GW7ERI AMATEUR RADIO
TUTSHILL - CHEPSTOW - MONMOUTHSHIRE
VHF Station Information
| Station Location | Tutshill, Chepstow, Monmouthshire, United Kingdom |
| Lat/Lon | 51.38.22 N 02.39.48 W |
| CQ Zone | 14 |
| Locator | IO81QP |
| EPC Number | 2623 |
| DMC Number | 572 |
| QSL | Direct, Bureau, eQSL.cc |
| Clubs | RSGB,UKSMG,EPC,DMC |
| Home Page | http://gw7eri.com/ |
Main Station Transmiter: Yaesu FT847
Output: 100 watts on all bands from 160 meters through to 6 meters, 50 watts on VHF 2 meters and UHF 70 centimeter bands.
Modes: AM, FM, SSB, CW, RTTY, Packet, Satellite.
Control of the radio operating functions is via Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD) software, written by Simon Brown HB9DRV.
Ham Radio Deluxe web address is: http://hrd.ham-radio.ch/ where more information can be found on this excellent software.
The FT 847 is capable of transmitting and receiving via the Amateur radio satellites (including ISS) as it employes split VFOs and a dedicated 'SAT' mode. Using HRD software, it is possible to keep the TX/RX frequency centred during a satellite pass, as HRD will compensate for Doppler Shift effect.
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APRS Transmitter: Yaesu FT 1500M
Output: Switched power out of 50/25/10/5 watts. Modes: 2 meter band FM only. The radio, which is actually intended as a 'mobile' rig lends itself well to APRS. It comes with a packet data socket on the rear panel. Power (12v dc) is supplied from a Watson 25amp bench PSU.
APRS radio control software is provided by UI-View written by the late Roger Barker G4IDE. Information on UI-View can be found at:
The PC which runs APRS and UI-View software is a Dell Dimension C521. This PC also runs the weather station. The radio / computer interface is achieved with a Kantronics KAM all mode terminal Node Controller (TNC.)
The FT1500M transmits a low power (10 watts) beacon every 30 minutes, which contains station location and current weather data. Weather data is provided by FreeWx software, a description of which can be found in the weather section of this site.
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The VHF station also has a Yaesu FT480R 2 meter band transceiver.
This was the first radio I bought after gaining my license in 1989. It gives an RF output of 30 watts HI and 1 watt LO in CW, USB, LSB, and FM modes. It also has frequency offsets and tone burst to allow chatting through the Amateur band repeaters. Another example of a mobile radio which functions well as a base station. I use it mainly for monitoring local activity now.
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Antennas:
Six Meters: Comet 3 element yagi.
Two Meters: Watson W-30 dual band colinear. (APRS)
Seventy Centimeters: HB9CV Beam.
Rotator: Yaesu G450C
Mast: 7.6 meter Tennamast Lightweight.