26DA100 Dan

– September 27, 2011Posted in: Meet the Members

The Dx Adventure Radio Club (DA-RC) is thrilled to introduce to you 26DA100 Dan from the land of the Angles (England) in north-west Europe.

Also a popular member of the Ocean Nancy (26ON001) and Orient Pirate (26OP230) 11m DX groups, Dan has been a valued member of the DA-RC since 26 September 2011 and continues to be one of his country’s sublime Freeband DXers with his new Delta-Alfa QRZ!

An enthusiastic and determined DX Hunter, Dan qualifies for DA-RC membership in this category with more than a 100 DXCC worked and confirmed to his credit (See http://www.delta-alfa.com/about/membership/ for guidelines), regardless of some major challenges with his former residence and putting up a big antenna! Fortunately for Dan and his fave pastime, this has now changed!

26DA100 Dan is also practised in the area of DX Leadership having worked as a country coordinator for Ocean Nancy in the past. He also participated in Orient Pirate’s recent 30 year anniversary as 26OP/30 Alpha, and, was QRV as an island station…26OP/SI… about 10 years ago too.

Inside the exciting world of radio comms and Dan’s interests are wide-ranging. They include radio engineering, exchanging qsl, rag chewing with mates such as 14DA011 Chris and 26OP141 Tim, the adrenalin rush of contesting, dxpedition work and portable/field dx work as well.

Dan’s QTH in 26 Division is Bristol, by all reports the most populous city in south-west England. Built around the fish infested River Avon, and with a short coastline on the Severn Estuary which flows into the Bristol Channel, Bristol borders the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire. It’s also located near the historic cities of Bath to the south east and Gloucester to the north.According to the locals, Bristol is the largest centre of culture, employment and education in the region. There are several jaw-dropping attractions here, from Britain’s most acclaimed historic ship (Brunel’s SS Great Britain), its most iconic suspension bridge (The Clifton), the world’s fifth oldest zoo (Bristol Zoo Gardens), a beautiful and historic castle (Berkeley Castle) for COTA enthusiasts, one of Europe’s leading interactive science centres (At-Bristol) to an outstanding network of free city museums (e.g. Bristol Museum & Art Gallery).

A proud ICOM man, Dan’s station (Pictured left) is an impressive one indeed, consisting of an ICOM 756 Pro III, ICOM IC-7700, IC-706 MK1 in the mobile, a SM-50 dynamic desk microphone, a whisper quiet Ameritron AL80-B linear and a 4 element yagi. This horizontal antenna is mounted on a 50 foot scam 15 military pump-up mast which overlooks neighbouring properties in Bristol (Pictured below).

Although it pays the bills, Dan’s time in the hobby is often tempered by the demands of his own tv aerial installation venture which has been successfully built from the ground up. Dan (aptly nicknamed “the Aerial Man”) controls a fleet of vans and a large number of employees but still prefers climbing about on roof tops and getting his hands dirty.

“Better than spending all my time in an office bogged down with admin tasks!” he says.

When he’s not clambering above houses risking life and limb, or at the desk of his Icom adoring station, Dan loves spending time with his fiancé and 3 young children. He also enjoys reading about, tinkering with and driving fast cars, a subject worthy of a decent QSO if the opportunity presents itself in the future no doubt.

“I currently own a BMW M5 e60 5.0 V10,” says Dan proudly. “But I’m looking to purchase a new Mercedes E63 Estate in the new year which should be awesome!”