They don’t come any more fairdinkum than the subject of this next Question & Answer Interview... 104GT011 Roy is a realist, a guy who speaks from the heart about the radio hobby, his life in Europe and those close to him. His experiences growing up in war ravaged Belfast will fascinate you. His sense of humour and refreshing humility will delight you. In fact, such is his amiability that if you had a dinner party to entertain some of your closest DXer mates, you’d want him on the list every time. Meet Roy…honest…remarkable…friend…

Q: And the name on your QSL card says?
A: Roy

Q: What does the XYL call you, Roy?
A: Roy when I’m within hearing distance. Out of hearing distance your guess is as good as mine.

Q: What callsign are you using at the moment, mate?
A: 104-GT-011

Q: How long have you been in the Golf Tango Directory and how did you become involved?
A: I’ve been a member for almost one year and I was introduced to the GT group via my good friend Simon 007. The same Simon who writes for RadioUser magazine…

Q: Which part of the atlas would I find you?
A: Corsica Island (Also known as Corse). It’s a really beautiful place and remains green all the year round. I actually dedicated most of my website to showing people the beauty of this island as I was a little surprised at just how many people on the radio ask me, “Where exactly is Corsica?”

My XYL and I are into photography so we have used many of our own photos that we have taken on our numerous trips around the island to illustrate the beauty of this little paradise, besides there are many good radio websites out there already, who needs another one :-)?
Please take the “tour of Corsica” via my website guys. I’m certain that you won’t regret it. So for those of you who may be interested in learning something about the island of Corsica just go to www.roy104gt011.eu and once you are there click on the link VIEWS OF CORSICA.

Q: Hey — you have to pay for advertising on this site, mate, lol! For our lesser learned companions like Andrew, Dave and Cambo where the heck is Corsica?
A: Corsica is in the Tyrrhenian Sea in the western Mediterranean, 160 kilometres south-west of the French Riviera and 82 kilometres west of the coast of Tuscany. It also lies 14 kilometres to the north of Sardinia. You won’t find a KFC or a MacDonald’s here…… See, I told you it was paradise =))

Q: A European man, hey! Do you realise that you’re the first out-of-towner to be interviewed on this site? I guess that either means that you’re one helluva interesting character or we’re struggling for material, lol?
A: Hmm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not, or maybe you are scraping the bottom of the barrel….LOLLL

Q: Corsican (Corse) or French?
A: As the island is ruled by France, two languages are spoken on the island: French and Corsican. In the not too distant past it was strictly forbidden to speak Corsican!

Q: Family? Kids? Pets?
A: Two sons who still live in Belfast, I have a big tom cat who has fought with every cat in our village and he has the battle scars to prove it … I’m convinced he’s Irish!

Q: How did you catch the communications bug?
A: Really by accident. Many years ago my car was in for repairs so a workmate was giving me a lift home and he had an AM rig in his car. He spoke to some local guys then he made contact with some truckers in Europe. I was hooked after that!

Q: Some say buying your first rig is like “losing your virginity…” Who, I mean WHAT, was your first every fling?
A: It was a Realistic AM radio. I got it when I swapped a camera for it. The first decent radio that I bought was a Superstar 360, but the very first “proper” radio that I bought was a Yaesu 101ZD… she was BIG but beautiful!

Q: First ever 11m DX role model? (I.e. someone whom you’ve modelled your self on or thought, “Hey, I like what he’s doing, I’ll do that as well!”)
A: An old guy from Belfast called Michael. Unfortunately Michael is no longer with us, but he was a real gentleman who had the patience of Job and was willing to teach guys who were still wet behind the ears the ways of radio and DXing. He also spoke 4 languages fluently: French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian and always operated with great professionalism and dignity. I was a great admirer of Michael.

