CDXC Committee Members 2023 / 2024

President: Don Field, G3XTT

My amateur radio interests are varied, though mostly on the operating rather than the construction side. Preferred mode is CW. I gained my amateur radio licence in 1968, starting out on 160 and 80. Over the years I have operated all bands 160 through 23cm, mainly focusing on the competitive side of operating - contesting and DX chasing. I have all DXCC countries worked and confirmed, and over 3,000 credited to the DXCC Challenge. I have operated from a number of DXCC entities including: C5 D6 EA6 FO FO(Australs) G GD GJ GM GU GW HB HB0 HC8 KH6 KL7 LA LX OH OJ0 PY SM T32 TF UA3 V5 VP9 W XT YL ZS ZS9 3B7 3B9 3X 4U1ITU 5U 9A 9G 9K 9M6 and 9M0. These included participation in major DXpeditions ZS9Z/V51Z, T32C, TX6G, 3B7C, 3B9C, 9M0C and D68C plus small, holiday operations and a number of single- and multi-op contest expeditions. Voodoo contest operations include 9G5AA XT2DX 5U5Z, 3X5A and 9K2HN. I have also been on IOTA expeditions (Les Minquiers, Farne Islands, St.Kilda, Flannan Is.) and have entered the IOTA contest (of which I was manager for 12 years) from GU and OJ0 as well as from home. I hold the short contest call M3D.

A past member of the RSGB Board & Management Committee, past-Chairman of the RSGB Contests Committee, member of ARRL, Chiltern DX Club, UK Six Metre Group, FOC, Reading & District Amateur Radio Club. HF columnist for RadCom (RSGB members' magazine) for 15 years and, for several years, CDXC Digest. Previously a columnist for Amateur Radio and Ham Radio Today magazines. Author of two amateur radio books - the RSGB Operating Manual and the 6 Metre Handbook (republished in an updated version in 2013 as the 6m and 4m Handbook). I was also a referee at WRTC 2006 in Brazil, a judge at WRTC 2010 in Russia and, most recently, a judge at WRTC2014 in New England. I have served on the secretariat of IARU conferences in Cavtat (Croatia) and Vienna.

Last but by no means least, on 1 October 2013 I took over as editor of Practical Wireless magazine.

Chairman: Chris Duckling, G3SVL

I started SWL-ing on the broadcast bands around the age of 13 and, as legend has it, stumbled across an amateur signal soon after. I passed my morse and RAE at the age of 15 and with the exception of the usual family, career and housing ladder interrupts, have been active on all HF bands and up to 4m ever since. I can usually be found contesting and DXing on the low bands with CW as my primary mode. My current station is a Yaesu FTdx101 with a Juma PA-1000 Amplifier and wire antennas.

In 2007 I was part of the FSDXA DX-pedition to 3B7C, St Brandon and in 2011 was co-leader of the T32C DX-pedition to Kiritbati (T32C).  I am one of the '6Gs' DXpedition Group and have been on the 2014 TX6G, 2015 E6GG, 2016 ZL7G and 2017 VK9XG DXpeditions with them.

I enjoy contests - usually CW - but lately digital modes too. I am a member of the Windmill Contest Group and operate HF & VHF Field Days with them and a member of the Three As Contest Group for AFS and 80m CCs. I've held the SCC G5Q since 2016.

I have served on the Committee of CDXC since 2007, initially as Secretary, becoming Chairman in 2009. I am a past Board member of the RSGB. Along with CDXC and RSGB, I am also a member of GMDX and ARRL.

Professionally I am a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the IET and work as a consultant with directorships of a number of small companies. In 2003 I completed a PhD which, if I use my academic title coupled with my surname, makes me sound like a Walt Disney character!

Membership Secretary: Chris Kirby, G4FZN

My interest in amateur radio started at the age of 16 when I became RSGB member A7447. The thrill of receiving a QSL card for a listener report from JY1 back in 1971 spurred me on to studying for a transmitting licence which was obtained in April 1973.

My first radio club was the Bury and Rossendale Radio Society (G3BRS), and my mentor Francis, G3IVG, (who was a keen HF DX-er) used to take me to the club meetings. At first, and much to Francis' disappointment, my interest tended towards VHF rather than HF, and the excitement of my first QSO with EA using only a Pye Cambridge will stay with me forever.

