Welcome to the home page of G4ATA (& G8DYT).
Hi, my name is John Hotchin and this web site is to tell you a little about me and my interests. Hopefully you will find some of it fun and some of it informative. G4ATA probably means nothing to a lot of people - it is my Amateur Radio callsign, hence G4ATA.CO.UK.
I have three main interests - Ham Radio, my classic Mini and my motorcycle, a Suzuki GSF1200 Bandit. This list is not exhaustive and not necessarily in that order!!
The buttons at the bottom of the page will take you to relevant sections of the site and it's all pretty self-explanatory.
My Ham Radio News
January 2010
HELP PLEASE! - I only need Idaho now for W.A.S. on 80m SSB. Please contact me (my e-mail address is shown lower down this page) if you are prepared to make a sked.
My linear amplifier is repaired and working well again - Dentron MLA-2500B now running one 8875 and one 3CX400. I now need another 3CX400 to replace the 8875 and then I can make some permanent mods to the cooling.
December 2009
I have recently had some problems with my amplifier - that prompted me do do a little CW practise and I have worked a few new DXCC on 40m and 80m on CW. Please accept my apologies for my poor CW but I am trying!!
I also have the call G8DYT. This call is usually used in contests only.
Latest News
20th January 2010 All direct QSL's for my trip to Svalbard have now been sent. All remaining QSL's will be sent via the buro.
G4ATA, LA3XIA & LA7WCA made a trip to Svalbard (JW) 8th - 13th October 2009. Callsigns used were JW/G4ATA, JW3XIA & JW7WCA. Modes of operation were SSB and RTTY.
Equipment : TS-870S, Alpha linear (1kw), 5 ele yagi 20 - 15 - 10, quarter wave vertical on 40m, inverted 'L' on 80m, 2-ele phased vertical dipoles on 80m and a dipole for 160m.
QTH: Longyearbyen, Svalbard - JQ78tf IOTA EU-026
The online log for JW/G4ATA can be checked at http://www.clublog.org
Summary of QSO's by JW/G4ATA
| Band | DXCC | QSO's |
|---|---|---|
160m |
8 |
12 |
80m |
37 |
130 |
40m |
35 |
168 |
20m |
35 |
363 |
Total |
51 |
673 |
QSL direct including 2 x green stamps or 1 x IRC (all other QSL's will go via bureau).
February 2009 - Received certificate for 1st place in the 2008 CQ WW WPX SSB, England Division, single operator, single band 80m. #8 in Europe and #13 in the world.
I have the honour of being the first "DX" station featured on Comtek's web site.
Click here for the full 4-Square story.
The 4-Square pages and information has generated quite a lot of interest and has contributed to plans for other hams to erect their own 4-Square arrays in North America, Europe and Australia. If I can be of any help or you would like any additional information or photographs please do not hesitate to contact me - my e-mail address is shown below.... or give me a shout on 80m!
Click on the link here for details of 4-Squares in the UK and around the world - this site is in it's infancy so please visit and if you would like your 4-square to be featured then please send details as requested on the site.
As of 20th January 2010 my DXCC total on 80m is 191 - since 1st September 2007.
As of 20th January 2010 my WAS total on 80m is 49 - since 1st September 2007. The last state I need is ID. If anyone from Idaho would like to arrange a sked please e-mail me 
Now working 40m with a pair of phased, elevated quarter wave verticals, 25th July 2009 - added a 200ft beverage for RX, extended to 330ft in late August 2009.
As of 20th January 2010 my DXCC total on 40m is 133 ... not many I know but I only started working 40m seriously in April 2009.
A selection of the latest DX worked In December 2009 on 40m - BT3WX, VU2ELJ, ZS3D, YN4SU, EK7DX.
On 80m - K5OVC, N7YP, VK6APZ, ZL1AIX, LU6FEC, ZS6CCY, YC6NE, 3B8CF, W6NRJ, K7ZV, VA7DJ, VE7JO, VE6WZ, AG6X, K6OY, N6HC, JT1CO, HS0ZEE, HV0A, LU5FC, NP4JA, DP1POL, HI3K, K7ZV (long path), ZL1IU, VK4KY, HL2DBP, VE7POH, WA7WXQ, 8P6JB, JA2KIW, JA5AQC, 7J4AAL, NU6X.
NEW, NEW - View and search my online log
Please bookmark this page and check back regularly for updates.