PA0GTB (background information)
My name is Cor Struyk
I’m created in 1950, I am Married for more than 47 Years with my XYL Nellie
We have 2 Children and 3 Grand-Children
My education was Telecommunication and Electronics and I am a graduated Engineer
I’m now Retired. I have worked almost 50 Years in the Telecommunication Industry and being a Consultant and Analyst of Fixed and Mobile Communications for the last 20 years. Now i can spend more time on this Radio Hobby !
At the age of 12, i build my first radio-receiver with tubes. At the age of 15 i’m registered as SWL via the VRZA (a Society of Radio Amateurs in the Netherlands)
My first Short Wave Receiver, was a old Trio 9R59. Later i built a 2 Meter Convertor for this receiver so i could listen on the 2 meter band.
At the Technical Highschool in Breda, there was a HAM, Cees, PA0CVN, who made me more enthusiastic for this Ham Radio hobby. So i’ve got my C Licence in 1974 and a few years later i pass the CW exam and got my Full Licence (F) (Former Class A)
My Callsign, PA0GTB, is related on my first QTH, Geertruidenberg where I started as a Licenced HAM. (3 letter abbriviaton of Geertruidenberg)
My first Commercial Tranceiver
Afther I’ve got my first Licence, I’v build myself a transistorised transmitter, driven with X-tals. I used the old Trio 9R59 SW Receiver with the 2 Meter convertor for reception. At the end of 1974, when I was Married (!) I bought my first 2 meter tranceiver. I have chosen then for the Kenwood TR-2200G
This TR-2200G was fit with X-tals on
very strange frequencies on the 2 meter band
So I had to buy some extra Channels to operate
on 145.500 and 145.500 Mhz. More common
frequencies at the time
In 1974 many Hams’s are using was using X-tal driven transmitters on the 2 meter band. You had luck if someone has the same frequencies as you did Hi… The use of a VFO was not very common.
In practice, I’ve noticed that the 1 Watt output of the TR-2200G was often not enough to make DX connections. So I’ve buyed the Kenwood VB-2000. A 10 Watt Amplifier for the TR-2200G.
My first antenna I used was a Fracarro 6 elements 2 meter beam.
With the combination of the Kenwood TR-2200G, the VB-2200 amplifier and the 6 elements Fraccaro beam, in 1976 on 1 evening I completed QSO’s with all the Provinces of the Netherlands, and got the WAP Award
My First 2 meter antenna
My first 2 meter antenna was a cheap 6 elements antenna from Fraccaro. I’ve used it in combination with a second hands TV Rotator of Channel Master
With this combination I’ve made many QSO’s. Later I expanded this antenna with a second one and made a 6 over 6 horizontal construction of it
And that’s the way it all started.
In 1978 I did my CW exam, got the Full Licence and started experimenting on the HF bands. In 1985 I moved from Geertruidenberg to a city nearby, Oosterhout, and at the end of 2009 w’ve moved back to Geertruidenberg.
In the period 2003 - 2012, i was hardly active from my home QTH, because of busy schedules of work. On the way I used 2 meter mobile, and during Holidays I was active on HF from my Holiday QTH in Germany (DL/PA0GTB: Read more of this under TAB Information)