The Gallimaufry of Alan Nixon

 AMATEUR RADIO

I am a licensed UK radio amateur (Radio Ham). My call signs are G1EFU, M3EFU and GX1THF

I am now only active on DMR the only equipment I now have is a 

Retevis RT3 and a hot spot

I listen more than I transmit due to my domestic situation.

My Son John M3JON had a heart attack 

and died instantly on 8th January 2016 aged 30

For further information about Amateur Radio visit the website of

The Radio Society of Great Britain

www.rsgb.org.uk

May 2012

I am Alan Nixon, I hold the call sign G1EFU, I live with my wife Joan in the Southern Wigan village of Lowton IO83RL . I am a member of the RSGB, UKFM Group (Western), BATC. SLARC. WAB.

In May 1963 I took and passed the RAE but could not do the Morse so I gave up till 1983 when I passed again and obtained a class B call sign. I now understand that I could have used the original pass slip to obtain my Class B. but was advised to the contrary and took it again, the first one at Warrington and the second one at Leigh. Here is a link to the exam paper I took in 1963 http://www.g4dmp.co.uk/rae/rae1963m.pdf

I had been employed as a radio and Television Engineer since leaving school before becoming a technical representative for the Sansui HiFi company. For many years I had also run a small public address company "Amplihire"specializing in outside sound for carnivals and Morris Dance (The girls kind) competitions.

I was one of the first CBers in the area using a Sharp little window, when CB became legal after a few months I became disillusioned by all the abuse, A CB friend who is now G4YFZ introduced me to the West Manchester Radio Club who met in the Shuttle Street Scout headquarters in Tyldesley, the club moved to Gin Pit miners welfare Club and still meets there.    It was here I found out that an RAE course was to start at Leigh college in September 1982. I signed up for this course intending to take the exam in March 1983 however Tony G6INT suggested that we took the December exam for experience which we did and were surprised when Most of us who took it passed.

I was the organizer assisted by Peter G1DTV (G0KBA) of the first  RED ROSE AMATEUR RADIO RALLY held at Burtonwoood Motorway Service Area. With the financial help of the West Manchester Club and along with G6INT, G1EIO, G1DTV and others  I was a founder member of the Wigan Raynet Group and spent a number of years as the group controller.

Due to work changes I was unable to attend club meetings. Eventually I was contacted by Brian G1EIO who asked me if I would be interested in helping to start a new club that was going to meet at Bickershaw Miners Welfare Club, and called South Lancashire Amateur Radio Club, of which I became a founder member and was registered an RAE all grades instructor. Again changes in my working hours made it impossible for me to continue attending the club for many years, I am now a member of the Newton-le-Willows Club.

I am now the Keeper / NOV holder for the Brandmeister DMR repeater GB7JL located in Lowton

Below is the award given to me by the West Manchester Club

for organizing the first Red Rose Rally

The Meaning of “501”

Most people have heard of ‘Radio Amateurs’ and are also aware that they frequently use what is termed ‘jargon’. The greater part of this dates from the early days of the telegraph when all messages, even between post offices in England, were sent by means of Morse code.

In order to save time well-known phrases, which were in frequent use, were given numbers or a three-letter abbreviation ‘Q’ code. In Amateur Radio ’73’ is a general greeting, normally used when ending a conversation or ‘QSO’. If we are greeting a member of the opposite sex we say ’88’, which means ‘love and kisses’. When we want to wish anyone ‘good health’ we say ’99’, and if we want to wish them ‘God bless’ we wish them ‘100’. A now departed ‘ham’, known to us as a ‘Silent Key’, often told of a Scottish lad who was dying. With his last breath he whispered to his friend ‘141’. The next time the friend was in church he began to thumb the pages of the hymn book. On reaching 141 he realised the message his friend was trying to convey to him: the hymn was, “God be with you ’till we meet again”. Later, a WACRAL member added all of these numbers together – they totalled 501. Since that time it has been used as both a greeting and a blessing in Christian Amateur Radio Nets. If we can all say ‘501’ to everyone during our daily lives then we should get more than our sums right!

NB: Since the 501 is a number, it is recommended to say ‘Five, Zero, One’ on the air.