My life has been a bit of a mixed career. I started out liking physics and then discovered electronics with the result that my Physics degree became a major in Electronic Engineering. I then went on to do a PhD at Melbourne University nominally in Upper Atmosphere Physics but really much more about electronics. All this time I was interested in amateur radio and built transmitters and receivers and used them as mobile systems in my car. No laws about mobile phone usage while driving back in the 1960s!
I got involved with the Australis project through my involvement with both the Amateur Radio Group as well as the Melbourne University Astronautical Society while at University. It was only natural that I developed the RF side of AO5 and also the HI Keyer. After AO5 had ceased transmitting I got involved with OSCAR 7, the rest of the group had gone onto greener pastures by then, so I was working alone and every week a huge parcel of paper would turn up in my pigeon hole where I was doing my PhD. The head of my department took a dim view of all of this as he expected everybody to work 24 hours a day, a practice which he largely followed. I developed the radio teletype system for OSCAR 7 using the newly developed CMOS technology. That system sent data back to earth in a form which could be read using standard teletype machines. The satellite was launched in 1974 and is still operating after 41.5 years in orbit making it the longest operating satellite in earth orbit.
After finishing my PhD I started work at LaTrobe University working in the Physics department mainly building equipment for post-graduate students. By 1994 I had had enough of that and went to work full time for a small company where I was a joint director. We manufactured electronic control systems for controlling the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) in commercial buildings. I developed a couple of new systems for that and in the second system was assisted by my son who also joined the company. We had a pretty impressive client list including Qantas, Austin Hospital and many regional hospitals in Victoria (Bendigo, Shepparton, Wodonga etc). Later I developed an access control system which was used by companies like Sydney Water, commercial office buildings etc. In 2010 I decided work was no longer interesting and took retirement.
I had always been interested in photography so I went into that pretty much full time but not as a way of earning money. I joined a camera club and entered a lot of international photography salons under the auspices of the international bodies FIAP and PSA. Over the years I have had about 2,000 images accepted into international salons in around 20 different countries and have amassed around 120 international awards with almost 20 gold medals. So this has been a real "career change" for me. I also got married, had a son and got divorced along the way.
Peter built the HF and VHF transmitters as well as the HI Keyer.
I got involved with the Australis project through my involvement with both the Amateur Radio Group as well as the Melbourne University Astronautical Society while at University. It was only natural that I developed the RF side of AO5 and also the HI Keyer. After AO5 had ceased transmitting I got involved with OSCAR 7, the rest of the group had gone onto greener pastures by then, so I was working alone and every week a huge parcel of paper would turn up in my pigeon hole where I was doing my PhD. The head of my department took a dim view of all of this as he expected everybody to work 24 hours a day, a practice which he largely followed. I developed the radio teletype system for OSCAR 7 using the newly developed CMOS technology. That system sent data back to earth in a form which could be read using standard teletype machines. The satellite was launched in 1974 and is still operating after 41.5 years in orbit making it the longest operating satellite in earth orbit.
After finishing my PhD I started work at LaTrobe University working in the Physics department mainly building equipment for post-graduate students. By 1994 I had had enough of that and went to work full time for a small company where I was a joint director. We manufactured electronic control systems for controlling the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) in commercial buildings. I developed a couple of new systems for that and in the second system was assisted by my son who also joined the company. We had a pretty impressive client list including Qantas, Austin Hospital and many regional hospitals in Victoria (Bendigo, Shepparton, Wodonga etc). Later I developed an access control system which was used by companies like Sydney Water, commercial office buildings etc. In 2010 I decided work was no longer interesting and took retirement.
I had always been interested in photography so I went into that pretty much full time but not as a way of earning money. I joined a camera club and entered a lot of international photography salons under the auspices of the international bodies FIAP and PSA. Over the years I have had about 2,000 images accepted into international salons in around 20 different countries and have amassed around 120 international awards with almost 20 gold medals. So this has been a real "career change" for me. I also got married, had a son and got divorced along the way.
Peter built the HF and VHF transmitters as well as the HI Keyer.