Hamfests & Conventions

The Eastern Connecticut Amateur Radio Association will be holding its annual hamfest at the Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park’s Raceway Restaurant from 8:00 a.m. to 12 noon on Sunday, April 23 with a flea market and VE session. A $5.00 donation is requested for admission. More information can be found at <http://www.ecara.net/?page_id=266>.

The Port City Amateur Radio Club hosts an annual hamfest and flea market in April at the Saint James Masonic Lodge on 77 Tide Mill Road, Hampton, NH. Admission is $5 per person and children under 12 are admitted free. There are hourly door prize drawings as well as a grand prize drawing. All ticket holders are eligible to win, additional prize drawing tickets may be purchased for $5 each.

We have indoor and outdoor table space available and pre-registration is recommended. You can purchase table space using the seller’s application found at the bottom of this page.

The next hamfest/flea market will be held on April 8, 2023 from 8 am to 12 pm.

A VE Session will follow right after the flea market beginning at 1 pm.

For additional information, see https://w1wqm.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2023-FLEA-MARKET-FLYER.pdf.

The Southington (CT) Amateur Radio Association will conduct its annual flea market on Sunday, March 26, 2023 from 8:30 AM to 12 PM at the Southington High School, 720 Pleasant Street, in Southington, CT.  The flea will feature ham radio equipment, electronics, computers, and more. 

Six feet linear table space costs $20 in advance; checks must be received before the day of the flea market. Day of the flea market, spaces are $25.  Additional persons helping pay $7.00 as general admission. (Be fair!) Children under the age of 12 free are admitted free. Doors open for all vendors unloading  at 6:15am.

The flea also features an ARES Spring Meeting. 

For further info contact Bob, K1HSN, at 860-628-4808

Web site info www.chetbacon.com/sara/
Email: W1ECV@ARRL.NET

Download the flyer at <http://www.chetbacon.com/SARAflea2023.pdf>.

Skip Youngberg, K1NKR, writes on the Algonquin (MA) ARA mailing list:

The New England Wireless and Steam Museum in East Greenwich, Rhode Island is having a Yankee Tune-Up on July 22, 2023. Come trade and sell your antique radios, vintage electronics and ham gear.

The entire museum will be open as well for your viewing pleasure. 

From the Maine Telegraph, March 2023:

It is that time of year again… the Maine State Hamfest and Convention [in Lewiston] Friday, March 24th and Saturday March 25th. Talks on Friday night will be 7:00 and 8:00 PM. Vendor sales and talks will be from 8:00 AM until Noon on Saturday.

Admission for the Hamfest is $10.00 per person.

The Grand Prize will be a $200.00 gift certificate from Ham Radio Outlet.

There will be an additional $200.00 cash prize being offered for people wishing to participate in offering their contact information for Hamfest and Androscoggin Club communication. There are several talks already planned, with more to be featured. The talk schedule will be updated as speakers are confirmed.

Please go to http://www.w1npp.org/convention to keep apprised on any hamfest updates.

There will be a VE Test Session at 12:30 in the Classroom.

Rex Harper, W1REX, writes:

My fellow Lobstercon campers,

I got a call from Mike Mulligan the other night and he tells me that due to a screw up, the Jam Festival festival also changed their dates to the same weekend that I scheduled Lobstercon2023! I set the date last fall and notified him but apparently that notice didn’t get written onto the calendar so now we have a problem. The Jam Festival needs the entire park and our lovely corner for their festivities…. Their numbers are much larger than ours so we really can’t take them on in a fight! Looks like it is up to me to change the Lobstercon date so that everyone is happy…especially Carl! So it looks like Lobstercon2023! will NOW be held on July 7, 8 and 9. I am sorry for the confusion. I elected to go to the alternate weekend so that early campers and long distance travelers wouldn’t have to put up with July 4th vacationers either in the park or on the road.

Mike says I can blame him, but really, it’s those music jam people taking over OUR campground on OUR weekend that I fault. I hope this change is early enough that it doesn’t cause anyone any vacation hardship….

Rex  W1REX

Spring is not far away and with it, the start of a new hamfest and flea market season in New England.

Here are upcoming ARRL sanctioned hamfests and flea markets in the New England Division for the first quarter of 2023:

• February 18, 2023: Algonquin ARC Flea Market, Marlborough, MA
• February 25, 2023: Vermont State Convention (HAM-CON), Colchester, VT
• March 4, 2023: Mt. Tom 34th Amateur Radio & Electronics Hamfest, Chicopee, MA
• March 24-25, 2023: Maine State Convention and Hamfest, Lewiston, ME

The New England Vintage Electronics Club will hold its flea market event on Sunday, March 5, 2023 from 8:00 AM until 1 PM at a new venue: Castleton, 58 Enterprise Drive, Windham NH 03087. Take Route 93 to NH Exit 3. 

For more information, visit https://nevec.org/.

HAM-CON, the ARRL Vermont Convention will be Saturday, February 25th, 8AM-1:30 PM at the Hampton Inn Convention Center, off of I-89 Exit 16 in Colchester.

We would love to get everyone back to meeting LIVE at the convention again. If you are within 2-3 hours of travel, please do consider joining us live. This would include everyone in Vermont, Northern New York and much of New Hampshire. If you cannot travel for some reason, please do consider JOINING US ONLINE! Simply buy an advanced sale ticket (only $6) which will allow you join in and take part in all our forums and even view the forums afterwards. Information and tickets can be found at ham-con.org

Our theme for HAM-CON 2023 is “Getting On The Air” There are many facets to amateur radio, but the most popular and endearing activity is getting on the air and contacting other hams. Our lineup of forums and activities will emphasize just that.

If you are going to get on the air, you might as well be great at your craft! “Be The Best Operator You Can Be” with W1SJ will detail all the fine points of making all those QSO’s. And, you don’t have to sit at home in your basement to get on the air. “Get Out and Operate” with K1BIF will show how we make contacts from parks, summits, farms and even boats! And if that is not enough for you, “Operate From Anywhere Remotely” with W1VE will detail how you can access a ham shack anywhere on the planet from the comforts of home. There is nothing like working the world while driving on a long trip. “Operating an HF Mobile Station” with AB1OC will cover how to setup, build and operate an HF mobile station capable of working anyone. Experienced operators will tell you that there is a rhythm to making many contacts, much like a dance. K8ZT will describe this for us in “The Rhythm of the QSO.” Some hams take their operating very seriously as they compete in contests. We’ll explore the World Radio Team Championship, the Olympics of ham radio in “The WRTC Competitive Experience” with N9RV. We’ll also have the 2023 running of the ARRL Forum and find out the latest from our national organization. And finally, how well do you know your ham radio trivia? Join us for the Millionaire Game Show where we will ask such questions and you may just win a cool (fake) million dollars!

Add to the above the flea market, Tech table, DMR table, W1V special event station, demonstrations and VE session and we have one heck of show. Be sure to buy your ticket early and be there! Again, look us up at ham-con.org for all the details on HAM-CON 2023, February 25th.