# Amateur Radio from VP8/Falkland Islands



## King Ratt (Aug 23, 2005)

Did any one operate from the FI at any time?
In 1983 I got an FI licence on production of my PMG ticket at the Stanley Post Office along with £10. I used a Clansman transceiver into a 15 foot whip mounted on the monkey island of CPs Fort Toronto/GBSD. Loads of QSOs back into UK and Europe. They messed up on my first callsign VP8ARV, someone already had it and gave me VP8ARR instead.


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## Searcher2004 (May 3, 2012)

King Ratt said:


> Did any one operate from the FI at any time?
> In 1983 I got an FI licence on production of my PMG ticket at the Stanley Post Office along with £10. I used a Clansman transceiver into a 15 foot whip mounted on the monkey island of CPs Fort Toronto/GBSD. Loads of QSOs back into UK and Europe. They messed up on my first callsign VP8ARV, someone already had it and gave me VP8ARR instead.


Had a port call at Stanley in Feb 1973 when I left HMS Endurance there and flew to the mainland, after operating a Decca HIFIX chain down on the Antarctic Peninsula for a few weeks in the local summertime. 

I had a pal in Stanley from Nottingham, John Wright/G3VPW, who worked for the satellite people (ESRO?) and John held the callsign VP8KF. He let me and another UK-licensed amateur on the Decca team use his station for a day, my first and only experience of being "DX"! John had a part-time job, he would take his Land Rover up to the airfield at Stanley and use it to scare off the seabirds, prior to the regular Argentine Air Force Fokker F27 arriving, he also (on the day we left by plane) carried a Royal Marine with a packset radio to talk to the incoming a/c. 

Was back in Stanley at the end of 2008 on an oil & gas survey ship (Fugro Meridian) and saw quite a few houses with ham antenna systems but used the shore-leave time to do the tourist thing. The airfield is still in business, despite the Vulcan attacks, although not the regular flights to Argentina! 


73

Roger/G3VKM


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## King Ratt (Aug 23, 2005)

Hello Searcher2004.
Missed you by about a year. I first visited FI in Feb/Mar 74 while in the RFA Wave Chief. She was topping up the RM contingent with fuel and stores. I used to work Endurance on CW on the trip down to the FI. There were many houses at that time sporting cubical quad antennas as well as large TV type antennas to try and pick up TV from the Argentinian mainland. Grainy black and white pictures were what I saw. I see you use The Lady Elizabeth as your avatar. In 1983 I went onboard her with another RFA man and a team of Americans. They carried out a survey of Lady Elizabeth for the World Ship Trust. Their main function was trying to recover what was left of the Snow Squall aka the Last American Schooner. It lay wrecked in Stanley Harbour but eventually the bow was recovered to the US.


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## Searcher2004 (May 3, 2012)

King Ratt said:


> Hello Searcher2004.
> Missed you by about a year. I first visited FI in Feb/Mar 74 while in the RFA Wave Chief. She was topping up the RM contingent with fuel and stores. I used to work Endurance on CW on the trip down to the FI. There were many houses at that time sporting cubical quad antennas as well as large TV type antennas to try and pick up TV from the Argentinian mainland. Grainy black and white pictures were what I saw. I see you use The Lady Elizabeth as your avatar. In 1983 I went onboard her with another RFA man and a team of Americans. They carried out a survey of Lady Elizabeth for the World Ship Trust. Their main function was trying to recover what was left of the Snow Squall aka the Last American Schooner. It lay wrecked in Stanley Harbour but eventually the bow was recovered to the US.


OK, very good. Decca used to do a job every summer for the Royal Navy on the Antarctic Peninsula and we came down from Montevideo on the RRS Bransfield to Stanley and then cross-decked to Endurance in Stanley harbour by chopper. I was down in Marguerite Bay on a place called Flyspot Rocks for a couple of weeks and then had a slow trip back to Stanley to demob, via several bases. 