On passing the Morse test in Liverpool in 1976, I acquired a KW2000B and in no time at all started to generate TVI on my parent's television. Indeed, my first ever transatlantic QSO was cut short with an instruction from downstairs to "turn that damn thing off right now".

I was Secretary of Tamworth Radio Society (G4FWC) in the 1980s, and now Secretary of the Colburn and Richmondshire District Radio Society. I have been controller for the Richmond Raynet Group (M0RRG) for several years, and an active member of the Northern Fells Contest Group (M0NFD). I am also keeper for the GB3IR repeater.

My career was centred around radiocommunications, first as a field engineer with Air Call, and later moving into the realm of radiopaging, before being appointed Technical Director of Digital Mobile Communications, a paging company operating from Wembley. I qualified as an associate member of the IET, and served on several ETSI standards committees, contributing much to the method of interconnection of ERMES paging terminals between operators. When GSM phones were introduced, with the ability to send and receive short messages, this more or less pulled the rug from under the paging business, and I spent a further thirteen years as a Resource Manager with the mobile phone company, Orange.

If asked, I would say my favourite band is 4 metres because of the wide variety of propagation modes, but my interest in HF DXing has never waned even though I have only wire antennas at home.

My wife, Pauline, passed the RAE in 1980, and inherited my former G8 callsign, and our two sons attended Richmond school where there was an active radio club. Stephen has a full callsign, whereas Simon retains his 2E1 callsign originally issued as a Novice. And, despite his initial reaction to my causing TVI on the downstairs tv, my father subsequently became licenced, as are my sister and brother-in-law. We used to hold our own family rallies!

Treasurer: Andrew Thomas, G8GNI

My interest in radio began when my father gave me a one-transistor radio a friend of his had made. As a young teenager I bought a Murphy B40D receiver out of my paper-round money and began listening to the broadcast bands and QSLing the stations I heard. I joined the Southgate ARC, where I was their newsletter editor for four years, prior to going to University. At the age of 18 I took the RAE and became licensed as G8GNI.

I have been active on 160m to 70cms sporadically, depending on family and work commitments. I enjoy contests - especially RTTY – and currently participate in many of the RSGB UKAC VHF / UHF contests, giving my points to MKARS. My current station is an Icom IC-7610, Expert 1K-FA linear amplifier with wire antennas and yagis for 6m and 4m (with Kuhne transverter) and an Icom IC-9700 with yagi antennas for 2m and 70cms.

I was a committee member of the Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Society (MKARS); for ten years as Treasurer and for five years as the lead trainer. I am also Treasurer of the British Amateur Radio Teledata Group (BARTG). In addition to CDXC I am a member of the RSGB, ARRL, GMDX, BARTG and MKARS.

In addition to my G8 call I am also licensed as M5AEX and AC8HT. I have also occasionally operated as GD8GNI, EA6/G8GNI and 9H3AP.

My wife, Mona, is licensed as M6MNA and two of our five children hold the callsigns M3DXL and M6EGY.

I have a first degree and doctorate in Psychology and prior to retirement was a social policy analyst, conducting exploratory qualitative research for a wide variety of government departments and public sector organisations.

Digest Editor: Peter Chadwick, G3RZP

Born in May 1947, second son of G8ON. First NFD 1949, although I can’t remember much of it! Built first valved radio (2 volt filament valves) in 1956. Got really interested by 1957, took and passed RAE on 14th birthday (May 5, 1961). Passed the Morse test and G3RZP was issued on 29 April, 1963. I started chasing DX using father’s HQ170A and LG300. Left school and took up a Technician Apprenticeship at the Marconi Co Ltd in Chelmsford. The first year was spent at Colchester Technical College, with Frank Howe, G3FIJ in charge: this was followed by ONC at Chelmsford technical college.

I went through various departments at Marconi until the senior engineer I was working for left to join Labgear to head up their development effort and I went to join him. Later I joined KW Electronics but even after Decca took over the pay was poor and I moved to Racal Marine, followed by Burndept, and a period of unemployment before joining Plessey Semiconductors in in 1979. I stayed at Plessey through four changes of company name until being made redundant in 2011 with a very nice pay-off and contract to do the same work for the US branch of the company for a very good reward, thank you!

