My Story – VK5ZBR

Time has blurred the details, but here’s what I recall.

Like many kids, my fascination with electricity began with a reckless experiment. I once jammed a knife and fork into a 240V power outlet, blasting a chunk out of the knife and scorching the wall black. Miraculously, I survived. That brush with danger must have sparked my lifelong interest in electricity.

How I got interested in radio …

Curiosity drove me to dismantle anything I could get my hands on, especially my parents’ belongings. In secret, I took apart a brand-new camera behind the couch, reducing it to a pile of pieces. Any gadget with electronics was fair game—I loved prying out components and collecting them in jars because they looked so intriguing. Unfortunately, the items I destroyed didn’t fare as well. This was all before I started school. One day, I even pulled all the fuses from the family car to add to my collection, charmed by their shiny appearance. My parents were far from impressed, but somehow, I escaped serious punishment.

walkie talkies and wire

From the age of seven, I was obsessed with my collection of toy walkie-talkies, especially the bright orange one with a Morse code key. My friends and I played with them constantly, chattering from our cubby houses or while zooming around on our bikes. I’d often talk to the kid next door through them. One day, we discovered that touching the antenna to a metal fence made the signal louder—mind blown! We experimented with a piece of wire next, which helped but wasn’t as effective. Then we taped a wire to a stick, and the signal got even stronger. Soon, we were strapping bamboo sticks wrapped with wire to our dragster bikes, riding down the street and talking with crystal-clear reception. With our makeshift antennas, we could even pick up other people’s conversations on our channel. Our walkie-talkies were broad, picking up all channels at once. One day, we overheard two people discussing how wrapping a 2.65-meter wire—half a wavelength—around a stick created a tuned helical whip antenna. That was it—we had to try it ourselves!

We decided to test the idea, raiding an old extension cord for wire and carefully measuring it out. We grabbed some bamboo, wound the wire around it, and attached our new antennas to our bikes. The result? Our walkie-talkies could now reach nearly four blocks—about 400 meters! We were thrilled, though we felt a bit guilty about sacrificing the extension cord. The things we could hear were incredible—stations from hundreds of kilometers away, even some from America, which blew our minds. How could a bit more wire make this possible? Then there were these strange, Donald Duck-like voices that creeped us out. Were we picking up aliens?

Short waves

I loved sneaking my mum’s Philips cassette shortwave radio into bed to listen to 5KA at night. Like my nonno’s radio, it had shortwave bands, opening up a world of signals. My friend had a similar radio with a meter, and every weekend we’d tune into a powerful station from the United Arab Emirates on 21MHz. Radio Australia was another favorite, always clear and vibrant. Then there were the time signals—VNG from Lyndhurst, Victoria, on 4.5, 7.5, and 12MHz, whose announcements I knew by heart, and WWV and WWVH on 2.5, 5, 10, and 15MHz. I’d drive my parents crazy leaving those ticking away for hours. At night, those eerie Donald Duck-like voices returned—aliens again? You could almost make out their words. One day, by pure chance, we discovered that placing another radio next to it could decode those garbled signals, though it was tricky to get the voice just right. It felt like black magic! This happened when we were comparing my friend’s radio to my mum’s. Unbeknownst to us, we were picking up the local oscillator signal, 455kHz above the tuned frequency—a mystery we didn’t understand at the time.

Mums old Philips radio I used for shortwave and MW DX — Mums Short wave radio

Astronomy and the microcomputer.

In my early high school years, I dove headfirst into astronomy and programming in BASIC. My first computer was a Dick Smith Wizard, which I got by trading my AM CB radio. Over time, I upgraded at home from a VZ200 to an Amstrad CPC 464, then a 6128. My absolute favorite, though, was the BBC Microcomputer Model B at school—something we could never afford back then, though I proudly own one now. Every night, I’d painstakingly type programs from library books into the Wizard, with no way to save them, so I’d start from scratch the next evening. Computers became my world, and I got pretty skilled at programming. So skilled, in fact, that my computer teacher asked me to write lessons for our class. I created adventure games, a word processor, a database, and even a sheep dog trial scoring system. Looking back at the code printouts I still have, I’m amazed at what I accomplished. Sadly, my school grades weren’t high enough to pursue programming professionally.

