I visited Neville Campbell, VK7NC, on 25/9/97 and 16/10/97. Unfortunately I used one side of a tape twice, so I only have parts 1, 3 & 4 of 4. This transcript and associated notes was made on 16/10/97. VK7RO. Tape 1 Born in Scottsdale in 1912, came to Hobart after finishing school in 1928, started radio about 1925/6 on crystal sets. Old chap at Scottsdale 1WW veteran name of Lockwood, I could hear his radio blaring across the paddock. He received mainland stations easily and I got the bug of building broadcast receivers from him. He took me into his room showed me a massive coil - must have been a spark transmitter - he said "don't you ever tell anybody I showed you that". I made my crystal set - sent to Melbourne for parts - bakelite - built set in school chalk box - used honeycomb coils - slid along a darning needle. I got 3LO, 2BE, aerial ran NE-SW - it went up after dark and down when I went to bed so the inspector wouldn't see it. When I came to Hobart in 1929 I tried the crystal set again and in 1930 I got a copy of Wireless Weekly and that was when I got into valves. My first valve cost me a weeks wages, I've got an idea it was 24 shillings. A Philips A415 triode, then I added an audio stage using an A409 and 3:1 transformer [Ferranti transformers were very good but very expensive] Showed a 1931 ARRL handbook - cost 7/6 - brought it home in my hot little hand and did I lick the steam off that - 3 stage crystal controlled. I got into using valves and read about this short wave business - after that I never listened to the broadcast stations. At one time I lived at South Hobart below the 7ZL transmitter on "Keens Curry" hill which caused some interference. I joined the Wireless Institute in 1931 and then I was hooked, hook line and sinker. I had some promise in sport, cricket, tennis etc, but I just dropped them and did radio 8 days a week. Being a watchmaker I was used to fiddling around. I was 16 in 1929 and got a job at Taylor and Sharp (watchmakers, jewellers and opticians) where I stayed until I joined up in 1940. Six years training learnt on the job had to be lucky to have a boss who could train you well. Reg Wise was a mechanical sort of bloke who gave me a lot of clues. When I came on air in 1932 it was still hard to get stuff and a lot was converted from broadcast receiver... Showed a crystal holder - brass bottom plate and top plate on flexible lead - ground crystals in 1933. Demonstrated using test oscillator. These were ground out of old spectacle lenses. T&S had a lot of old stock and I went through them without luck. I had to buy the lenses from Watties brother. He had a Service Station at the corner of Murray and Bathurst streets opposite the Highfield Hotel - Watkins Service Station - they cost 1/- each. He didn't know a condenser from a valve he was only interested in selling (Ernie). I sent an old Gilfillan condenser which I had double spaced and split the stator for push-pull to 4SZ last year, which I bought from Ernie. I joined (the WIA) in Sept or Oct 1931 and at the first Institute meeting I ever attended I remember standing for a minutes silence in memory of Watty. Watty was a dedicated radio chap who lived for nothing else but and his ability with the morse code was phenomenal. [ Nev previously had told me that Watty was recorded on a Morse inker by the PMG and his timing and spacing was perfect ]. I think he worked at Medhursts. Ian Campbell, my son, looks after and is responsible for all broadcasting and TV transmitters in Tasmania NTA. He's a big wig in radio-controlled aircraft. 7CW, 7XA, 7GH were all professionally employed in radio. When I came into the game radio was coming out of its nappies. I had to learn code - basically on my own. Girls in RAAF got up to 20 wpm in 4 months. I learnt by listening to press stations KPH, KNB, KBD. You learnt where they were after a while because sometimes they'd sign off KNB Chicago, mostly on a bug ( Automatic code in QST came out in first month after we were shut down. ) Press stations were hand operated, you could tell different blokes on the key. 1931/2 tons of stations sending at different speeds. When I first came on air I had a (Radiotron?) 