Q: Any DX adventures worth sharing?
A: 4 other guys and I used to go into the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland to do a weekend DXing. We used to use an old derelict shepherds cottage as our base. One day while we were up in the mountains DXing, 3 army helicopters landed very close to our base camp. Our first thoughts were that they had seen us from the air and thought that we were terrorists! About 20 soldiers jumped out from these 3 helicopters, faces covered in camouflage paint and all armed to the teeth, and then they started to run in the opposite direction from us. They had obviously more important things to take care of than 5 radio nuts!

Q: I think the same guys are now fighting in Iraq?
A: Well if they have the same effect on the terrorists in Iraq as they had on us poor guys then they have a lot of terrorists in Iraq peeing in their pants right now.

Q: Which part of the hobby gives you a massive hit?
A: Well when you’ve been in this hobby as long as I have, it takes a lot to give you an “adrenalin rush”. But I still get a buzz when I can help someone make contact with what is a new DXCC for them.

Q: When you’re DX’ing from the comfort of your own home, what’s your favourite snack in the shack?
A: A strong cup of tea and some biscuits. My wife is convinced that I’m a teaholic :-)

Q: In my experience, drinks and radio gear don’t mix… What’s your biggest stuff up on radio?
A: While on a DXpedition in the Mourne Mountains, it was my job to check for propagation first thing in the morning while the other guys made breakfast. Over a period of around 20 to 30 minutes, I checked the radio 4 or 5 times and reported, “No conditions yet guys”. Then I suddenly remembered that we had disconnected the coax the previous night because of lightening in the area and I hadn’t re-attached it. It’s wonderful what Irish Whisky can do to one’s short term memory :-)

Q: Besides radio gear, what three things couldn’t you do without on a DXpedition?
A: A good hot shower, decent food and BBC news……see I’m a creature of comforts.

Q: If you could star in a Hollywood movie based on your life as a famous 11m DXer opposite anyone, who would it be?
A: Mel Gibson … he usually tells it like it is.

Q: Leading lady?
A: Dolly Parton! She has great “lungs” for DXing :-) BTW……Have you heard the one about the Irish Vampire? He bit Dolly Parton on the NECK!

Q: Haha……I take it your career as a stand-up comedian went bust?!?!?! What was the last shack item to go belly-up and when was it?
A: A rotator many years ago. The high wind stripped the nylon gears and it ended up spinning like a whirlybird clothes line!

Q: If we spoke via webcam, what would I see in your shack?
A: My Yaesu FT840, PSU, ATU, RF processor, some large maps on the wall and soon to be added a rotator control box.

Q: How many DXCC have you confirmed?
A: I honestly don’t keep a count nowadays but I would say well over 200 +

Q: Apart from working DXCC, what's your favourite aspect of 11m DX?
A: Having a good old chinwag with a friend.

Q: We’ve heard about your website design stuff for DXers and it sounds pretty exciting…… What else helps you pay for that next expensive piece of audio gear?
A: Right now I feel as if I have just about everything that I need for my ‘little gun’ station. I’m only a ‘little gun’ really, as I’m retired now if I need some piece of equipment then I save for it.

Q: Which song best describes you as a DX’er?
A: I Did It My Way

Q: Besides doing it “Your Way”, what’s the best piece of radio advice you’ve ever been given?
A: Listen BEFORE you open your mouth.

Q: Have you ever NOT followed that advice and if so what happened?
A: Hmmmm well I guess it happens to us all at sometime or another :-) Speaking to a station who you thought was speaking to you when in fact he was speaking to someone else — now that can be a little embarrassing, lol!

Q: Other than being a communications fanatic, what are your other interests/ skills etc.?
A: I used to play a lot of football (soccer for our American friends) when I was a young guy, then I got into golf and became a real fanatic for golf. I had a handicap of 8 but that’s long since gone. I have recently joined a golf club here in Corsica where my wife and I play at least once or twice a week.

Q: So Tiger Woods is safe then?
A: Well let’s just say that I’m getting to somewhere near the level that I used to play at…. But Tiger can sleep easy in his bed :-)

Q: If you were to look back through your log, what would you regard as the best DX contact you ever made?
A: Peru (8 division) for some reason or another, this one always seemed to escape me. Then one day I had a QSK from a station and it transpired that the operator was a Brazilian doctor who was temporarily based in Peru helping fight an epidemic of cholera. Needless to say I asked him if it would be possible to confirm the contact and happily he said “yes”.

