VK4ION
Welcome to my resource site
About Me
Motorbikes, Amateur Radio, Travel, Rugby League & My Dog
That about sums it up.
With the Australian Callsign VK4ION you know my hobby is Amateur
Radio; Teaching it, Building antennas and working in Emergency
Communications.
Motorbikes; I've had a few... a couple of Harleys, a BMW 1100 RT
road cruiser, a Yamaha 650 run-about and now a 2015 1130cc Indian
Scout.
Travel; I'm still doing it, every chance I get. I never have a plan
and rarely make bookings.
There is just nothing like the
freedom of being at a crossroads and flipping a coin to go left or
right.
So far I've always made it home.
Bikes 1993 to Now
Longest Love
Harley Softail Springer 1993
Stolen
Yep, some A-Hole stole it from the Gold Coast in 1996.
Being Hot Pink I thought it would be immune from thieves.
I'd travelled a long way on that baby, through cyclones and
deserts, crossed Bass Strait and toured Tassie.
It was a 1993 - Harley Davidson 70th anniversary edition.
Thieves broke her up for parts!
Harley Softail Springer 1996
Insurance Paid Out
A new one to replace the stolen bike.
Pink was no longer an option so settled for States Blue Pearl.
Travelled a long way on this one as well, toured NT, SA, Vic & a
lot of NSW.
After moving to Qld and living near the coast, the salt air was
a nightmare on all the chrome... she had to go!
BMW RT1100 2000
Long-distance touring
Now this was luxury, even if it was quite a tall bike and I'm
pretty short!
Big and fast and I rode everywhere.. Darwin. Cairns. All thru'
NSW Vic & S.A.
Last ride was 2015 - NSW - rode Mt Panorama for the last time,
and some hairy back roads...
She had to go; I was getting older and knew my hips weren't
going to keep pushing this heavy bike up for much longer.
Sold it to an Undertaker - cool huh?
Yamaha 650cc V-Star 2001
Town Run-About
Great little bike for trips to town, although it did go on some
longer rides around NSW, just for fun.
Yamaha certainly know how to make bikes, it was all grunt and
great performer for a 650cc.
Sold it to a young lad who dreamed of a bike that met the LAMS
requirements but looked GOOD.
Indian Scout 1130cc 2015
A Lower Bike
They came back into production in 2015, so I got one.
It's lighter, lower to the ground, with great power and good
turn of speed.
I've done some great long distance riding on it and I'm amazed
at just how comfortable it is.
It sounded a bit like a sewing maching so I fitted some loud
"Crusher" pipes, now you hear me coming.
I love it... and guess it'll be my last bike before I retire
from riding (or maybe get a step-through scooter??)
Hobbies
Ham Radio the Original Social Network
So tired of computers controlling my work and life I went back to basics. Began SWL-ing [just tuning around and listening to communications from all over the world], but it wasn't until I retired that I had time to devote to study and becoming a HAM.
Bundaberg Amateur Radio Club
Emergency Communications WICEN
Morse Code My Key
Hand-made, brass and timber
Morse Code Oscillator
Fun with Electronics
Personal Projects
Never stop learning, sharing knowledge or travelling
Each of these images will link to a dedicated webage where I share my Amateur Radio projects or travel pages.
Next up......................
To be sure..
Dolphins Rugby League
Phins Up
I'm a Dolphins supporter in the NRL competition and have been taking
my grandson [7-y-o] to games.
I've created a few pages for Young People so they can follow what's
happening on the field.
It's not all the rules of Rugby League, but enough for a youngster
to understand the referee, and get excited about the play on the
field.
If you have children or grandchildren who you're hoping will become
fans, these pages might give you a starting point... and there is an
activity booklet to download [free - pdf] as well.
The pages are called KidStuff.
Contact Me
Please email me if I can assist with information about my projects (or if you notice a broken link).
