Hamfests & Conventions

Paul Gayet, AA1SU, writes on the Vermont ARRL Members Only list:

I would like to invite you to the St Albans Amateur Radio Club (STARC) Hamfest on Saturday, August 7 from 8 AM to Noon.  It will be held at the VFW on 335 Lake Street in St Albans.  Admission is $5.  This includes buyers, tailgaters, or inside sellers.  Under 18 years old is free admission.

There will also be Ham Radio License testing at 9 AM.  Bring $15 cash, FRN from the FCC, and email your address.

The talk-in repeater will be 145.230 -100 Hz.

Here is a link to the official flyer: https://www.starc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/STARC-Hamfest-2021-scaled.jpg

After the Hamfest, you are invited to the Radio Amateurs of Northern Vermont (RANV) summer picnic.  This is just down the road at Kamp Kill Kare State Park in St Albans Bay.  RANV pays the admission.  Just tell the Ranger you are with the Ham Radio people, and he/she will point the way.  The club will supply some drinks and charcoal.  You bring your own food and bathing suit (optional).  The hours are from 11 AM to 3 PM.

Getting to the park is fairly easy.  You just stay on the same road as the VFW, and head towards the lake (2.5 miles?).  At the lake, the road turns right.  Go north for 0.7 miles. After the small bridge turn left on Hathaway Point Road.  Go 3 miles down the curvy road to the park entrance.

I hope to see you there.

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ARRL Vermont Section
Section Manager: Paul N Gayet, AA1SU
aa1su@arrl.org
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ARRL New England Division Director Fred Hopengarten, K1VR, has approved the application from organizers of the St. Croix Valley ARC to host a sanctioned ARRL hamfest in Alexander, Maine on September 25, 2021. 

ARRL New England Division Director Fred Hopengarten, K1VR, has approved the application from organizers of the St. Albans Amateur Radio Club to host a sanctioned ARRL hamfest in St. Albans, Vermont on August 7, 2021. 

Only 5 1/2 weeks to HamXposition 2021: September 10, 11 & 12  at the Best Western in Marlborough!

Hotel rooms are still available at the discounted rate of $99.  Contact the hotel on their local phone number (508)  460-0700 and tell them you want the HamXposition rate.

We are still in need of volunteers to assist with parking, ticketing, and the logistics involved with keeping our forums on schedule.  Volunteers working at least one 2-hour shift will receive free admission.  You can volunteer at https://hamxposition.org/volunteer

General Admission Tickets are now available retail at Ham Radio Outlet in Salem, NH and at Electronics Plus in Littleton, MA

Online ticketing is almost ready – stay tuned for an announcement when it goes live.

HAM BOOTCAMP

Nashua Area Radio Society is proud to once again offer Ham Bootcamp. It includes a series of demonstrations and tutorials designed to help newly licensed Technician, General, and Extra class license holders get on the air and use their amateur radio license. Bootcamp is also a great opportunity for prospective Hams who are interested in seeing what the hobby has to offer.

Ham Bootcamp activities are geared towards Technicians and prospective Hams and General class licenses and higher Hams. Bootcamp participants will find all of this material interesting and fun no matter what their focus or license level.

The Bootcamp program is available to all licensed and prospective Hams. You can register for the Friday, September 10 Ham Bootcamp session at HamXposition by visiting <https://www.n1fd.org/ham-bootcamp/>.

TECH IN A DAY

Bill Poulin, WZ1L, and members of the Cape Ann ARA will once again offer “Tech in a Day” at HamXposition on Saturday, September 11, 2021.

This program has served the local community in getting newly excited people to become licensed amateurs. The program will run approximately 0800-1700. It concludes with a dedicated Volunteer Exam session.

Prospective candidates should purchase the ARRL Technician Class License Manual and read the manual before attending the class.  The book can be purchased at Ham Radio Outlet or the ARRL.

If you have any questions, contact Bill at (978) 504-9112 (Cell) or email <billpoulin01913@gmail.com>.

NEW ENGLAND ARES ACADEMY

Complementing our Saturday programming, we’re pleased to host the ever-popular New England ARES Academy featuring workshops and talks aimed at getting you prepared and ready to face any EmComm situation. The program includes:

• Intro to ARES
• HF Propagation for EmComm
• Getting Started with WinLink Express
• SKYWARN Refresher
• Tactical Message Handling
• Lessons Learned from the “Big Ones”
• Intro to NEBMS
• Go-kit Strategies

ARRL New England Division Director Fred Hopengarten, K1VR, has approved the application from organizers of the Radio Amateur Society of Norwich to host an ARRL sanctioned hamfest in Gales Ferry on October 30, 2021.                  

