It all started in 1983. A friend and colleague of mine showed me his CB transmitter, wow... that was fun...
I bought myself a CB set and of course an antenna too. I made a lot of (local) QSO’s on the Citizens band but there was more. Europe had to be discovered. So a BREMI amplifier was
the next step and FM was no longer sufficient, SSB that was the magic mode. In the meantime, the move was made to digital modes (RTTY) and the computer was also a part of the shack.
More and more equipment came to be on the shelf.
A question that kept me for 3 years. I knew that my transmissions were illegal and what would happen if I got caught? So finally I made the decision to become licensed and operate legally.
After a year, in November 1987, I successfully finished my exam for a C-license (VHF and up) and got the callsign PE1MEZ.
Five years later I did my morse code exam and got the A-license (nowadays called “full licence”), which opened the complete world of amateur radio for me as PA3GEU which
turned into PC2C in 2003.
Most of the contacts I make today are in digital mode like PSK and JT65 but JT9 is my preference in relation to the narrow bandwidth and low power.
Occasionally I take part in a contest, such as the annual Dutch PACC contest in February, where I can happily "switch some extra power" if needed.
One of the most precious contacts I made was in 1994 with KC7NHZ on the Space Shuttle Discovery on "2 meter - FM Voice"
