A top Japanese banker who attended the G20 Summit at St Andrews took the opportunity to meet up with some of his fellow amateur radio enthusiasts during his visit (writes Alan Wilson).
Dundee Amateur Radio Club members met with Yoshihiro Sugimoto (JE2HCJ), who works for the Bank of Japan and is one of the country's leading radio amateurs. He has operated radio stations in many parts of the world, including Australia, the US and Mauritius.
As this was his first visit to Scotland, he wanted to meet some local amateurs. He got in touch with the group over the airwaves a few weeks ago, asking if he could come along to the club during his trip.
A club spokesman said, "The timing of his visit made this difficult, but the club were determined he would not come all this way and not meet fellow amateurs, as it's not every day someone from Japan asks to meet up.
"A window in Mr Sugimoto's busy schedule was found, and a group from the club went to meet him for a chat. "Naturally, the conversation was mainly about radio and the differences between the Japan and UK radio scenes, although he was also keen to learn about the history of Dundee.
"It was great to speak with him, and we presented Mr Sugimoto with some personalised QSL postcards - usually sent between amateurs confirming a long distance radio contact. "In return, he presented the club with a banner from the Nippon DX Association." The spokesman explained DX is a term used by amateurs to describe a long distance radio contact.
The club meets every Tuesday at Dundee College, Old Glamis Road, at 7pm.
