ka3jjz
Wiki Admin Emeritus
Since some announcements come by from time to time about scanner meetings in various spots, I thought I'd take the time to mention something that will be happening this March.
NASWA - the North American SW Association - hosts a gathering of the hobby folk in Kulpsville Pa. (about 1/2 hour from Philly) every year - this is the 20th anniversary. The exact dates are March 8-10, which is a slight change from previous years. Normally it's a 2 day event (with Sunday being departure day) but this year, it starts on a Thursday.
While much of the Fest (as it's come to be known over the years) have forums that cover HF topics - in past years, everything from broadcasting, utilities, pirates has been covered - there are usually more than a few devoted to other parts of the hobby including satellites, Scanners , antique radio and history, antenna design and other topics as well.
This is quite literally a worldwide event - in past years, the Fest has had participants from as far away as Sri Lanka, Japan, China (both of them) and Russia. European broadcasters are almost always in attendance, and folks from the VoA are also there (if you check the photos, and look very carefully, you'll see me in some of them....if one knows where to look, hi).
Information on what will be covered in the Fest this year is just now beginning to get set up - keep an eye on...
http://www.swlfest.com/
for other news (there's a blog available as well). It's to your advantage to register early to avoid the rush. One thing that's important - the hotel accomodations are seperate from the fest registration. You must mention the 'Winter SWL Fest' when you call the Holiday Inn at Towamencin to get the Fest rate. It's wise to do this early, as the hotel can get booked very quickly, and there aren't that many other hotels in the area.
I'll be mentioning this again when there's more news as the date gets closer. One gentleman who has been invited to attend the Fest is Arnie Coro CO2KK. Unfortunately due to diplomatic snafus at the State Department, it's been a pain to try to get him cleared. Hopefully the Fest managers will have better luck this year. Personally I'd like to meet and talk with him, as he's got a beautiful Heathkit shack that would be the envy of any collector.
I'll be there on Friday (I have work commitments on Thursday). Hopefully I'll see some of the RR faithful there.
73s Mike
NASWA - the North American SW Association - hosts a gathering of the hobby folk in Kulpsville Pa. (about 1/2 hour from Philly) every year - this is the 20th anniversary. The exact dates are March 8-10, which is a slight change from previous years. Normally it's a 2 day event (with Sunday being departure day) but this year, it starts on a Thursday.
While much of the Fest (as it's come to be known over the years) have forums that cover HF topics - in past years, everything from broadcasting, utilities, pirates has been covered - there are usually more than a few devoted to other parts of the hobby including satellites, Scanners , antique radio and history, antenna design and other topics as well.
This is quite literally a worldwide event - in past years, the Fest has had participants from as far away as Sri Lanka, Japan, China (both of them) and Russia. European broadcasters are almost always in attendance, and folks from the VoA are also there (if you check the photos, and look very carefully, you'll see me in some of them....if one knows where to look, hi).
Information on what will be covered in the Fest this year is just now beginning to get set up - keep an eye on...
http://www.swlfest.com/
for other news (there's a blog available as well). It's to your advantage to register early to avoid the rush. One thing that's important - the hotel accomodations are seperate from the fest registration. You must mention the 'Winter SWL Fest' when you call the Holiday Inn at Towamencin to get the Fest rate. It's wise to do this early, as the hotel can get booked very quickly, and there aren't that many other hotels in the area.
I'll be mentioning this again when there's more news as the date gets closer. One gentleman who has been invited to attend the Fest is Arnie Coro CO2KK. Unfortunately due to diplomatic snafus at the State Department, it's been a pain to try to get him cleared. Hopefully the Fest managers will have better luck this year. Personally I'd like to meet and talk with him, as he's got a beautiful Heathkit shack that would be the envy of any collector.
I'll be there on Friday (I have work commitments on Thursday). Hopefully I'll see some of the RR faithful there.
73s Mike