Q: When did you send your last QSL card and to whom was it sent?
A: 11/2/07 and it was to a French operator, 14-AT-435 Mr Stephane.

Q: If ICOM, KENWOOD and YAESU sponsored a DXpedition of yours anywhere in the world, what and where would it be?
A: I’ve been very fortunate to have worked all of the Artic Circle, Iceland, Greenland, Spitzbergen……You name it and I’ve worked it! But I think that it would give me a real buzz to work from that part of the world so that I could enable other operators to get these countries struck off their “most wanted” list.

Q: Whom would you MOST like to sail with on a submarine for some Maritime Mobile DXing?
A: I’ve been on submarines and I will never like them, so it would have to be someone special to make me go on one again…. . so lets say my old buddy Ben 43AX101. He’s an interesting guy who knows a lot about radio and he’s also a dammed good sailor.

Q: Yes, I know Ben. Great guy! With whom would you least like to sail with?
A: George Bush

Q: Besides your radio gear, what item can’t you do without in your radio shack?
A: My computer

Q: Best 3 DX related websites?
A: 11m DX Activities OZ, Cluster and Eham — all very interesting and useful to the DXer.

Q: What annoys you most about 11m radio?
A: People who don’t listen before they open their mouth.

Q: This whole ‘listening before you speak’ thing seems to be a bit of a theme of yours, Roy. Why the strong thoughts?
A: Over the years I’ve been involved with DXpeditions, SES etc and the most tiring aspects of running such an event is the QRM caused by people who just WON’T LISTEN. Many times in the past I’ve been sorely temped to ask, “Which part of QRX or STANDY don’t you understand?”

Q: In one word, describe yourself as a DX’er:
A: Ordinary

Q: Did you know that ‘ordinary’ spelt backwards says ‘Yranidro’ which is Korean for “noisy goat”? Why would you describe yourself as that mate, lol?
A: Gosh Darren you’ll have to get out more mate, knowing that sort of trivia is frightening!

Q: Actually, I was only bullshitting you… If you had a crystal ball and could look into the future, what would you be hoping to achieve on 11m radio?
A: As I have just recently started a new life here in Corsica, I am really excited about the prospect of finding out where I can work around the world during this coming cycle.
That is also why I would like to set up a new Net based on the lines of the old North Atlantic Net, I’ll probably try to get a new net established when the new cycle starts to kick in properly, it will probably be called MED NET…. Watch this space as they say.

Q: Where did you move from and why?
A: Belfast, Northern Ireland … the “why?” is a long, long story :-)

Q: If you’d just received a 50 million dollar reward for capturing Osama Bin Laden and could buy the best radio gear possible, what would you buy?
A: Probably a top of the range Yaesu, lets say the Yaesu FTdx9000D at just over £7000.00……well it costs nothing to dream.

Q: On the subject of dreaming…… Complete this scenario… “My ultimate DX fantasy is… ”
A: Winning the lottery and buying a large yacht and visiting many exotic islands for some DXing. My XYL is a qualified license holder for sailing a ship, so now all I need now is the money!

Q: Would you stop by Australia and pick me up?
A: Of course Darren … if you have the beer I have the time mate, lol!

Q: To finish up, complete this statement, "11m DX Activities Oz would be better if……
A: Its difficult to improve on something that is top notch already, but I suppose we the forum members could form some sort of ‘11m DX Activities OZ club’, with its very own qsl cards… possibly with free membership ?” :-)

Q: Sounds great, mate! Would you coordinate it?
A: No thanks, Darren. I’ve been there and have the T Shirt to prove it mate. It’s a job for a much younger guy, but it might be interesting if you would ask the 11m DX Activities OZ members if they would interested in such a club?

* Interview conducted by 43SD054 Darren for ‘11m DX Activities Oz’.