Early Memories
Port St. Mary circa 1950
on DUFAYCOLOR 620 transparency
This is one of my earliest memories growing up in Port St. Mary, Isle of Man.
This is a DUFAYCOLOR transparency taken by my Dad in about 1950 (as far as I can assess by the other images in the collection) and think it was taken from the bedroom window. It shows where we spent many hours fishing in the rock pools with cotton and a bent pin using limpets for bait and generally exploring and doing what little boys do. In the harbour is a fishing boat called the William Herdman which was a research boat with the Marine Biological Station in Port Erin which was part of Liverpool University.
The DUFAYCOLOR film was a '620' size roll film and I think was one of the first colour films available.
Due to my Dad's job we have lived in various parts of the Island and ended up in the capital, Douglas.
This is a DUFAYCOLOR transparency taken by my Dad in about 1950 (as far as I can assess by the other images in the collection) and think it was taken from the bedroom window. It shows where we spent many hours fishing in the rock pools with cotton and a bent pin using limpets for bait and generally exploring and doing what little boys do. In the harbour is a fishing boat called the William Herdman which was a research boat with the Marine Biological Station in Port Erin which was part of Liverpool University.
The DUFAYCOLOR film was a '620' size roll film and I think was one of the first colour films available.
Due to my Dad's job we have lived in various parts of the Island and ended up in the capital, Douglas.
Amateur Radio
I was introduced to amateur radio by Arthur Parr GD3IWP and Tom Kellett GD3EGF, two professional radio engineers, Arthur with CAA and Tom with BBC. I was first licenced in 1969 and operated on 'Top Band' 160m and 80m AM fixed and mobile, I bought an ex army R107 receiver, but due to many other interests at the time did not have enough time for them all, and radio took a back seat for a while until I obtained a Pye VHF mobile radio which I crystalled to work on 2m and made the receiver variable tuning and was used portable from high ground. This was later used with a converter and the R107 receiver on 4MHz for my first fixed station operation. I remember working Malta on AM sporadic-E with it !. Next came a Belcom 'Liner 2' SSB set which then opened up my interest in VHF dx-ing. Over many years I have used various data modes starting with a Creed teleprinter and eventually migrated to computer rtty and amtor operating and into AX25 packet radio and ran the local mailbox until local packet activity died and I switched it off !. Due to work commitments with my business, moving house and getting married, radio has taken a back seat for a number of years until recently when with retirement approaching I have more free time, and have been refurbishing my equipment and aerials. I am fortunate that my business means I have a wide range of communications test gear in the shack, capable of testing anything up to 2.7GHz on rx and 2.6GHz (counter) and 1.5GHz (spectrum analyser) on tx, the test gear takes up more space then the transceivers !
I do keep an eye on weather and atmospheric conditions looking for tropo and aurora. With modern software etc I would no longer need the tape loops and multi-speed recorders I used when I last played with meteor scatter !. All the modern data modes are amazing, having so far just played with decoding the GB3VHF beacon which is my usual reference for 144MHz band conditions, but I can also usually hear PE7CIS, GB3ANG and GB3NGI beacons. There are no beacons I can hear on 70cm which make me wonder if that band is worth spending time and effort monitoring. I keep a watch on Bartell's Music and SolarHam looking for possible auroral conditions, and DXinfocentre for tropospheric forecasts.
I have held the posts of the Chairman, Treasurer and President of the Isle of Man Amateur Radio Society.
My weather station is here. Follow me on twitter for ham radio snippets and chat @GD3YEO
I do keep an eye on weather and atmospheric conditions looking for tropo and aurora. With modern software etc I would no longer need the tape loops and multi-speed recorders I used when I last played with meteor scatter !. All the modern data modes are amazing, having so far just played with decoding the GB3VHF beacon which is my usual reference for 144MHz band conditions, but I can also usually hear PE7CIS, GB3ANG and GB3NGI beacons. There are no beacons I can hear on 70cm which make me wonder if that band is worth spending time and effort monitoring. I keep a watch on Bartell's Music and SolarHam looking for possible auroral conditions, and DXinfocentre for tropospheric forecasts.
I have held the posts of the Chairman, Treasurer and President of the Isle of Man Amateur Radio Society.
My weather station is here. Follow me on twitter for ham radio snippets and chat @GD3YEO
Other Interests
Other interests include receiving and plotting ship AIS signals to see what is moving in the waters around our Island, and watching the Isle of Man Steam Packet boats come and go. I enjoy taking photographs, now digital but used to do my own B&W developing and printing, I especially enjoyed printing from old family negatives where I had never seen the prints, some were really feint yet produced amazing prints. Many years ago I also used to do car rallying and pistol target shooting.
There are also a couple of furry friends to keep us active with lots of walks. They are Shetland Sheepdogs, usually just called 'Shelties', Misty on the left is a little girl and Beau is a little boy, they are now 18 months old (2012). Our first Sheltie Honey was with us until she passed away at age 16 years, we then had two more Bonnie and Crystal (Cryssie) who we sadly lost at only 10 years old, so these two are keeping us active and get us out all over the place for walks which we probably wouldn't do without them. They also come on holidays with us, but have to say that most places we go are much more dog-friendy than our own Island which seems to be paranoid about dogs going near any hotels or eating places, and we hardly ever see a water-bowl in the street.
There are also a couple of furry friends to keep us active with lots of walks. They are Shetland Sheepdogs, usually just called 'Shelties', Misty on the left is a little girl and Beau is a little boy, they are now 18 months old (2012). Our first Sheltie Honey was with us until she passed away at age 16 years, we then had two more Bonnie and Crystal (Cryssie) who we sadly lost at only 10 years old, so these two are keeping us active and get us out all over the place for walks which we probably wouldn't do without them. They also come on holidays with us, but have to say that most places we go are much more dog-friendy than our own Island which seems to be paranoid about dogs going near any hotels or eating places, and we hardly ever see a water-bowl in the street.