245, an audio valve, max voltage 250, a triode. I couldn't afford a 210, the most used thing. Later I had 6-700 volts on a 210. The RF used to make the bakelite of the base between the plate and grid pins bubble and we used to put a saw slot between them VERY carefully. I started on 80M with the 245 as an oscillator, the P/S also ran my receiver, I couldn't afford another supply. Later I used a pair of 210s. Tape 2 [ Here I recorded over and missed a side. He lived at Joynton Ave, Lenah Valley. In 1934 got on 5M. Talked on 5 to Gil Miles (a funny man "My wife gets pregnant if I only hang my trousers on the bedpost.") Gil used a modulated oscillator on 5, very broad. "How can you expect me to squeeze through that narrow gutted receiver") at Bellerive. Gil was installing 7HT. Had a narrow bandpass superhet receiver (IF windings moved apart to decrease coupling and increase selectivity). Had a W8JK beam mounted on roof, mast down chimney for hand rotation (1st beam in Tas). Joined the RAAF in 1940 as an instrument mechanic - experience in Army signals showed that did not want to be a radio operator. Cairns, Meraukee. Sold a wavemeter and calibration chart to Pearu Terts] Tape 3 Showed some old photos 1934 Field Day; Franklin 1933? 7NC, 7CH, 7OJ(from Victoria had a licence here for a while), 7CK, 7BC; 7CK at Cooee, born in Huon, used water driven generator 1935/36; 32 Field Day near Teatree; Home made 12-14 tube rx etc; home made 6M gear 815 output; rx converter 2M & 6M; FL100? tx; FT1010E; keyer EA; ATU; VHF gear in photo built in 60s; after war tx for HF band had 6L6G osc, 6L6G doubler and 813 final - at 10 Norfolk Crescent; first 813 from Crosby Walch in early '46; had it operating on 6M - a lot of trouble to get it there; perhaps retract - I know I had it on 10M; look in log book - first 50MHz 12/1/47 CW VK2WJ, 2AZ & 2LZ - first contacts between Tassie and mainland; lots in Nov & Dec 47; most notes are to do with aerials; tried an HK54; after 14/2/47 using new 6M tx 6L6G osc, 6.3MHz xtal, 6AG7 doubler, 807 final; before that I must have been using the HF tx I had trouble with - so I built a tx specifically for 6M; Rx was a scrounge round - had a 5M superhet before war - found 5M by harmonic of 10M; left osc alone and only retuned mixer [using 2nd harmonic of osc]; used to work 7KI Gil Miles at Bellerive; rx had 2 IFs and IF transformers had spacing increased for better selectivity; (Gil - "That squeezeneck thing"; never bought any war surplus rx; had same rx after war; until built 14 tube job, some time later; 36 - 38 5M must be considered line of sight Gil and I had hills between us (25 Joynton St); used bit of wire for ant; after war had vertical antennas; at Norfolk Cres I had beams; At Joynton St had first beam in Tassie - W8JK; pipe came down chimney to rotate it; only 180deg as bidirectional; at Norfolk Cres I had a G4ZU; stubs in boom?; good results on 15M; sold beam and tower to 7JB, Buck Batchelor; never had beam here (Willowdene Ave); 12 - 18 months here before I got back on air here; 14 tube rx - had 3 ganged midget 23 plate condensers - only amateur bands - coils had a sliding change system - moving a lever underneath the dial I had 4 bands, 4 positions - coils wound on solid polystyrene rod - shielding betweeen stages - 1/4" rods - I first tried a switched multi band system ran into trouble with too much coupling between the coils; unused coils ; 1 or 2 IF stages - 455KHz crystal - separate noise silencer (Lamb) was added later; later built transistorised front end and used valve recvr as tunable IF - very disappointing as overloaded 7JB, 7CW nearby; 7RY did quite a bit of building. Tape 4 Bit missing at start It was the coupling condensers between the driver and the final - they'd broken down More missing National service compulsory Sat afternoon and 1 night a week; Country blokes got out of it - Scullin stopped it early 1929 - I joined Navy as signaller; In 1931 when I got into WI they said join the army - 7CH, 7RB, 7CW Roy Drake, Norm Gillham (not an amateur) 7GE George Ebury was the Warrant Officer in charge - all in Army signalling - was purely voluntary; this photo shows field day with borrowed army tx; Norm Gilham was an ex navy operator perfect code operator, he and 7HL Hubert Lovett did a course together at Marconi Scool of Wireless - 7HL serviced the Gecophone? equipment in the theatres. NG went to sea with Australian Shipping line - when it folded NG helped me with the code - he was in Regent St RAAF fellows in photos; Wireless Reserve - 1 night /fortnight 80 & 40 M exchange messages with base at Laverton - I was not in reserve In the military 12th mixed brigade signals I wore an Army uniform and we wore spurs! - spent 3 years handling messages - didn't want to send more bullshit messages - so didn't join RAAF reserve; when war started they were called up - I joined RAAF as instrument maker Motor bike fellow Algy - all the front of this sidecar would be stacked up with beer - that's Roy Drake