EA7HOH

My radio story

Hi, I’m Rafael. Rafa to my friends.

I was born in 1976 in Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz), beside the mouth of the Guadalquivir River in south-western Andalusia.

My interest in radio began when I was about ten years old. My father gave me a two-channel CB handheld for the 27 MHz band. That small radio sparked a fascination that has stayed with me ever since.

In 1994 I received my first amateur radio callsign, EB7DSV. Later, in 2006, I began using the callsign that identifies my station today: EA7HOH.

I trained as a Merchant Navy Radio Officer and later worked for Telefónica’s Maritime Service at the Valencia Maritime Radio Communications Centre. Radio has therefore been part of my professional life as well as my hobby.

Within amateur radio, I particularly enjoy DX contacts, contesting, and operating in SSB, CW and selected digital modes. You can also explore my current station and a selection of activations, contests and IberRadio visits.

About this biography: this page combines information supplied by EA7HOH with public details from the amateur-radio profile, edited into a coherent narrative for this website.

Plaza del Cabildo in Sanlúcar de Barrameda — Sanlúcar de Barrameda, my home town and QTH. Image supplied for this website and shown without alteration.

SANLÚCAR DE BARRAMEDA · EA7HOH QTH

Sanlúcar, my QTH.

I was born in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and this is where EA7HOH goes on the air. The town, the mouth of the Guadalquivir, the Atlantic and the Doñana horizon are part of the everyday landscape of my station—and part of its identity.

Aerial view of Sanlúcar de Barrameda and the mouth of the Guadalquivir River — QTH · CÁDIZ COASTSanlúcar de Barrameda, the Guadalquivir and the Doñana landscape.

QTH

IM66TS · CQ 14 · ITU 37

A place shaped by the sea.

Sanlúcar appears on my QSL card, in many of my activities and throughout the visual identity of this website. I wanted visitors to be able to see the place from which EA7HOH operates, not just read about it.

The photographs in this section are shown in full, without cropping or retouching. They are not links and do not open the original image file when selected.

Boat on the beach at Sanlúcar at sunset — BEACHSunset beside the Guadalquivir.

Sunset on the beach at Sanlúcar de Barrameda — HORIZONSunset from Sanlúcar.

Plaza del Cabildo in Sanlúcar de Barrameda illuminated at dusk — TOWN CENTREPlaza del Cabildo at dusk.

Boats off Sanlúcar during an orange sunset — RIVER MOUTHBoats in the evening light.

Elevated view of the town of Sanlúcar at sunset — SANLÚCARThe town facing the sea.

MERCHANT NAVY · MARITIME RADIO COMMUNICATIONS

When radio also became a profession.

My interest in communications eventually became part of my professional path. Training as a Merchant Navy Radio Officer allowed me to experience radio from a different perspective: navigation, safety and maritime communications.

Rafa in Merchant Navy Radio Officer uniform — TRAININGMerchant Navy Radio Officer

01

Radio communications training

From a hobby to professional communications.

Radio stopped being only a hobby when I chose to focus part of my training on maritime communications. That period gave me first-hand experience of the systems and procedures used in the professional Merchant Navy environment.

This photograph dates from my training as a Radio Officer and forms part of my personal archive.

02

Training at sea

The JJ Sister.

As part of my training I completed sea-going practice aboard the JJ Sister. It was an opportunity to experience a working ship first-hand and to approach its systems from the perspective of maritime communications and navigation.

Original photographs from my personal archive, shown in full and without retouching.

Rafa during training on the bridge of the JJ Sister — TRAININGBridge of the JJ Sister

Rafa working with equipment during training aboard the JJ Sister — TRAININGAboard the JJ Sister

03

Maritime radio communications · 2007

Valencia Maritime Radio Communications Centre.

I later worked for Telefónica’s Maritime Service at the Valencia Maritime Radio Communications Centre. These photographs, dated 22 July 2007, belong to that stage of my professional life.

Here, radio was no longer simply a hobby: it was part of the working day in a specialised maritime communications environment.

Rafa at the Valencia Maritime Radio Communications Centre in 2007 — 22 JUL 2007CCR Valencia

Rafa at an operating position in the Valencia Maritime Radio Communications Centre — 22 JUL 2007Maritime radio communications

Rafa using a communications terminal at the Valencia Maritime Radio Communications Centre — 22 JUL 2007Communications centre

Cover of Selvamar Noticias issue 23, January 2022 — SELVAMAR NOTICIAS · ISSUE 23January 2022

AMATEUR RADIO & COMMUNITY

IN THE PRESS · JANUARY 2022

A gesture between fellow operators.

“Los gestos en radio”

In January 2022, Selvamar Noticias published an article about an initiative I organised to help fellow radio amateurs have their operating authorisations printed in PVC card format.

What began as an idea shared among fellow operators grew to almost 120 participants and around 170 cards in the first batch, together with all the coordination, preparation and mailing that the project required.

For me, this small story captures an important part of amateur radio: sharing, collaborating and helping one another.

Read the article · page 16 →Cover and article reproduced on this website with permission from Selvamar Noticias. Postal details that do not need to be published remain hidden in the web copy.

≈ 1986

First CB handheld

A two-channel Sharp Twincomm 50 for 27 MHz sparks my interest in radio.

1994

EB7DSV

My first amateur radio callsign.

2006

I adopt the callsign that still identifies my station today.

TODAY

Radio, DX and experimentation

The hobby continues to evolve with new technologies and modes of communication.

From a CB handheld to EA7HOH.