I first became interested in Radio at the age of 13. I started building crystal sets and then one valve and two valve sets. With these radios I heard Radio Amateurs and curiosity got the better of me and I had to find out more.
I started work as a Metal Fabricator at the age of 15 and as soon as I got some money together I bought two ex army receivers from the radio shops which were then situated in Shudehill Manchester.
In 1965 I married and continued with SWL. 2 children came along so expansion was limited as family life took over.
In1987 I did my RAE for my VHF licence and received the call sign G1ROW. I later took the morse test in 1992 and then received my HF licence G0ROW.
I joined SRS which then met at Dialstone Centre.
I retired at 63 from my position of Purchasing Manager and found myself with more time to enjoy the hobby. I met the late Jim Barlow G3VOU at SRS and he gave me a lot of encouragement to get more involved.
I was invited to join the committee in 2010 and one of the first things I did was reinstate the clubs nets on VHF and HF on Tuesday evenings from my home QTH using the call sign G8SRS and this ran for a number of years.
The opportunity came along to plan and site aerials at Walthew House and I formed a sub committee of 4 to achieve this. The club nets now run from HQ at Walthew and I have become a mentor for the On Air Team to help members operate.
One of my other committee duties is to invigilate over most of the exams for the various licences.
My main interests are SSB HF and collecting paper QSL cards. On December 16th 2014, I was elected President of Stockport Radio Society.
Alan Gurnhill G0ROW