At the Cray Valley Radio Society Christmas ‘do’ in 1976, I met this 16 year old YL G4FNC: we married in 1983, having bought a semi on new housing estate in Swindon. Dissatisfaction with the place from a radio viewpoint led to finding a place in the country. Our house is called Three Oaks, but the property has some 19 fully grown oak trees plus a couple of silver birch, a willow and a lime tree.

In 1983, G3RPE (SK) asked me to join the RSGB Technical and Publications Committee; this led to me becoming RSGB Council Member for Zone D and eventually RSGB President in 1993. In the late 1980s, work meant that I became involved with ETSI, and then with ITU. This led to me being invited to act as a consultant on amateur radio to the Radio Communications Agency as far as TG1/5 and CEPT WGFM SE21 was concerned and eventually to representing the IARU at ITU-R Study Group 1.

After we moved house and got the beams up, the DXCC totals went up very rapidly. In 1993, after Dayton, I paid an official visit to ARRL HQ as RSGB President (Rank has its privileges’). I took some 315 DXCC cards along, which they checked on the day and there was a photograph in QST Magazine of K1ZZ, the then ARRL CEO, presenting me with the DXCC certificate! The last DXCC country for me was K1N on Navassa some eight years ago.

Member & Awards Adjudicator: Derek Bate, G4XEE

Member: Lee Allen, 2E0LMA

I first got into the hobby at the age of 16 after seeing a demonstration of amateur radio on Blue Peter in the late 90s, i wrote to the RSGB and they put me in touch with the Cheltenham Amateur Radio Association (CARA) and one of the first meetings i went to there was a talk about the 9M0C DXpedition, after that i knew DXing was going to be main interest in the hobby.

I passed the Novice B (2E1) as it was then in 1998 before going on to pass the CW exam in 2002 and gained the 2E0 call. Active on all bands from 160m-10m using SSB, CW, FT8 and RTTY.

My current setup is a pair of Yaesu FTdx5000s with 132ft Doublet at about 45ft which is my main antenna but i like trying different wire antennas and verticals as well. I would like to do some 6m operating in the future, I'm currently trying to improve my DXCC count on 80m, this band in particular i find fascinating with Greyline propagation. My mobile setup consists of Yaesu FT891 which ATAS 120 antenna mainly on SSB.

I had a couple years break from the hobby but came back to it during the Covid pandemic and was introduced to FT8 which got the interest back for me. I had worked nearly 200 DXCC mainly on CW before i had a break but since operating FT8 my numbers have increased again and its given me the chasing bug back.

I work at a local art foundry as a sand moulder casting sculptures in bronze, working on both private and public art works. Some notable public sculptures I have worked on include the Bomber Command Memorial which is located in Green Park, London and was unveiled by the late Queen Elizabeth II in June 2012, also 'Verity' which is located on the harbourside at Ilfracombe, Devon and was at the time the largest statue in the UK. I have been doing this 23 years

Member: Pete Walker, G4RRM

My interest in radio started as a schoolboy during the days of CB radio, as I’m sure is the same with a lot of Amateurs of my age.

I was 21 when I took the RAE at Chester College in 1987 and received the callsign G7AEV in February 1988. I spent the next 18 months using 2m various modes and antennas and even managing to make some 2m Auroral QSO’s.

In late 1989 I passed the 12wpm morse test and was issued the callsign G0MMH.

My working life started as an Engineering Apprentice at Rolls Royce & Bentley Motor cars in 1982, where I worked in various production roles and later moved into Supply Chain and latterly Purchasing.

In 2003 with move of Rolls Royce away from Crewe, I applied for the old Rolls Royce Callsign G4RRM which I have held since then.

I returned to what is now Bentley Motor Cars in 2013 where I work as the Aftersales Electrical Buyer.

I have been the Chairman of the South Cheshire ARC (G6TW) since 2002, and also a member of the RSGB.

I can operate 160m to 70cms and my current HF station comprises an FTdx5000, Expert 1k Amp XR5C HF Yagi on a 45Ft Versatower and wire aerials for the lower bands and an FT847 for 6m and above..

I’m mainly to be found on HF chasing DX and trying to increase my DXCC totals.

If you have the time to help the Committee or want to put yourself forward for nomination, please contact any Committee member for a chat.