Topic: NEAR-Fest XVIII Schedule of Events

[GuinnessJohn]

NEAR-Fest XVIII Schedule of Events   

Friday, Oct.16 2015.

6:00 AM: Fairgrounds Gate 'G' opens for Blue (Staff) and Yellow (Commercial Vendors) ONLY.  Commercial buildings open and set up commences. 

7:00 AM: Fairgrounds Gate 'G' opens for Clubs & Associations passholders only to occupy their traditional spaces.  NO "FOR SALE" ITEMS DISPLAYED OR SELLING IS PERMITTED UNTIL 9:00AM!

9:00 AM: Pre-Paid Entry, Gate 'F' opens for RED ticket and passholders only.    Once the Pre-Paid entry line has entered the General Admission line will enter through Gate 'E'.  Flea Market and Tailgating buying and selling commences.  Please note our flea market parking policy:

NEAR-Fest Flea Market Parking Policy

This is the ENTERTAINMENT BUILDING, see map for location.

10:30 AM: 'YCCC Contest University' With Tony Brock-Fisher This will be a lesson in contesting.  If you are new to contesting or want to sharpen your skills, Tony is here to help!   (Located in the Entertainment Building, see map)

12:00 PM: 'Boat Anchor Radio Triage' with Ted Robinson K1QAR Over the past several years Ted has made a name for himself bringing boatanchors back from the dead.  In this session, Ted will review some of the "Do's" and more importantly the "Don'ts" of where to start in restoration of a classic radio.  Now that you have that old radio ready to be brought back to life, come learn how not to cause more dammage than the ravages of time already have! (Located in the Entertainment Building, see map)

1:30 PM: Historical Maritime Radio with Steve Russell, WA1HUD and David Ring N1EA Steve was first licensed in 1967. He also holds a GROL ( original holder of 1st Radio Telephone license before the GROL) and the T2 license ( Commercial Radiotelegraph) now called just a RadioTelegraph License.  Steve is chief engineer and holder of license for WNE Coast Radio which is under construction and is President of the New England Historical Radio Society, Inc. WNE is a CW maritime station for ship communications designed to help preserve marine CW.  Steve will discuss all things Maritime radio.  Steve will be joined by David, who was awarded the Marconi Gold Medal for his work in an actual radio distress call resulting in the rescue  of 535 passengers and crew of the Prinsendam burning out of control in the Gulf of Alaska in 1980 (Located in the Entertainment Building, see map)

3:00 PM: ?The History of Single Sideband Development with George Maier, W1LSB George is easilly one of the best resources when it comes to the history of SSB development.  Over the years he has done extensive research and interviews with people involved in development of this mode of operating and has included it all into a wonderful presentation.  He has been on TV, well, Ham Nation TV.  I was delighted that George has agreed to give his presentation to us at Near-Fest. THIS JUST IN FROM GEORGE!!!  Out of respect for the passing of Wes Shum on 9/23, I?m going to reposition my forum presentation as follows:
Remembering Wes Shum W9DYV SK, founder of Central Electronics
The talk will cover historical aspects of SSB, focusing on the development of phasing sideband by Central Electronics and its founder, W9DYV, who became a silent key in September 2015.  WHAT A GREAT WAY TO REMEMBER A GUY WE ALL OWE A LOT TO! (Located in the Entertainment Building, see map)

4:30 PM: More R390a Fun with George Rancourt, K1ANX.     Arrive early as this is always a packed house!  George will again share his experience with bringing back to life, this series of radio that, introduced in the early 1950?s, still holds its own against most of the radios available today!  In this installment George shows us his tricks for capacitor replacement to keep these radios up and running! (Located in the Entertainment Building, see map)

7:00 PM: NEAR-Fest's Legendary Ad-Hoc "Ham-Jam Session"
(Located in the Entertainment Building, see map)

For full details see:http://forum.near-fest.com/index.php?topic=1264.0

Saturday, Oct. 17 2015.

9:00 AM: ?DMR New England Update? moderated by Bill Barber, NE1B New DMR repeaters continue to pop up all over New England.  Now with NEW DMR radios available for less than $200 and a wide assortment of surplus commercial equipment easially found, more and more people are getting active in this interesting mode.  Bill Barber, NE1B, the contact for New England Digital Emergency Communications Network (NEDECN) will be back this fall, by popular demand, to give us updates? and there is lots of news? on whats going on in the DMR world and what you need to do to get involved. (Located in the Entertainment Building, see map)[/size]

10:30 AM: ARMY MARS Updates with Paul Moore N1VUI (and others) There are lots of changes in the MARS service Paul and crew will be here to fill us in (more details to follow)  (Located in the Entertainment Building, see map)




10:30 AM:Volunteer Exam Session conducted by Bruce Anderson, W1LUS and the NEAR-Fest VE Team  The exam session is located in the Meeting Room (in the Arts & Crafts Building) right across from the flagpole.  The entrance is around the back of the building, (see map)
The Volunteer Examination session begins at 10:30 sharp.  Be sure to have two forms of identification (one with photo), original and one copy of your Amateur license (if you have one), documentation and $15.00 exam fee ready.  For more information on the Volunteer exams or if you are a ARRL accredited VE wishing to help, please contact the VE Coordinator at w1lus@verizon.net.  Despite what it says on the ARRL Web site, pre-registration is not required.  Just show up and give it your best shot.  Try the higher level exams even if you don't feel you are ready - you never know..........at least you'll know what to expect the next time.  Good luck!

2:00 PM: Closing Ceremony, Awards and Door Prize Drawing (Located in the Relaxation Grove, see map)

More than simply a prize drawing, this is the time we honor individuals, present updates to the NEAR-Fest mission, and provide a little insight as to what lies ahead. See a list of past LIFETIME PASS recipients:

See you all at Deerfield bright and early Friday morning!

73,

John Flood, KB1FQG,
Forums Chairman