flew to Australia for my health in 1979 & became immersed in Oz life. NZ now is a distant memory & fun to work DX
That rig is still on air today, minus it's final, running 10 Watts from the driver stage only. The P.A. board is on the bench awaiting the round-2-it !!! while I work the world QRP from the trusty 701 Kudos Icom !
Today, I have 3 children & a Philippina wife who is an angel
More later
Merry Christmas 2011 |
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