With the entire Oceania/ Pacific region imprisoned by some sort of DX dungeon at the moment, one 43 Division operator in particular has continued to carry the Southern Cross flag with distinction and do his DX mad compatriots proud. 43TR299 has ridden the highs of 11m DX in Australia — when Oz CB Groups flourished and overseas contracts were made with relative ease; and also the lows — when the 27MHz mic was swapped for a mouse and modem and radio hobby participation in general became minimal. Fortunately, for the hobby, though, he remains on the 11m DX front as active as ever, working rare activations such as 234SD/0 and chewing the fat with radio mates from his simple shack in the remote Top End.

This month, the world’s best on-line DX magazine, ‘11m DX Activities Oz’ goes one on one with Australia’s new power station, 43TR299 Geoff, in a tell-all interview about his life as an 11m DX’er.

Q. Let’s start off with a simple one...What’s your name?
A. Geoff

Q. How old are you?
A. 49 years old

Q. One more year till the big one, huh! I hear you’re planning on flying in some DX personalities from around the country, such as yours truly, for a massive 50th birthday bash, is that right?
A. Err...not the partying type, sorry Darren. Might lash out with a few coins and a couple of crown lagers down at the casino though!

Q. In what state/ city/ town do you live?
A. Darwin — capital city of the Northern Territory

Q. Wasn’t that the place wiped out by a massive cyclone a couple of decades ago?
A. Apparently! However, it recovered nicely and the buildings have been beefed up somewhat! Darwin is a much bigger town than we expected when we turned up here back in 1994.

Q. How did you get involved in radio communications?
A. I’m from the ‘old days’ when we lived on a property in country South Australia. My parents had a valve radio complete with shortwave bands and a long wire antenna strung up between the house and shed. Those radios did not have in-built antennas. It was interesting to listen to the many Aussie A.M. broadcast stations which came in, particularly at night on the ‘sky waves’ along with shortwave stations from around the world. We also worked with hand-held 2 way units from time to time, and also learnt a little about the capabilities of ‘ham’ stations.

Q. What was your first ever transceiver and who bought it for you?
A. My first ever radio was a 23 channel A.M. set self bought. My first ever QSO was with locals and they showed up for an eyeball – a bit scary, huh!

Q. On the 11m band, which callsign/s do you use?
A. 43TR299 only

Q. How long have you been a member of the Tweed Radio DX group?
A. Was independent until talked into joining the TR group way back in 1992.

Q. Looks like you’ve been around for a while then... How long have you been on radio in general?
A. Since 1977 — about 28 years. In 1975 a visiting work colleague from Victor Harbour showed me his Midland SSB rig and demonstrated its capability with a QSO to another operator in northern New South Wales. He was also the owner of a 4el Quad and passed on a few tips. I managed to get my first 2 el quad up and running back in 1978!

Q. Gee, I didn’t know that radios existed back then, lol! You must have seen a few changes in the hobby... Any that stand out?
A. Back in the early stages there was a lot of QSL card collecting going on around Australia etc. and a lot more mobile stations about.

Q. Assuming you’re still not stuck with an old crystal set, lol, what are your present working conditions (ie. transceiver, antenna, amplifier, microphone etc)?
A. Currently, I use an Alinco DX70 transceiver with a standard microphone and a 3 element quad antenna, homemade in 1992.

Q. How many DXCC have you confirmed?
A. Not many — about 65. I’m more interested in the talk side of DX rather than card collecting. Last count, I’d worked about 130 divisions and have about 1500 different DX stations in the log — not counting more than a few from 43 division of course!

Q. Even though guys in Europe have tallied up huge numbers of DXCC’s, that’s pretty standard for us poor sods in Oceania wouldn’t you agree?
A. Yep – they have many divisions within the sporadic E skip whereas Australia (almost the size of Europe has relatively few.

Q. Okay, so life as a 43 Division DX’er isn’t always hunky dory… What keeps you interested then? What keeps the heart pumping and the blood racing?
A. The magic of propagation with the ability to talk with people almost anywhere with low power.

Q. That’s it? ‘Magic’ isn’t a word that I would normally use to describe propagation, lol! More like unpredictability or fickleness...
A. I guess that depends on where you are. Here in the tropics the propagation is a bit more predictable I think. Further away from the equator the propagation is certainly less predictable and much less forthcoming!

Q. You seem to me to be a bit more complex than the everyday Aussie CB’er... Other than communications, what are your interests/ skills etc.?
A. Computers since 1980 (working with graphics and web designing etc.); minor home renovation; photography (but not real serious stuff); educating the dog; technical skills come from long-term work in a technical/electronics field; and finding out why we are
here.

Q. Complete this scenario: “The perfect DX scenario is...