Snapped the Lady Elizabeth on my 2008 trip and thought it made a good avatar for an old wreck like me! There was an RFA vessel in Stanley at the time, I think, can't recall her name but it was anchored in the Sound. My pal, John Wright, helped out with the refloating and recovery of the Great Britain when he was there. 

73


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## chadburn (Jun 2, 2008)

King Ratt said:


> Did any one operate from the FI at any time?
> In 1983 I got an FI licence on production of my PMG ticket at the Stanley Post Office along with £10. I used a Clansman transceiver into a 15 foot whip mounted on the monkey island of CPs Fort Toronto/GBSD. Loads of QSOs back into UK and Europe. They messed up on my first callsign VP8ARV, someone already had it and gave me VP8ARR instead.


Where the Clansmen sets available in 1983 for purchase outside of the Armed Services or was it an inside procurement.(Thumb)


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## King Ratt (Aug 23, 2005)

Hello Chadburn.
The Clansman on CPs Fort Toronto was part of the naval comms installed in her while she was STUFT. I was in charge of the naval party onboard and used the Clansman when it was not in use for official comms. All the STUFT ships had some form of equipment fitted by MoD in 82 but it would be removed when these ships reverted to their commercial routines.


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## chadburn (Jun 2, 2008)

King Ratt said:


> Hello Chadburn.
> The Clansman on CPs Fort Toronto was part of the naval comms installed in her while she was STUFT. I was in charge of the naval party onboard and used the Clansman when it was not in use for official comms. All the STUFT ships had some form of equipment fitted by MoD in 82 but it would be removed when these ships reverted to their commercial routines.


I had a suspicion that was the case having being with STUFT at Northwood in 1982 when there was a rush to get a Comms fit between ships and Army.


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## GW3OQK (Jun 10, 2010)

Amateur operation DURING the war
http://www.scotsman.com/news/clydebank-radio-ham-helped-to-win-back-the-falklands-1-1371524
73 Andrew


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## Andy (Jan 25, 2004)

GW3OQK said:


> Amateur operation DURING the war
> http://www.scotsman.com/news/clydebank-radio-ham-helped-to-win-back-the-falklands-1-1371524
> 73 Andrew


They seem to have VP8LP's name wrong in that article, it's Bob McLeod ... now resides in Port Stanley and available almost every day for a chat at an implausible signal strength on HF, he's not a morse man though.

Another version/story of VP8 and the war by Laurie G3UML
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20857595

and text only
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6514011.stm

There an audio clip floating around on the web of the actual qso's at the time, I'll look and see if I can find it.

EDIT, bit ropey, but here it is from April 2nd 1982 (bit of talkback from 2m ssb cdxc net as well)
http://davesergeant.com/qrp/vp8.mp3


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## King Ratt (Aug 23, 2005)

My very first QSO from FI was on CW on 14127 Khz with c/s DL4GZ. The "window" into Europe and UK was only open about 3 hours from about 1900z to 2100z. As soon as an FI callsign was transmitted there began a "pile-up" with many amateurs trying to establish comms. Attached shows the QSL card from my 1st QSO plus one from Scotland. Both these ops are still on the air according to QRZ.com.


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## Cisco (Jan 29, 2007)

Was there , on and off , from late 2010 until late 2011. Did a fair bit of PSK , as said above... as soon as they heard a VP8 they were on to you.... 

VP8DNM
http://qrz.com/db/VP8DNM


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## Andy (Jan 25, 2004)

Cisco said:


> Was there , on and off , from late 2010 until late 2011. Did a fair bit of PSK , as said above... as soon as they heard a VP8 they were on to you....
> 
> VP8DNM
> http://qrz.com/db/VP8DNM



You're never lonely for long with a VP8 prefix (Thumb)

GM0HCQ Mike is R/O on BAS research ship James Clark Ross and managed an hour or two on South Georgia last month, he was exceptionally popular!


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