As a little kid I was grabbed by the ‘radio virus’ in the early 80′s. I had a little transistor radio which I took with me to bed every night and I listened to local FM-pirate stations who were talking to each other over the band (duplexing). Many times I’ve tried to build such an FM-transmitter myself, but it never worked very well. Then came the girls, mopeds and other teenage distractions.
I finally obtained my first (novice) license in 2003 as PD0JMW. My first radio was a Yeasu FT-817 which I bought second hand. In April 2008 I passed my Full-license. My callsign changed from PD0JMW to PA1JIM. My QTH is in Hilversum (30 km south of the city of Amsterdam). Locator: JO22NF.
My working conditions at this location at the moment are a Kenwood TS-590-line (TS-590 transceiver, PS-52 power supply, SP-31 speaker, MC-60 microphone). Running the standard 100 watts into a homemade horizontal loop of approximately 56 meters of wire.

Occasionally I’m visiting my parents who live in Hautes Alpes, France. Locator: JN24XM. Then I’m active on the bands with the call F/PA1JIM. My working conditions in France vary. Sometime I work QRP only with the Yaesu FT-817 (5 Watt) or I bring the TS-590 with me. I use all kinds of wire antenna’s at this location depending on my creativity at that moment and the materials I can find.
Two great advantages of this location is its height (around 1400 meters above sea level) and it’s very remote. Almost no QRM indeed.

This blog is mainly intended to give my fellow radio amateurs (or other curious visitors) an insight in my activities on the air. I write about the things I build, the repairs I make, the experiments I work on and other radio-related activities. Try [HRD Logbook] in the menu on the homepage to find out about my latest contacts. Hope you enjoy and visit again!

73 DE PA1JIM