M0NFE Station Details

At a glance

Location: JO01im48, Westcliff-on-Sea, England; 35 miles East of London
Operator: Nick
QRZ: M0NFE, previously 2E0DVX, M6DVX
Modes: 2m FM, 70cm DMR, 40m/HF Portable
Equipment: Yaesu FT-857, FT-450D, FT-7800, VX-7R; Motorola DP3400; Baofeng UV-B6, BF888S; Slim Jim; 40m dipole + doublet
Digital IDs: EchoLink 481399 (M6DVX), DMR 2351677 & 2352320, APRS M0NFE-5

Location

The primary station location is at Maidenhead Locator JO01im48, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England. About 35 miles East of London.

Operator

Hello, my name is Nick. Outside of radio, I enjoy programming in Ruby and run a software company; I fly light aircraft as a private pilot, and like playing the piano.

Previous callsign & history

The UK currently has three levels of amateur radio licensing: Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced. You must attain each level in turn, and your callsign changes at each stage. Permitted transmit power increases with each level, and the exams get more technical.

I was first licensed in October 2009 with the Foundation callsign M6DVX. I obtained my Intermediate callsign 2E0DVX in June 2011. I still retain both licences, and use the M6 call for QRP, or when encouraging new amateurs onto their first net.

Both exam passes followed training courses with my local club, Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society, whom I recommend to those studying for the exams in Essex.

I enrolled on the BDARS Distance Learning Course which led to a Full licence pass (exam at CARS) in June 2015, and my final callsign M0NFE.

Modes

You'll hear this station active on 2m FM and 70cm DMR. Due to limited antenna space, most of my HF operation is portable from Southend and Shoebury beaches, and the surrounding area.

We have some excellent repeater coverage in Essex, thanks to the Essex Repeater Group. You'll usually find me on GB3DA during the weekly Monday Night Net. Likewise, we are lucky to have great local DMR coverage from GB7EX.

Essex also hosts a monthly in-person Skills Night, and I often attend, or host a table there. These are open to the public and are great for newcomers. They're also a chance to ask questions, build gadgets, and discover new aspects of the hobby.

Equipment

In the shack

I use a Yaesu FT-857 transceiver with the stock MH-31 microphone and either a Slim Jim antenna for 2m, or a Mini Mag for 2m/70cm. This is supplied by a Palstar SPA-8230 power supply. One day I hope to have the space for HF at home, to make use of my LDG AT-100Pro Autotuner again.

Mobile

I use a Yaesu FT-7800 dual-band transceiver in my car with a Mini Mag. When walking, I use either a Yaesu VX-7R handheld, or occasionally a Baofeng UV-B6 or BF888S into their stock antennas.

My DMR radio is a Motorola MOTOtrbo DP3400 handheld, which I also hook up to the shack antenna when home.

For APRS location tracking (as M0NFE-5), I use the PocketPacket iOS app on my iPhone.

Portable

My portable kit comprises a Yaesu FT-450D with its stock MH-31 microphone, and various homebrew antennas. I usually use a 10m telescopic pole from SOTAbeams and either a coax-fed, half-wave dipole for the band, using the radio's built-in tuner, or a 40m doublet fed with 300Ω balanced feeder and the LDG tuner from my shack.

When operating on 2m or 70cm portable, I use a Slim Jim cut from 450Ω balanced feeder, aloft on a fishing pole.