|
The Convention
is Upon Us!
Get out your good looking
duds, or at least a collared shirt to show our best to amateurs
from all over the country, indeed the world, as Virginia Beach and
Chapter 119 QCWA hosts the 2008 International QCWA Convention at
the world famous Cavalier Hotel!
This is truly a once
in a lifetime event, with many presentations and forums from some
of Amateur Radio's most prestigious and respected Hams! You
don't have to make all three days, but definitely get to the
website
and find at least one event you would like to attend... It
is not to late!
If you need any further
information, please don't hesitate to
drop Vic
W4VIC a line!
Virginia Beach
Hamfest
Another
Hamfest has come
and gone, and I am a few dollars poorer... But, I have some
really neat stuff to show for it! Besides, if I can get myself
really deep in debt, I can always count on the Fed to bail me out!
Right? Okay, we'll leave that one alone...
 I
don't know about anyone else, but I had a good time at Hamfest.
Even though I could only be there on Saturday (had the duty on Sunday),
it was nice to see more local amateurs than you would commonly bump
into at any one of the many Hampton Roads club meetings. I
was busy with testing for a good portion of the morning, but that
was the same as last year! Just on Saturday there were 9 that
upgraded to Extra, 11 to General and 2 grabbed their first ticket
as new Techs.
 Jim
AG4XT, VBARC's very active Training and Licensing Manager shepherded
many of the flock to the testing table, with his latest General/Extra
classes. Of course, there were many others from all across
Hampton Roads. Many had studied on their own or with another
club. In any event, all were more than welcome and we were
quite happy to accommodate! Good test sessions are those that
put the VEs through their paces, and the first day of Hamfest never
disappoints! I don't have all the details yet, but they'll
be in the next issue of HRHams...
Hamfest drew many Hams
from North Carolina, Richmond, the Peninsula (no one likes to drive
the HRBT on either side) and even the Delmarva (great to see Al
W0ADD on this side of the Chesapeake)! The vendors brought
out all of their goods for our perusal! I found quite a few
items that I had never seen before, and hadn't a clue even existed!
Has anyone else ever seen a three way switch for SMC connectors?
I almost bought one!
Area clubs were well
represented and featured many items for sale from their members.
Even HR Geeks
had a table! I had never heard of them until two of their
members recently became licensed Hams. If you like geeky tech
stuff (like me) you really should have a look at their
website...
All-in-all another great
Hamfest to look back on. If for no other reason, Hamfest is
a great place to see old friends that you haven't seen since last
Hamfest! Please have a look at all of images that I could
capture
here. Also, if you got some great shots that belong
there, just
shoot me an email and we'll figure out a way to get
them posted...
Review at last
VBARC/CARS General/Extra Class
On September 18th, Jim
AG4XT, Paul K4PRB, Bill WF4R and myself (John WT4M) met at the CARS
QRM Room to put the final touches on Jim's awesome effort to give
Hampton Roads Amateurs an opportunity to upgrade to the next level
license class (either General or Extra - or both)! As it turned
out, Jim probably did not need the rest of us, as he had a great
review lined up when we all got there... At least we could
provide some moral support!
Nine students were present
at this particular class (the review), but up to 20 had been witnessed
at a few of the other classes. None of the classes, which
were held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, were mandatory.
Jim timed the classes to culminate just before the
Hamfest.
With two testing sessions available, there was good reason to offer
lessons for upgrade at this time of the year.
I snapped a few more
photos of the class that are available in the
VBARC Image Gallery...
The Fox is Still
on the Loose!
I am sure that more
than a few of you are interested in hearing about VBARC's recent
Fox Hunt. I'll have a story for you in the next edition of
HRHams. Let's just say that title says it all for now!
Tape the Debate!
Don't miss Al Corderman's
(WB1EFN) awesome presentation at tomorrow night's VBARC Meeting.
Al is coming from down from Maine to deliver a presentation at the
International QCWA Convention
this weekend at the Cavalier. Since he was already going to
be in town, our esteemed snow-bird buddy Charlie W1WTG was kind
enough to talk him into giving us a presentation on a Solar Powered
Field Day Station!
|
