About my Website
Feel free to browse through these pages which will grow as more projects are completed and documented. There is a backlog of documentation of working things that might be a help to other tinkerers.
Questions on the various topics are always welcome. They will be answered without the help of software in English, auf Deutsch and en Français.
My pages are divided into six main sections:
Radios (all kinds), Computers (mainly the DEC PDP-8 family), Audio Projects, Restorer's Notes and Publications.
Nature of Projects presented
Now all these projects are "prototypes" and none are meant to be "kits" or simple step-by-step instructions to copy my work. The idea here is just to help you with your own
endeavours by giving tips and - hopefully - causing motivation to tackle something. You go your own way, perhaps copying parts of my project, perhaps improving on it - which is certainly always
possible. Have fun!
Remember though: I'm not responsible if something does not work for you or even if it causes damage to your equipment.
About The Restorer, Project Designer and Site Owner
Radio Amateur since 1966, my profession and hobby is electrical engineering, mainly in RF to microwave telecommunications and process computers. Starting out in hardware design labs,
moving later on into system design, adding management functions and eventually joining the telecom user, this field has always retained my interest.
Now retired I have my own electronic lab with a good selection of useful professional test equipment to do the work partly contained in these pages - and yes, I'm a longtime fan of
the classic Land Rover vehicles later called DEFENDER. These days it's a DEFENDER 90 2.2 TD4 station wagon we use for our holiday trips.
A short history of my amateur radio callsigns
Back in 1966, I passed my PTT amateur radio operator's test - at that time including compulsory CW - in Switzerland and got my first licence with the callsign HB9AIK. This licence
and callsign were kept current up to this day.
After moving to Australia in late 1968, I had to pass the GPO proficiency exam inclucing CW again - no reciprocal licensing then - and passed it in early 1969. Applied for a licence and got
my new callsign VK2ANI.
Returning to Switzerland later I had to give up this license and callsign under the GPO rules in force then. Returning for a campervan trip with the family in 1988, I was assigned VK4CHX
for the duration.
Then the rules were changed and I was able to reapply for a full ACA licence again. As I happened to be in Perth in 1998, I was assigned VK6BQD and kept this callsign over 10 years for several l
ater trips. I tried from time to time to get my original callsign back, but it became only available much later. Finally in 2016 I was able to get a new licence from ACMA and my old callsign
VK2ANI which I keep current. Nostalgia succeded!
Telecommunication Engineering Services
Rarely now I still do professional work as a consultant, advising old clients whose systems I know. Occasionally I also maintain or refurbish selected equipment for such client systems. It is however no longer a commercial enterprise.
The Small Print
Before using any of this information in your work please refer to the "The Small Print" page. Thank you!
