As an Amateur Radio operator, using my radios away from home is something that I always enjoy. I suppose it comes from my time serving Queen and country when we used to have to go out and set up a radio outstation when out on covert missions. My time with the Royal Military Police in the early fifties and using various military radios (the 19, 52, 22, 62 sets and later the C11 set which was the radio of the day). I considered these ventures to be very exciting and in some instances great fun. We would sling the antenna between trees or any suitable object to get a signal off to make contact. It was always a great sense of achievement and years later I still have the same feeling of joy. I suppose the radio gene must have been in my blood given to me by my father. He had a passion for radio, as he used to build them in the 1930s. And in WW2 he was in the RAF messing about with radio/radar and other kit.
These pictures show me operating from my static holiday home, which is about 200 yards from the shoreline located at Chapel Point on the East Coast of Lincolnshire. I use the Kenwood TS-480 and an SG-230 Smartuner HF Antenna Coupler. The receive signal on the TS-480 is quite exceptional and nearly always will pull out that weak CW morse-code signal.
Operating remotely gives me the opportunity to experiment with different aerials, including kite borne ones, which is great fun and once radio operators know what type of aerial you are using you quickly become a bit of a celebrity and have operators queue to work you.
Like many operators, we’ve found a new use for telescopic fishing poles – they make life easy for slinging aerial wires and making vertical antennas.
I find the Kenwood TS-480 to be a most versatile rig – prior to this I used the Kenwood TS-50 for many years but mainly mobile. When operating from the main QTH, I use the Kenwood TS-2000 and the SG-237 which works very well as it tunes from 1.8 to 60 MHz. I have had many Kenwood radios over the years including the one of the first digital transceivers theTS-950. I have had other makes, but my leaning has always been towards Kenwood simply because they are very reliable. I suppose that was reinforced as for 25+years, I sold quite a bit of Kenwood Business Radio/PMR and you could nearly always install it and forget it.
For VHF/UHF I use the Kenwood TM-D710E. This rig is something else. I find it to be very versatile and have a great deal to offer. I have recently done the mod which allows me to sit in garden and use my Kenwood TH-D7 which I have had for many years and work remote. I also use the D7 in SKY COMMANDER Mode, to operate through the TS-2000 and work on the HF bands whilst sat outdoors which is great fun, I can assure you. To choose a Kenwood radio will give you a great deal of pleasure and reliability for many years to come.