Steve G4ALG (30CW #343)
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With lots of help from my dad, I started building radios in 1966 at the age of 12. I became a keen short wave listener and spent many hours listening on the broadcast bands before stumbling across radio amateurs on 40m AM phone. I was hooked! I joined a local radio club at the age of 13 and went on to build several receive converters and valve receivers to the designs of F G Rayer, G3OGR.

Following my 5 year 'apprenticeship' as a short wave listener, I passed the RAE and the 12 wpm morse test in 1971 and was granted the callsign G4ALG. I was a very active HF and VHF contester through the 1970s and 1980s, moving to Wales as GW4ALG in 1982. In the late 1990s I started to focus, once again, on home construction and became a keen designer, constructor, and operator of low power ('QRP') equipment; and an enthusiastic experimenter on 136 kHz.

By 2003, I found that the increasing levels of Contest QRM on the popular HF bands every weekend prevented me from testing newly-built gear and keeping in contact with old pals. By February 2007, Contest QRM had become so bad that I decided to go QRT, dismantling the station at GW4ALG and selling my large collection of homebrew equipment on eBay.

Having moved back to England in 2012, some pals convinced me during the COVID-19 pandemic to get the '4ALG call back on the air — even giving me a 'starter pack' comprising a very fine Icom R71E receiver; a QCX kit to build; and enough components for me to build an antenna matching unit (AMU).

So here I am, with a load of recently built home made solid state and hollow state QRP gear. I have returned now 'stronger and more resilient'. Never again will selfish contesters force me off the air.

Thanks for looking!
Steve G4ALG

QRZ.com: https://www.qrz.com/db/G4ALG
Web site: https://www.4alg.uk/radio_g/qrp/intro.htm

30CW - Number 343
ARRL - Life Member
FISTS - Number 10885
GQRP - Number 10574 (resigned July 2023)
ISWL - Number 21060
RAOTA - Number 1683 (rejoined September 2023)
SKCC - Number 1567

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