I’ve got some exciting radio news to share: I’ve passed my Full amateur radio licence exam, and I’m now G8BLC!
I passed the exam on 12 October 2026 and received my new callsign on 19 October 2026. Reaching this point is a milestone in its own right, but this particular callsign makes it something much more personal. G8BLC was originally my grandpa’s callsign, and I’m proud to be carrying it forward.
It started with Scouts
My radio journey began back on 21 July 2011, when I received my Foundation callsign, M6AYW. I earned my licence through Rotherham Explorer Scouts as part of my Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and Chief Scout Award.
More than fifteen years later, amateur radio is still part of my life. There’s always another contact to make, something to learn or a different bit of the hobby to explore. Moving on to the Full licence feels like a good way to begin the next chapter.
A callsign with a family history
My grandpa, John Hebden, lived in Wickersley, Rotherham. He was licensed as G8BLC on 10 June 1968 and went silent key on 28 October 2013.
Being able to use his callsign means a great deal to me. It’s a link between his time on the air and mine, and a way of keeping that part of our family’s story alive. Seeing G8BLC become my own callsign makes passing the Full exam feel all the more special.
I still have his original certificate, along with copies of two issues of RadCom from 1969. I’d like to share those here in time, so there will hopefully be more of the original G8BLC story to come.
On the air as G8BLC
I’m operating from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, in locator IO93IJ. You’ll most often find me using FT8, with an Icom IC-7610 for HF and an IC-9700 for VHF and UHF. If we’ve worked before under M6AYW, it’s still me at the other end—just with a different callsign!
Scouting remains a big part of the hobby for me too. I now run JOTA/JOTI events for young people in Rotherham, helping them discover radio just as I did through Scouts. I hope some of those first contacts will be the start of their own journeys into amateur radio.
I’ve updated my Ham Radio page with the current station details and the story behind the callsign. You can also find me on QRZ as G8BLC. This website will still be here at m6ayw.co.uk, keeping a little connection to where it all began.
Here’s to the next chapter, and to hearing G8BLC on the air again.
73 and good DX,
Kieran — G8BLC