Local ham catchup including Peter, VK3YE

Yesterday, in a Melbourne park, I had the pleasure of a catch up with a bunch of old friends. Ham Radio Home brew hero, Peter, VK3YE, was there and of course he set up a squid pole and was soon making contacts on 10m FT8 and SSB.

Peter inspires me in a number of ways - home brew construction and getting out and participating on air.

His portable gear is satisfyingly minimal and shows beautiful wear and tear from regular use. For FT8 he uses an Android phone with a simple home made coupler.

Here's Peter's wonderfully worn FT817 and the famous home brew L Match:

It was great to catch up with everyone and I took the opportunity to quiz Peter on what I should do about my latest home brew amplifier which is operating with great efficiency as a 150kHz oscillator.