MANISES, VALENCIA — Hidden in the outskirts of Valencia’s ceramic-laden suburb of Manises, a seemingly ordinary town becomes the staging ground for one of Spain’s most meticulously engineered amateur radio stations. Antonio Andrés García, known on the bands as Toni (EA5DF), leads not only the local URE section but also a personal radio endeavor that rivals the complexity of many commercial installations.
A Lifetime of Tuning
Toni’s radio journey began not in an exam hall, but in 1971 with a pair of 27 MHz walkie-talkies and a seven-year-old’s curiosity. It wasn’t until 1992 that he earned his first license, eventually evolving through callsigns to become EA5DF. Over five decades later, he continues to refine his station—and himself—with an almost scientific rigor.
His philosophy is grounded in technical curiosity and a strong competitive streak, tempered with humility. “I always compete with myself,” he says, “to improve my station.” The result is a finely tuned ecosystem of FlexRadio, Yaesu, and Power Genius XL components orchestrated via stacked filters, band-pass arrays, and custom-built quadruplexers. It is, as he describes, a “necessary evil” for modern radio excellence.
Three Towers, One Purpose
The EA5URW setup is not just impressive—it is architecturally strategic. From his three-tower configuration, Toni covers nearly every imaginable band:
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A Mosley Pro67B and custom dipoles dominate 6 meters from Tower 1.
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A qubical quad on Tower 2 handles high-frequency finesse from 20 to 10 meters.
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Tower 3 is for VHF and UHF: stacked yagis, a Diamond X30, and specialized 4m gear.
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A vertical for 160 and 80 meters rounds out a station that speaks the language of propagation across all modes.
CW First, MGM Second
Toni is unapologetically old-school when it comes to his mode preferences: CW and RTTY are his sanctuary. While he doesn’t discount SSB or MGM (FT8, FT4), he sees them as the price of admission to modern ham radio—a "necessary evil" to be embraced, but never blindly.
Paper Still Matters
Despite being a LOTW enthusiast, Toni remains loyal to the romance of paper QSL cards—provided you ask first. His system is pragmatic: include return postage, and he’ll answer. Europe and the Americas? $2. Asia and Oceania? $3. Domestic senders? Don’t forget the stamp. No fuss, no drama—just fair amateur protocol.
The Section with Serious Signal
The URE Manises section, under Toni’s leadership, may not boast the historical pedigree of larger metropolitan clubs, but it operates with disciplined ambition and technological sophistication. Toni’s competitive mindset permeates the club’s culture—less about trophies, more about engineering excellence.
So, if you hear EA5DF punching through the static in a CW contest or commanding a signal on FT8, know this: the voice behind it is not just working a contest. He’s chasing something quieter, and more enduring—personal mastery through radio.
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