Amateur Radio
My journey in amateur radio since 1997, including APRS operations and my home station setup.
Brief History
I’ve been active in amateur radio since around 1997, fully licensed in 1999. Since I obtained my license, I have had the callsign VE6SLP (also on Twitter as @VE6SLP), which I’m quite happy with since it happens to be a shortened form of Slepp.
Recently, for my automated stations and in honour of my high school organization, Geeks Anonymous, I picked up VA6GA. Both of the callsigns have websites dedicated to the types of operation I use each for. @VA6GA is also available on Twitter and provides periodic updates from the Alberta area APRS Hog.
APRS
There are a few community services I do with ham radio. (Note: The local Edmonton APRS iGate at aprs.slepp.ca has been discontinued.) The APRS Tier2 network server at edmonton.aprs2.net continues to serve the community.
My Home Station
Since I started working with ham radio again, I have been slowly amassing a collection of radios and antennas for my home station.
In the photo I snapped during the RAC Canada Day Contest, you’ll find the various radios used for the contest. The main SSB rig was the Kenwood TS-430S (at the bottom of the stack), operating through an MFJ-929 autotuner. On top of that is the Yaesu FT-817 which was used to make attempts at 6m and 2m contacts.
In the end, the APRS radio was used for the 2m contacts since it has the better antenna of the two radios setup right now. The 2m APRS radio is just visible in the background on the left. Two SDR radios sit on top of that. Yes, there are a lot of radios in this one photo.
Most of the Canada Day contest was run from the Butternut HF9V in my backyard. Occasionally, the 20 metre dipole antenna on the roof was put into service, though it rarely improved on the receiving conditions of the Butternut.