Winter SWL Fest 2009 is coming

[ka3jjz]

It's that time of year when a lot of the hobby folk gather in Towamencin (about a hour or so outside of Philly) for the event sponsored by NASWA. And lest you think it is all about HF, there's usually 1 or 2 scanner related forums, often presented by MT editor Skip Arey N2EI as well.

The dates this year are 13-14 March. Unfortunately it seems that the blog has not yet been updated, but the website has the registration forms in PDF format. As soon as the blog gets updated, I'll announce it. Remember registrations received after next week are priced higher.

Will I see you there? 73 Mike

[ka3jjz]

From the NASWA Yahoo group and swlfest mailing list, here's the current list of topics for the 2 days;
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Fri. March 13

0900 - World Christian Broadcasting - The World Is Listening. (Paul Ladd)--Paul will tell us about World Christian Broadcasting, which operates station KNLS in Anchor Point, Alaska, and is building a second station in Madagascar. We'll hear the latest on the Madagascar project and also the continuing work at the station in Alaska.

1030 ? International Broadcast TV/Radio Reception. (Tracy Wood, K7UO)-- Have you ever wondered what happened to your favorite shortwave broadcaster? Many have moved to the Clarke Belt and now broadcast digitally over satellites to both small- and big-dish
alike. Learn how to receive domestic/international broadcasters that migrated to MPEG-DVB satellite format. Dramatically falling hardware prices, small footprint Ku-band dishes, and plentiful ?Free-to-Air? offerings let you enter this DXing realm for less money than many shortwave radios. The presenter will offer valuable lessons learned from a recent home purchase in HOA-filled Virginia. He will give valuable examples of restrictive covenants, handling local planners, and friendly federal laws (SHVIA, OTARD) that help the satellite TV/radio convert.

1330 ? The History of UK Land-Based Pirate Radio--Incorporating European SW pirates. (Andy Walker & Steve Underground) - A co-hosted presentation about the history of UK land based pirate radio (AM and FM), including some of the European SW pirates as well, for good measure, all of which will be of interest to dxer's. The presenters say it will be an informal talk with photos and some video footage.

1500 ? The Annual Pirate Forum. (George Zeller) ? This time it is the annual second pirate forum, since Andy Walker and Steve Underground will be present to talk about Europirates just before our more traditional pirate forum.

1630 -- An Introduction to HF Loop Antennas (Greg Majewski) (Here's one that should be interesting, even for us cavedwellers...mja) - Greg will provide some technical details on HF loop antennae, both large and small. The discussion will cover their use for both receiving and transmitting. And be sure to ask about the hands-on demonstration that Greg will be hosting Friday night!

2030 - The Listening Loung. (David Goren and Friends) -- The LL is an informal, after-hours celebration of the sounds of shortwave radio, its history, and influence on popular culture. This year's Lounge features fresh sound mixes unearthed from the Shortwaveology Archives, an update on the Tuning Lab featuring excerpts from a new work by composer Alessandro Bossetti using sounds collected at the Lab. But that's not all! Swing and sway to the greatest hits from the radio spectrum live with special musical guests including Saul Brody, Marty Peck, Jack Widner, and Skip Arey. We'll also reprise the Interval Signal quiz (with prizes!) and (as they say on the radio) much, much more!


Sat. March 14

0900 ? The Future of Radio in Our Lives (Rob de Santos) -- Beyond just listening where is this radio thing headed? Join this forum for a look into the future of "wireless" and hear about cars that drive themselves, full immersion television, radio fused with the internet, and where is all that bandwidth going to come from? We'll consider of the full gamut of possible future uses of wireless communication and what that might mean for the listening hobby.

1030 ? Stump the Scum--If You Can! (Tom Swisher) -- We never seem to have time at the end of our annual bacchanalia of scanning thrills and excitement for all the questions, so this year we're going to address that problem by conducting an entire forum of your questions. So bring all those scanning-related questions you've been dying to ask, and try to Stump the Scum (OK you scanner experts - you're on deck. mja).

1330 ? Internet Radio Update (Dan Srebnick) -- Dan and our expert (I?) panel will take a look at current internet radio appliances. They'll range from "traditional" Reciva chipset based models to some devices that you never even thought of as internet radios. Bring your questions and we'll try to answer them.

1500 ? Radio Shacks of the Stars of the Fest?i.e.: You! (Tim Lemmon) - Enjoy the last forum of the fest with candid pictures from other SWL radio rooms. See some pictures of current HF pirate radio stations too. If the owner of the picture is in the room, they'll
get to stand and help show off their pictures.
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See you in a week. 73 Mike

[ridgescan]

Thank you Mike