My love of electronics started as a child with my father's Sharp reel-to-reel tape recorder. Then my parents bought a Sharp radio gram, one of the earliest solid state systems, and I loved the great sound of the music out of those powerful floor speakers.
This love grew when, as a young adult, I gained my full Amateur Operators' Certificate of Proficiency – Ham Radio, (my call was VK2CAK) and the fun of “home-brewing” final stage amplifiers and “afterburners” (linear RF amplifiers) and tweaking the set to coax to get a little more power out of it.
Then came my first apprenticeship as a Radio Mechanic and I worked on radios, amplifiers, built one of the first modems for computers.
For my next challenge I joined the Royal Australian Navy and gained my second trade as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Avionics) working on some rather state of the art instrument and navigations systems as well as the electrical and communications systems.
In my spare time I'm a musician, having played bass guitar and guitar. In my time as a bassist, my favourite amplifiers were valve amps as they gave that beautiful creamy sound that jazz musos love!
Today, I combine 30 years working in electronics/avionics with 20 years guitar-playing, laid on the foundations of my “first love” vintage sound systems – to build and service quality guitar amps, maintain and service the vintage radio, turntables and sound systems to keep that great sound coming. I service and maintain studio equipment such as sound desks, mics and headphones, as well as lovingly restoring vintage valve radios and stereos.
This love grew when, as a young adult, I gained my full Amateur Operators' Certificate of Proficiency – Ham Radio, (my call was VK2CAK) and the fun of “home-brewing” final stage amplifiers and “afterburners” (linear RF amplifiers) and tweaking the set to coax to get a little more power out of it.
Then came my first apprenticeship as a Radio Mechanic and I worked on radios, amplifiers, built one of the first modems for computers.
For my next challenge I joined the Royal Australian Navy and gained my second trade as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Avionics) working on some rather state of the art instrument and navigations systems as well as the electrical and communications systems.
In my spare time I'm a musician, having played bass guitar and guitar. In my time as a bassist, my favourite amplifiers were valve amps as they gave that beautiful creamy sound that jazz musos love!
Today, I combine 30 years working in electronics/avionics with 20 years guitar-playing, laid on the foundations of my “first love” vintage sound systems – to build and service quality guitar amps, maintain and service the vintage radio, turntables and sound systems to keep that great sound coming. I service and maintain studio equipment such as sound desks, mics and headphones, as well as lovingly restoring vintage valve radios and stereos.