Sunday, December 09, 2007

HAMFEST PAST AND HAMFEST AHEAD


One of our favorite travel destinations is attending "Hamfests". As amateur radio enthusiasts, we enjoy both the "bone yards" and the fantastic new equipment being displayed and sold at these weekend festivities.

Just a few weeks ago, an annual "fest" was held at the Lawrenceville Fairgrounds, Lawrenceville, Ga., sponsored by the Alford Memorial Radio Club. This hamfest is probably the biggest fest in the State of Georgia and maybe one of the biggest in the Southeast. We had a good time at this event and look forward to attending again next year.

And, coming up very soon is another big annual hamfest--in Orlando, FL. This event is the HamCation, sponsored by the Orlando Amateur Radio Club, and held at the Central Florida Fairgrounds in Orlando, February 8, 9, and 10,2008. HamCation is a great show; and we are anxious to enjoy the warm Orlando sunshine again, as well as the 62nd anniversary of this annual festivity.

Amateur radio, often called ham radio, is both a hobby and a service that uses various types of radio communications equipment to communicate with other radio amateurs for public service, recreation and self-training. A participant is called an amateur radio operator, or a ham.[1]
Amateur radio operators enjoy personal wireless communications with each other and often support their communities with emergency and disaster communications while increasing their personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory. An estimated six million people throughout the world are regularly involved with amateur radio.[2]
The term "amateur" is not a reflection on the skills of the participants, which are often quite advanced; rather, "amateur" indicates that amateur radio communications are not allowed to be made for commercial or money-making purposes.

For further amateur radio information, go to:
http://www.arrl.org.

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