Over The Air: With Dave G8BKG [052]

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Over The Air: With Dave G8BKG [052]

Conversations with Amateur Radio Operators...

Documentally

Mar 07, 2024

This is Dave G8BKG.

I popped over to his QTH to take a look at some issues he was having issues with the GPS settings on his radio. While there I recorded this audio on my phone.

Dave has been around long enough to have done the RAE (Radio Amateurs Examination) which was designed to test an individual's knowledge of radio theory, regulations, and operating practices.

The RAE was first introduced in the UK in 1919 and administered by the British government's Post Office. It was a written exam, covering things like radio wave propagation, circuit theory, and Morse code. Over the years, the RAE evolved and eventually became a multiple-choice exam that could be taken at various test centres around the UK.

Dave took the exam in the 50’s but didn’t pass the Morsecode side of things so focused on girls till some years later when he picked up a licence restricted to UHF and VHF. This is really when he made up for lost time and got stuck into amateur radio.

In 2003, the RAE was replaced by the certification system we now have in the UK called the Amateur Radio Licence. There are currently three levels of licensing: Foundation, Intermediate, and Advanced. Up until recently, these licenses were obtained by passing a practical assessment and a written exam. In fact I did a basic practical for the Foundation licence in 2019 but shortly after the practical was scrapped so the exams could be taken entirely online.

Dave and I chatted around a few things. From how he started in radio, building his first radio, the Heathkit Hw17A as well as experiments in TV-DX. He also gives a shout out to Willy’s net on 80m with G3BYG, Shefford and District Amateur radio Society, HARS plus the now silent key Ron G8GRT and his spidery radio constructions.

Thanks to Dave for his time.