Thanks for killing the dream!

Astronomy was a blast. My friend and I built a few telescopes and even started constructing an observatory platform in his backyard. We had grand plans—probably dreaming of crafting a massive reflector telescope. In primary school, I’d already made a few refractor telescopes. At eight, I got a 60mm Tasco refractor as a gift, which fueled my obsession. The astronomy magazines in the library were full of Newtonian telescopes, and we were determined to have one. We tried building one using a shaving mirror, which kind of worked but had issues—the mirror’s reflective surface, behind the glass, created double images from the silver coating and the glass surface. Undeterred, my friend and I pooled our money and bought a 76mm catadioptric reflector telescope from Kmart. That telescope absolutely blew us away. Still, we couldn’t help but dream of something even bigger.

The CB Days

IIn Year 8 of high school, my friend Graham shared stories about his dad’s CB radio adventures. It was the first time I personally knew someone who used a CB radio.

Graham’s stories about his dad’s CB radio adventures, chatting with people over incredible distances, blew my mind. The idea of talking across such vast ranges was thrilling. For months, I dropped hints to my parents about how amazing it would be to have a CB radio, but they firmly said no. Determined, I saved up my pocket money and bought a Realistic 27MHz 3-channel, 1-watt walkie-talkie. It came with channels 11 and 14, and I later added channel 8, the truckers’ channel. Using our trusty bamboo sticks wrapped with wire as antennas, I could connect with people across the city.I kept raving to my parents about how great a proper CB would be, and then, to my surprise, they helped me get one for my birthday—a Tedelix TE4000 AM CB. With a center-loaded antenna mounted on the house gutter, I was in heaven. My first experience on channel 11, the call channel, was a shock—full of colorful language that made me think my dad might regret the purchase. I spent months just listening, too nervous to jump in, until I finally mustered the courage to call “breaker.” From there, I made tons of friends and soaked up all sorts of radio knowledge.Eventually, I learned about SSB mode from a friend on the air, who explained how it allowed for much longer-distance communication compared to AM. My next big dream was an SSB radio, but back then, they were so expensive.

My first SSB CB, DX was fantastic. — My beloved Hornet (lots of DX)

Single Side Band

My uncle was passionate about caravanning, and I’d join him on trips during school holidays whenever I could. I told him all about CB radio and how incredible Single Side Band (SSB) was. Excited, he bought a Hornet Mk2 SSB CB from Dick Smith, and I helped him install it in his new Toyota Landcruiser. On a trip to the Flinders Ranges, I used his CB every day. I was blown away, hearing stations from the USA, New Caledonia, and every state in Australia. The sunspots must have been intense back then because sometimes we couldn’t find a clear channel to talk on. I knew I had to get an SSB radio of my own.I begged my parents for an SSB CB, but they shut me down. So, I turned to my grandparents, who agreed to help if I sold my old AM radio to cover part of the cost. I pitched it as a way to stay in touch with my uncle, and it worked! I got a Hornet Mk2 SSB CB, just like my uncle’s, and started working plenty of DX (long-distance contacts). Later, I scored a second-hand, homemade 3-element Yagi antenna from a local CBer. I built a tower using a pipe, anchored by a swing in the backyard. Funnily enough, I never sold the AM CB—instead, I swapped it for a computer.As my logbook filled with DX QSOs (contacts) and I connected with friends on the air, I started hearing about ham radio. I dove into reading about it, dreaming of taking my radio passion to the next level.

Ham Radio

I desperately wanted a ham radio, but the licensing requirements intimidated me. My friend and I would visit Dick Smith, where ham radios were proudly displayed. The FRG7700, always tuned to the time signal, was my dream radio. At the time, getting into ham radio felt like an unattainable goal. But we learned a lot from CB radio operators and studied from second-hand books I snagged cheaply at Dick Smith—a Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) book, an American Radio Relay League (ARRL) handbook, and an exam prep book called 1000 and 1 Ham Radio Questions and Answers. We memorized that last one like parrots, determined to make our ham radio dreams a reality.

