Carel Oberholzer: +27 (0)27 712-2111 o/h  or   +27 (0)82-805-0181 mobile

I am a recently qualified Radio Amateur and have been an HF Listener for the last 30 years. I used to monitor the utility bands and sometimes wandered onto the Amateur bands. A recent change in the regulations prompted me to to write the RAE. I have passed and am now active on most of the Amateur bands.

I used to be a pilot in our National Defence Force and was a Maritime Patrol Aircraft Commander. I did many Search & Rescue missions over the sea and HF communications made out an extensive part of our lives.Nothing beats a clear SSB signal a hundred miles from the coast on a dark stormy night. 

I am still an active pilot, now owning and running an engineering company, and fly a Beechcraft Baron 58. Part of my long term planning is to install an HF radio into the Baron for QSO's from the air. I am also planning to use the aircraft in a disaster management function if so required during a national disaster!

Springbok, in the Northern Cape, South Africa, is a very arid part of the country and we have beautiful weather and crystal clear skies all year round. This makes it the ideal location for star gazing and astronomy as a hobby. I utilize a Celestron Nexstar 11" GPS telescope to satisfy my family's star gazing curiosity!

Currently my shack includes an Icom 756 ProIII radio, a Yaesu FT-857D, Kenwood TM-D700A and a Kenwood TM-271A for dedicated 2m use.  I use an MFJ1798 multi-band vertical antenna and a Webb Industries FST400-4R Travelling Wave Dipole antenna for short distance communication. Various other Icom and AOR receivers are used for utility band monitoring and for receiving satellite weather images and HF Fax images. This makes for an extensive antenna farm on the top of my roof. This ranges from small Yagis to homemade helix antennas and small multi band verticals. I also have a 2,5 meter dish antenna for C-band TV reception and can monitor various free-to-air TV stations. My restricted licence prevented me from exceeding 100W (Now upgraded) but an Icom IC-PW1 linear amplifier is on my wish list and I will aquire one the moment I am permitted. (The IC-PW1 was ordered and I am expecting it in November 2005)

I quite enjoy small project building and am forever busy in altering the cabling in my shack, changing installations and generally improving the layout of the shack!