Our Members really get about!

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Roger Western G3SXW (FOC 847) is probably the most experienced and travelled FOC member in terms of putting amateur radio on the map from difficult or rare locations. Here he lists some stories of his and others achievements.

Bibliography

I discovered when retiring a few years ago that I enjoy writing, particularly descriptions of my travels. Also, being retired provides plenty of free time and I need ongoing projects to concentrate on. This is not income-generation: the amateur radio market is too small. But I’m glad to say that we’ve managed to keep costs down and to sell enough copies to avoid losing money. Here is a brief description of previous titles.

"Up Two - Adventures of a DXpeditioner"
The first book, published in 2003, described my radio expeditions to 22 different countries, mostly in exotic parts of Africa, Asia and the Pacific. This 200-page book was published by Idiom Press, in USA and also included chapters on operating practices, QSLing and so forth. It was warmly received so I was encouraged to then go on to other works.

"Contesting in Africa, Multi-Multi on the Equator"
Our contest group of a dozen or so operators has visited West Africa every November for some 15 years. So the time had come to describe our operations in some detail, for entertainment but also for posterity. Each team member has his area of expertise hence many of the chapters were written by these experts and I pulled it all together. This book contains many photographs and other visuals, and again was well received by our ham radio peers. It was published in 2004 by Idiom Press, USA and was again about 200 pages.

"Micro-DXpeditioning Uncovered"
And so we come to the third work. Time has moved on. Radio conditions have hit the low point in the 11-year cycle and at the same time air travel in Europe has become really cheap. Along with various pals I started making one-day or over-night trips to many parts of Europe which were off the beaten track. This book describes over twenty such trips, again with many illustrations. It was self-published in UK, with the help of LPPS Ltd, more than 100 pages. Also covered are many tips about travelling light with a small radio station and how to find the best travel deals.

"Escape from Iran"
Now this is really different. This 56 page booklet describes our escape from the Iranian revolution in January 1979. We had left it until the last minute to leave the country, one day before the Shah left, far too late so we ran considerable risks. It was a dramatic and life-changing experience. I chose in this instance not to sell this book but only to give copies to my family and close friends. It’s an interesting story but hopefully it might help explain what went into the make-up of the Roger which they know today. Only 35 copies were printed, self-published again with the help of LPPS Ltd. Many photographs are included along with newspaper clippings from that time.

"DX Delights  Tales of Travels with my Radio"
And so to my latest offering. All of these anecdotes happened during travels with my radio but only a few of them are radio-related. Most of these 60+ stories are personal experiences, some amusing, some dramatic. They are written with no ham radio jargon so hopefully will also be enjoyed by non-hams. Again it is self-published with LPPS Ltd.

Signed copies of these books are available from g3sxw@btinternet.com. The first two are also available from Idiom Press.

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Paul Evans G4BKI & VP9KF (FOC 1578)

Paul also travels quite often, with previous DXpeditions to Barbados, St. Vincent, Grenada. He also visits Bermuda for a month a year. An overview can be seen at vp9kf.com and a slideshow.

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Bob Whelan G3PJT (FOC 1778)

Bob has journeyed widely mainly operating in the RSGB Commonwealth Contest and with the VooDoo contest group in West Africa.

Here are some details of his recent travels (please click on the slide below).

 

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