IThe wildest part about the ham radio exam was that Ashley and I knew the answers by heart but had no clue why they were correct. We passed, but we were still none the wiser.Those were the fun years. We built most of our radio gear from whatever we could scrounge up, and it was a blast. For a 55MHz quad antenna, we used bamboo and string, wrapping the string in aluminum foil when we ran out of money for wire.

Modified Tandy 55.050 headset transceiver put in a new case — Tandy 55MHz head set we made into a base

My first ham radio was an IC02A, bought with every cent of my first paycheck. Amusingly, Ashley and I were too shy to talk on it for the first six months, so we stuck to our 55MHz Tandy walkie-talkies. The ham radio community seemed very serious and not particularly welcoming to young newcomers like us.

My first ham radio book, I learnt most of what I need early on out of this book. Its well used. — First ARRL Hand Book well used

Education

My second career choice was to become a National Parks Ranger, and during high school, I studied agriculture subjects for three years. Electronics, which I saw only as a hobby, wasn’t even on my radar as a career. On advice, I left school and enrolled in a prevocational electronics course at TAFE to explore my options.

That year at TAFE was a game-changer, giving me a solid foundation in electronics. The course included placements at four different electronics industries for ten days each, helping me figure out what I enjoyed. TV servicing wasn’t for me, but I fell in love with two-way radio. I still remember my first week when the lecturer showed us a circuit diagram—it looked completely alien. He promised that by the end of the year, we’d read it like a book. He was spot on!

Job

Through my TAFE course, I landed a job at RW Electronics servicing taxi radios. I learned a ton in a short time, but by a stroke of luck, I was offered an apprenticeship in radio trades with a major company I’d applied to six months earlier and forgotten about. It was a word-of-mouth opportunity, and I felt bittersweet leaving RW Electronics, though they encouraged me to take the chance.

After completing my apprenticeship, I pursued further studies in advanced communications, mainly to deepen my understanding of ham radio. We covered SSB radio as a topic, and I finally grasped how it worked. I was fortunate to have several great mentors over the years, and I’m grateful for their guidance. My main responsibilities involved maintaining HF radios, satellite telephones, CB radios, and marine communications. The job took me all over South Australia—I reckon I’ve visited most towns and regions, especially the remote Far North outback.

Radio Club

At the South Coast Radio Club, I connected with a great group of ham radio friends. We dove into radio direction finding together—a story for another time!

In 1994, during a work trip to Woomera, my colleague Rod (VK5ZFQ) and I were brainstorming about amateur satellites and balloons—fitting topics for a rocket town. We tossed around the idea of starting a ham radio club focused on these projects, but it fizzled out until 1996. By then, it was clear no existing clubs shared our vision. So, with my close ham radio friends, we founded the Amateur Radio Experimenters Group (AREG)—a far better name than our initial joke, ARSE (Amateur Radio Satellite Experimenters)! Together, our new club dove into building all sorts of gear. Our biggest passion was creating repeaters for 2m and 70cm, crafting everything from filters to controllers, interfaces, and antennas. It’s incredible what a group of like-minded people can achieve when they come together.

Time moves on

Over the years, I gradually built up my workshop and test equipment, driven by a goal to create anything I wanted independently.

Getting married and having a child brought a wonderful shift to family life, a change I cherished.

I still love restoring vintage radios and crafting antennas. The sounds of HF radio remain captivating, and as technology advances, building things has become easier. CNC engraving, milling, and 3D printing are now affordable for home use, eliminating the need for expensive tools. PCBs can be made for just $2, and electronic components are cheaper, making projects far more accessible. The internet has been the biggest game-changer—you can order parts from anywhere in the world with a single click.

YouTube has become an incredible learning resource, a far cry from the days when I relied on writing letters, making international calls for parts, or studying overpriced, outdated books. The wealth of online forums and information still feels astonishing. As a kid, I could never have imagined this level of possibility.