The third QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo is scheduled live from August 14-15, 2021 and then on-demand for 30 days. 

The event organizers “promise a flawless, great learning experience for those seeking to improve their knowledge and to be exposed to new ideas, equipment, and practical techniques – all done in a highly engaging format on the vFairs platform that we used in our first August 2020 Expo.”  

ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio, is a QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo Partner.  FlexRadio is the Expo’s Platinum Sponsor.  Gold sponsors as of this time are Elecraft and RFinder.

Registration begins on July 1st, 2021. Full registration Early Bird Tickets are just $10 and then $12.50 “at the door.”  Full registration includes access to the entire Expo including presentations and the 30 day on-demand period. Free registration includes access to exhibitors, prizes, general lounge and lobbies. If you were registered to the March Expo, then you already have a free registration to the August Expo. 

For more information and Expo Updates, go to https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com. 

Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, will be the keynote speaker at the 2021 Northeast HamXposition. 

The keynote theme is “Growing Amateur Radio.” There is no shortage of new ham radio licensees each year–approximately 30,000. But only a fraction ever become active. Bob will share stories, perspective, and ARRL initiatives intended to develop more active, involved, and engaged radio amateurs.

Bob Inderbitzen is the Product Development Manager for ARRL  The National Association for Amateur Radio®, and has been on the ARRL HQ staff for 30 years. He advances, with his staff colleagues, ideas that lead to new and improved ARRL membership programs, services, and products. Bob obtained his first ham radio license as a 6th-grader in 1981, and was president of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Wireless Association from 1987-90. Today, Bob’s interests in ham radio include HF and portable operating, and station integration-and-control using the Raspberry Pi. He is an ARRL Diamond Club Life Member and a contributor to ARRL’s Second Century Campaign.

Dr. Philip J. Erickson, W1PJE, will be the featured Grand Banquet Speaker at the 2021 Northeast HamXposition (ARRL New England Division Convention) in Marlborough, Massachusetts on September 10-12, 2021. W1PJE will discuss HamSCI’s latest ionospheric science investigations and will also highlight research in his group at MIT’s Haystack Observatory.  The work brings international and national aspects of amateur ionospheric science into the New England realm.

Dr. Erickson is head of the Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences group, a Principal Research Scientist, and an associate director at Haystack Observatory, a multidisciplinary radio observatory operated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A licensed radio amateur, he is a member of ARRL, RSGB, and TAPR, vice president of the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club. He is on the scientific steering board of the Ham Science Citizen Initiative (HamSCI). Dr. Erickson is also a member of the National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Radio Frequencies, which advocates on scientific radio frequency requirements and interference protection for scientific and engineering research.

Tickets for the Saturday evening banquet are expected to sell quickly, so make sure to get your tickets online when they are available. The meal will be plated (details in progress).

The Lakes Region Repeater Association announces its 2021 LRRA W1BST Hamfest in Constitution Park, 505 Long Sands Road, Ossipee, New Hampshire, on August 28, 2021 from 8-2 PM.

Tickets are $8 prepaid* and $10 at the gate. Vendors pay $20 prepaid* and $30 at the gate. Vendor gates open at 7 AM.

 PayPal is accepted; go to “Donate Button” on the club’s web site. “First come, first served, as we have limited space.”

Talk-in will be provided on the 147.03 repeater (PL 88.5 Hz). 

No camping.

 
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* non-refundable

The Lobstercon2021! event will be held at Thomas Point Beach & Campground in Brunswick, Maine on July 9-11, 2021. This is the 22nd year that W1REX has hosted the QRP event.

“… I plan on coming up with a few special activities to make our awakening event from this pandemic very special and an event that you will not want to miss,” writes Rex. “If you’ve thought about coming to Lobstercon but never got a round tuit, you had better make this one.”

Billed as New England’s premiere QRP gathering, Lobstercon is a weekend of QRP camping, BBQ eating, operating, socializing, lobster eating, prize winning, and all-round great QRP time. The $50.00 registration fee includes wake-up coffee, juice, cereal, bagels and donuts (if you wake up early enough) and two giant meals on Saturday: a BBQ lunch and fresh Maine lobster dinner.

“Lobstercon lobsters are fresh out of the ocean for less than an hour before they go into the pot. You can taste the difference.” 

For full details and to register, visit <https://www.qrpme.com/?p=product&id=L21>.