Bronek Wedzicha, M0DAF

Below – Bronek Wedzicha, M0DAF, regular VMARS AM Net Controller located near York.

Bronek’s recently built transmitter shown here being used on the Saturday net, has a line up of  12BY7A VFO, 5763 buffer, 5763 doubler/driver, 813 PA, modulated by a pair of 811A’s. The audio front end employs a Datong Clipper followed by a MOSFET driver. The receiver in use when on air is either Racal RA17 or a Bendix RA-1B.

Justin Woolgar, GW0FZY

Below – Justin Woolgar, GW0FZY, regular VMARS Net Controller located near Swansea

Justin has a wide range of A.M. equipment ranging from an ex RAF Marconi T1509 transmitter to the home built Class E A.M. transmitter that he is seated in front of in the photograph. On top of that is an Optimod A.M. audio processing unit. Another of Justin’s hobbies is getting jet engines working and running them in his garden.

View Justin’s website by clicking on this link and be in for a surprise

Keith Yates , G3XGW

Below – Keith Yates , G3XGW, regular VMARS AM Net Controller located near Evesham, Worcestershire

Keith usually operates the VMARS net with a Labgear LG300 transmitter and a National HRO receiver but he has been known to come up on a Heathkit DX100U transmitter with an RCA AR88 receiver.Keith is pictured here in front of his 1940’s Marconi T1145/R1155 RAF aircraft station famously used on board Lancaster Bombers.

View Keith’s interesting radio website here

Stuart McKinnon, G0TBI

Below – Stuart McKinnon, G0TBI , regular VMARS AM Net Controller located in Kinver, Staffordshire

Stuart’s main station for use on the net is an RCA ET4336 Tx and an AR88 D receiver. However, he will frequently be heard using some of his other sets, such as his Marconi T1509, a DX100U or KW Vanguard transmitters from his large collection of vintage and miltary equipment.

Paul Craven, M1PVC

Below – Paul Craven, M1PVC , regular VMARS AM Net Controller located near to the village of Hartfield in the Ashdown Forest, East Sussex.

Paul operates the VMARS net with a Heathkit DX100U or Labgear LG300 transmitter in combination with a National HRO 500 receiver. Among other restored vintage wireless equipment to be found in Paul’s shack and frequently heard on air are a T1154 and Bendix TA12c aircraft transmitters

Martin Sweeting, G3YJO

Below – Martin Sweeting, G3YJO, regular VMARS Net Controller located near Guildford in Surrey.

Listen to Martins’ BBC “Life Scientific” interview broadcast in August 2021

Martin is pictured here seated  in front of his fully restored Wireless Set No.53 transmitter next to  an R107 receiver. As well as being on the Saturday Net controller rota, Martin can be regularly heard on air using one of his collection of British WW2 wireless sets which includes WS No’s.19, 52 and 62, as well as the WS 53.

Bob Tucker,  G6AVI

Below –  Bob Tucker,  G6AVI, regular VMARS Net Controller located near the town of Watton in Southwest Norfolk.

Bob  is pictured here using a Minimitter ‘tabletopper’ transmitter and his Collins 75A-4 receiver. He also has an interest in building his own equipment and his “Home Brew” 813 transmitter and modulator can also be seen, along with other vintage equipment from his fine collection.



Tony Barron, G3YYH

Below – the shack of Tony Barron, G3YYH, located in the Cotswold Hills about 5 miles south east of Cheltenham.

Tony generally uses an HRO receiver from 1946 and a DX100U transmitter, with SDR on stand-by to resolve difficult signals. Tony also frequently operates from portable locations in the UK and France and frequently works from his Land Rover or the vintage WW2 Canadian Military Pattern lorry that he owns jointly with Martin, M0MGA.

John Sommerville, MW0XHO

Below – The shack of John Sommerville, MW0XHO regular VMARS Net Controller located in Conwy, North Wales. John also runs the Kiwi WebSDR located at Conwy and available here.

John’s extensive collection of equipment includes some heavy metal transmitters and receivers which include a Collins KWS-1 tx and 75A-4 rx “Gold Dust Twins” station, a Diplomatic Wireless Service Mk210 transmitter and his 1948 Marconi T1509 RAF ground transmitter pictured below. Receivers at John’s QTH include an RCA AR88D and a Collins 390A.

Jonathan Wymer, G8URE

Below – Jonathan Wymer, G8URE is a regular Net Controller operating from Chichester in West Sussex.

Seen here with his WW2 WS18, which he uses with a transverter to work on 3615 Khz, Jonathan can always be relied upon to turn up on net with some rare and sometimes exotic equipment combinations to entertain us on air.

Ian Underwood, M0YMK

Below – Ian Underwood, M0YMK , occasional VMARS Net Controller located in Gloucester

Ian, who also holds the French licence F4VSC, operates a 1950’s Labgear LG300 or a Heathkit DX100U for net control. Other transmitters regularly used by Ian on VMARS nets are Bendix TA12c, Wireless Set No.52, Wireless Set No.19, Larkspur C11/R210, Collins TCS12 & Collins ART-13.

Martin Smyth, M0MGA

Below – Martin Smyth, M0MGA, regular VMARS Net Controller located in Whitehill near Bordon in East Hampshire.

Martin uses a Heathkit DX100U transmitter and an RCA AR88 receiver for his turns as Net Controller. At other times he can also frequently be heard using his very distinctive Wireless Set No 12 transmitter and regularly operates portable in UK and France with Tony, G3YYH.




Martin Owen, G4JSX

Below – Martin Owen, G4JSX, regular VMARS Net Controller located near Rugby in Warwickshire.

Martin has a fine collection of Naval equipmemt dating from the 1940’s into the 1970’s, which can be regularly heard on air on the weekday SSB nets as well as on the weekly Saturday Morning AM net.