in the county of
Friesland,
The Netherlands1963: Altough my mother didn’t like it I already pressed al the buttons I could find on our old Telefunken radio.
1973: When I was 13 years old (1973), together with some friends I started my first experiments in the world of wireless radio, we tried (and to our suprise managed quite a few times) to repair old radio’s, amplifiers and the old stile Philips TX21 TV frames.
Very soon after these first experiments we went on , not only receiving signals but also tried to transmit them, just a little bit above 100 Mhz. We experimented with tubes who according to the specs. and others, could not transmit at all.
Apart from my friends also the RCD (Dutch Radio Control Service) picked up these signals and made an end to it.
1974: Only 14 years old I had to go to court (because of my age together with my mother) and beside a small fee that I had to pay (ƒ 15,00) the judge very kindly advised me to go for an official HAM license.
1975: At the age of 15 I passed the test but still was to young to operate a station of my own, at that time the minimum age was 18 years.
1976: Under license of first PA0OK and later PA0GUS I made my first contacts on 2 metres in the VHF contests and herewith passing the contest virus on to me.
At first with an X-tal locked Storno but very soon the station improved and I got my SEMCO-TERZO 144 MHz. all mode transceiver (altough I don’t use it anymore It’s still working) and I had 40 watts into a single 16 element F9FT.
We also started the contest group PA0GUS/P , locator CM09H on 2 mtr’s, 70 cm’s and 23 cm’s, operaters were PE1AVG, PE1DAB, PA0GRB, PA0GUS and PE1BTX.
1978: I further improved my station with a frontend (BF981), an amplifier with 1 x 4CX250B and a second 16 element F9FT.
Together with Peter, PE1CDA I went to LX and gave a lot of Ham’s there first LX on 2 meters as PE1BTX/LX/P
1979: Together with Jan PE1AVG and Bert Hollander (NL5305, later PA3DWD / PA7MM) we again went to LX and worked a lot of DX, we also met Rick, PE1BVM who was on holidays and plans for 1980 were made.
1980: Together with Jan, PE1AVG, Rick PE1BVM and Bert Hollander (NL5305, later PA3DWD / PA7MM) we went to Liechtenstein and worked as PE1BTX/HB0/P, this was not as succesful as expected, despite a lot of equipment, big antenne arrays we faced bad wether, bad condx and therefore a lot of skeds went wrong.
1981: Again I improved my station, the amplifier became a 2x 4CX350B, the preamp a Gaasfet MGF1400
1981: With Peter, PA2V (former PA2VST) I put up 8x 10 element home made 2 mtr antennes and we made the first EME-QSO’s out of Koedijk
1982: home brew 70 cm’s (IC402 and 2x 4CX250B, 4 x 21 el. F9FT) and 23 cm’s (IC202 and 2x 2C39, 1,5 mtr dish) were added.
1987: home brew 3 cm’s (IC402 and TWT) was added
1989: I moved to Oudeschoot, locater JO22XW and rebuild an old farmhouse (from 1857) into my new house so no real time for Qso’s apart from working as contest operator on PA0GUS/P and PA3FPS/LX/P
1977-1992: First from CM09H and later from CN68C we were very active as PA0GUS/P in the normal VHF-UHF contests as well as the VHF-UHF fielddays and ran all the bands from 2 mtr’s up to 3 cm’s.
Operators were PA0GUS, PA0GRB, PE1AVG, PE1DAB, PE1JXG, PA3AIJ, PA3DWD, PE1LAU and PE1BTX.
1992 - present: In 1987 I started a transportcompany, Vidotrans-HTG in 1992 I changed the shack into an office and became so busy that all my radio equipment was moved back were it came from, the addick at my mother’s house and it’s still there.
MARCH 2004: Radio vires comes up again and slowly I’m rebuilding my shack, I bought myself a TS690S and put up a W3DZZ antenne, the first radio signals since years sound like music in my ears, I can hardly wait to put up a tower for installing all the other antennes.
MAI 2005: After a lot of problems with the local authorities the towers are finally erected, 1st I build up TOWER NR1 (HF & 6 MTR) The LPD for HF works perfect amd also the 6 Mtr yagi performs good, in only three months time I manage to work 65 DXCC countries in total 315 locator squares. In august the activity goes low, typical for the sunspot minimum.
AUGUST 2005: I start erecting TOWER NR2 (2MTR, 70CM & 23CM all EME) first 2 Mtr is seriously activated, after some tropo QSO's in September on Oktober 8 after more than 22 years I made a QSO via the moon. This time not in CW but with the new digital mode WSJT in JT65.
Also meteorscatter is now done in the new digital mode WSJT in FSK441 instead of High Spead CW.
In no more than 4 months I manage to work 22 new DXCC countries and more than 80 new locator squares.
JANUARY 2006: The 2el. M2 40 Mtr beam is sold to make place for a second 7el. M2 for 6 Mtr. With these 2 antennes and a new home made PA with 2 x GS35B it must be possible to make some EME QSO's on 6 Mtr to during moonrise or moonset (I can't elevate these antennes). On January 28th. the first 6 mtr. EME signals of K7BV are heard with -25 db of the moon.