David Wicks

I was born in October 1951 in the days when rationing caused by WW2 was still in force although much relaxed from the 40s. My father was a Linotype operator in the printing trade while my mother was a full time housewife.

I first came into contact with radio when I built a portable transistor radio kit given to me on my 14th Birthday. After that I went on to operate on the UK Combined cadet Force HF radio links using fixed links between 2 and 8 Mhz. The equipment first of all was very inadequate WW2 class 19 sets. This was soon replaced by purchased and modified equipment a 52 set with 813 in the final a good 150 watts of AM & CW.

I passed the technical exam in 1967, morse in 1969 & thus G3YYD in November 1969. All of this happened while I was at Aldenham School. Interestingly enough in my time at Aldenham 4 Class A Amateur Radio licenses were taken out by the boys.

In 1970 after gaining two Maths A levels and an A Level in Physics, I went on to read Electronics at the University of Kent at Canterbury, England. Graduating with honours in 1973. While at University, I

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started using a Creed 7B teleprinter and simple terminal unit. The noise of this machine was so loud I had to wear headphones to stop myself from going deaf!

After University I joined what was then UK Post Office Telecommunication Department in their International section working as a transmission planner. In turn I became a strategist, switch designer, network planning and worked my way up till I was a senior manager in 1994 when I decided to leave under the voluntary redundancy scheme taking a large bribe in the process. I now work for Energis,  a telecommunications  company as the main Network Planner and Strategist with particular emphasis on voice Switching and its evolution into carrier class Voice over IP.

I became a Charter Engineer, MIEE in 1985 and have since helped many of my co-workers to obtain the same status.

I am married to Caroline with 2 children born in 1982 & 1985.