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Welcome

Welcome to G4ILO's Shack. I am Julian Moss, a UK licensed ham radio operator holding the callsign G4ILO and this is my personal hobby website. If you don't know what amateur radio is, see my article What is amateur radio?

This is a picture of my radio room, known as the shack. My main transceiver is an Elecraft K3 which is used on 80m - 6m at up to 100W output. On VHF 144MHz I use a Spectrum Communications transverter and Microset linear amplifier with a power of up to 50W.

Due to restrictions on outside antennas and other local difficulties I operate a stealth amateur radio station. All my antennas are in the attic directly above the shack and consist of: a multiband dipole (80m, 40m, 20m, 10m, 6m), an MFJ magnetic loop (40m - 15m), a Moxon beam (2m horizontal) and a Slim Jim (2m vertical.)

I mostly operate digital modes, especially PSK31. The computer is running KComm, a logging program that I wrote for use with Elecraft radios.

Through this website I hope to share some of the fun and enjoyment I get out of ham radio. Here you will find articles and software I have written. Please also visit G4ILO's Blog, where I describe what I have been doing or thinking from day to day in my hobby activities - plus the occasional rant over things that annoy me!

If you enjoyed the site, let me know by leaving a message in the Visitors Book. Thank you!

Pushing the envelope of stealth ham radio

It's tough being a ham these days. Unless you live in the middle of nowhere or own lots of real estate, being able to have the antennas you dream of is often dependent on the tolerance of your neighbours. And in today's world, people are becoming less tolerant of anything that isn't 'normal'.

The problem isn't always solved by having the legal right to erect an antenna. Winning the planning application won't make the neighbours who didn't want your tower suddenly regard it as a thing of beauty. And sometimes the objections can start a lot nearer home, like your spouse or family.

Many people will tell you that you will be condemned to a life of frustration if you can't erect outside antennas. One amateur I was in QSO with, when told of my working conditions, said that he'd give up the hobby rather than put up with such restrictions. But although indoor, small or concealed antennas are unlikely to perform as well as a beam mounted high and in the clear, and though the need to use low power to avoid RFI won't help you break any pileups, there are benefits to 'going stealth', as well as disadvantages.

There's no need to risk life and health climbing masts and carrying ladders. You can save money, too, as many of the most efficient stealth antennas are made of nothing more than wire, and if they are in the attic they won't need weatherproofing. I can also tell you that it's a lot more comfortable working on an attic antenna farm than one that's outside in the cold, the wind and the rain.

I bought our present house knowing full well that the scope for amateur radio antennas was restricted. The desire for outside aluminium could not be allowed to override more everyday considerations like convenience of location or budget. Despite these limitations I am still able to operate using many different modes on many different bands and get a lot of enjoyment from the hobby.

Rather than try to win contests or work every DXCC entity the challenge for me is to see what I can achieve with the situation I have. And I'm still finding new things to try. One of the aims of this website and is to write about what I am doing and what I have achieved, so that others in the same situation can see what's possible.

If this site can inspire others in restricted situations to see what they can do, and convince them to ignore the naysayers who tell them to give up, then the effort of creating it will have been worthwhile.

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• G4ILO's Blog

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Copyright © 1998 - 2009 Julian, G4ILO. All rights reserved.