SKCC 5123T----- FISTS 14979----- Flying Pigs 2331----- NAQCC 3610-----QRP ARCI 14176-----Polar Bear 257

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Huntsville Hamfest Report

I was pleased to attend the Huntsville Hamfest this year. My wife Linda joined me. We met up with John W8JER and his wife Micky KE8ASK from Sturgis Michigan. I also met my buddy John K4KQZ from Columbia Tennessee.  Saturday in addition to shopping, I attended the QRP presentation on portable antennas by Craig NM4T.

Monte Sano QRP Event

The highlight of the trip was the QRP BBQ that Craig puts on Saturday Night at the cabins on Monte Sano. There were three RaDAR Ops there.  First was Don KK4QAM and his wife Carol. I found out Carol is KK4VBT, a General Class, and likes JT-65. Second was Steven N0TES AKA Wise Seeker on Google+. He owns Alpha Antennas. The third is Craig NM4T known as the "Huntsville Guy." There were LNR radios to try out including the Mountain Topper and the LD-5. Of course there were LNR antennas in the trees. 

Craig gave us some tips on island operating like "Buddies in the Caribbean" along with videos. We also heard about SOTA. I gave a short talk on the K-Tor pedal power generator and the supercapacitor bank. Jerry N4EO volunteered to do some pedaling. Thanks Jerry!

In the shopping department, I got an LNR 40/30/20 End Fed to go along with my LNR Mountain Topper. My best deal was a copy of the Stealth Amateur Radio book by Kirk Kleinschmidt for $4. It lists for about $150 used or $200 new on Amazon. 

Sorry I just did not get many photos. The one above is by Steven.