There is nothing amateur about amateur radio. It is full of highly skilled, passionate people like Nigel Booth whose hobby is also a way of life. It is subject to strict regulation, with standards and licenses only issued by the government after a series of demanding qualifications have been achieved.
In this world of social media, Skype and instant global communication, the amateur radio community is not only surviving but thriving. In the last three years 8,000 new licenses were issued in the UK alone, increasing the number of licensed amateur radio users by over 10% to 80,000. The figure worldwide is over 3 million.
Indeed it is healthy enough to sustain many full-time businesses, including Nigel's. He set up M0CVO Antennas - a name derived from his official amateur radio callsign M0CVO - in 2010, and it now has an excellent reputation as one of the UK's most respected suppliers of mobile and fixed station short wave antenna equipment. Nigel's interest in radio goes much further back, however. He has tinkered with electronics for years and converted several ex-PMR sets for use on 144MHz and 430MHz frequencies.
"I first became interested in amateur radio in the mid 1990's but work and other things got in the way at that time," says Nigel. "It wasn't until 1998 that I sat the City & Guilds 736 Radio Amateur Examination. Then I passed the 12wpm Morse test enabling me to gain access to the HF bands below 30MHz. I had an interest in both the communications side of the hobby and the electronics side of what made it happen."
He decided to establish M0CVO Antennas four years ago after being made redundant. "The idea actually originated a couple of years previously when I developed the "M0CVO Mighty Moxon" - a dual band VHF directional antenna that was ideal for portable use. However I just produced these as an occasional item whilst I was still in full time employment. The first HF antenna I produced was the HW-40, an off centre fed dipole for 7, 14 and 28MHz. They were cheap but they worked and I believe there are still a few of the original ones out there being used."
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