Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Handiham World for 06 May 2009

Welcome to Handiham World!

Handihams planning for Dayton HAMVENTION

Handihams planning for Dayton HAMVENTION

Image: Pat, WA0TDA, peeks out from behind a display at the Handiham booth during a previous Hamvention.

It is hard to believe that it is the month of May already, and that means that it is nearly time for the biggest and best ham radio get-together, Hamvention™ in Dayton, Ohio. Thanks to support from a generous donor, John Hoenshell, N0BFJ, who underwrites much of the expense, we are once again able to have a booth on the Hamvention floor. If you are planning to attend, and we certainly hope that you are, please stop by booth 322 and pay us a visit. Hamvention begins on Friday, May 15th and runs through the weekend of the 16th and 17th.

As you might expect, we are busy getting ready for the big show. Next week we will be even more shorthanded at the Handiham office than usual, but we feel that it is important to have a presence at Hamvention, and this show in particular is going to be a good one because it is also the site of the ARRL National Convention. If you are able to attend, you will not want to miss the ARRL EXPO, which is a showcase of exhibits and activities to enhance your ham radio experience. It is open to ARRL members and nonmembers alike, and features official ARRL program representatives, activities (including activities for youth), and forums.

When you stop by the Handiham booth, you will be able to sign our guest register. We always have a few extra chairs if you want to sit down and talk with us for while. If you are a wheelchair user, you will find that we always place our display table at the very back of the booth, which allows you to bring your wheelchair into our area and get out of the main traffic stream in the aisle.

Ken, KB3LLA, Handiham Radio Club President, will be at the booth whenever he isn't out somewhere on the show floor finding out about all the new amateur radio gear. I will be there, as will Handiham volunteers John Hoenshell, N0BFJ, and John Pedley, N0IPO. If you hang around too much, we will put you to work as a greeter and Handiham representative!

So consider the welcome mat out and waiting for you. We hope you can stop by and see us in person, but if not, we are going to try to get on the Handiham EchoLink Net on Saturday and on the same node and frequency at other times throughout the day on Saturday. This all depends on whether or not we are able to get a reliable Internet connection, so no promises.

I hope to see you there!

Patrick Tice
wa0tda@arrl.net
Handiham Manager