M0WYB

Russ Scully

Always had an interest in radio but it wasn’t until the CB boom at the end of the seventies and beginning of the eighties, that I got involved. Signed up for an RAE course but was so put off by the appalling lecturer that I gave up (I’m a qualified teacher!).

My main background however, is within the Youth Service where I managed an Outdoor Activity/Learning Centre on the docks in Bristol for thirty years. We had our own mobile radio system which kept me in touch with ‘official’ radio!

With the seismic changes to the amateur radio exam structure around the turn of the millennium, I was lucky enough to be near to one of the leading lights in amateur radio training, Steve Hartley, G0FUW who lives in Bath. I went through the three levels non-stop thinking that I wouldn’t get back on the horse if I did! That has led to a long association with Steve and the Bath Classes where I have invigilated exams but more importantly for me, have provided Foundation Practical Assessments here for students.

I was lucky that in my journeys in and out of the salt mine, I struck up with many Bristol based mobiles who soon got me involved with the Bristol Contest Group and it wasn’t long before I was helping out on field day/portable contests. The highlights of that period included several trips to Jersey for the international IOTA Contest which we won the expedition section on a number of occasions.

Eventually I became aware of TDARC and decided to get involved and even spent a little while on the committee. My main club interests continued with contesting and for many years took part in the UKAC’s. Portable ops and field days still gave me the greatest buzz and always throw myself into those opportunities during the year. VHF Field Day weekend at our Masbury site is such a great club event. Sadly, Covid has put a halt on all that for the foreseeable future.

I am lucky to have a good radio location with enough space for HF dipoles and a small tower for my Hexbeam and 2m and 6/4m Yagi’s. It’s only me and the dog so I am lucky to have a fairly comprehensive shack (see QRZ for pics and more – https://www.qrz.com/db/M0WYB

I have no CW skills so I concentrate on SSB and recently FT8. I am not a constructor or ‘techie’, and admire those that have those skills. I’m an inveterate rag-chewer and look forward to working you!!

Russ, M0WYB