2016 Huntsville Hamfest Recap & Photos

Huntsville Hamfest was superb!

In my last post I mentioned why I was inspired to come. I found it on the W5KUB webcast:

The main push for me to go to the Huntsville Hamfest was this livestream a few weeks before. I was in the chat and mentioned I never been and wasn’t really planning on it (but probably could go), then Katie Allen WY7YL persuaded me.

Good call Katie. I really loved it.

This hamfest was really special to me not only because of the big focus on youth (hosting a youth lounge, and being home to the Young Ham of the Year award), but also because my fiance, Jesten, got to come along and check out all this crazy nerdy crap that I do. She’s the best ever. Soon she’ll be licensed – it’s a (tongue in cheek) requirement before we get married 😛

Anyway, I mentioned youth lounge. It was the first thing I checked out:

The fabled Youth Lounge - so much going on!
The fabled Youth Lounge – so much going on! Soldering on the right, robotics on the left, and some 3D printing too!

And I checked out a whole lot more stuff – the feature-crazy new Kenwood TH-74 APRS/TNC/DSTAR handheld, a few forums and the YHOTY award to name a few:

Later Then there was a cool storm.

Photo Aug 20, 6 44 13 PM

Later, we checked out a Barnes & Noble to find Jesten a book to read on the 6-hour drive home. I found this:

On Sunday, Jesten and I also checked out the Space and Rocket museum. It was great!

Checking out the Space & Rocket Center
Checking out the Space & Rocket Center…remember that time we went to the moon? Anyone?

Finally, gotta mention the southern comfort food. Half the reason we went was to break our diet. We ate at Chick-fil-A, Zaxby’s, Bojangles, and Betty Mae’s Restaurant. Stuff we don’t get in St. Louis.

Photo Aug 21, 12 25 17 PM
Worth every calorie…I mean just look at it! Seriously the best fried chicken I’ve ever had, and not shown was the most AMAZING red velvet cake I’ve ever had!

I called W5KUB

Saturday night after the Huntsville hamfest, I watched a bit of the W5KUB livestream that he hosts. The main push for me to go to the Huntsville Hamfest was this livestream a few weeks before. I was in the chat and mentioned I never been and wasn’t really planning on it (but probably could go), then Katie Allen WY7YL persuaded me.

So I went. And I had a really great time! It deserves its own blog post soon.

But real quick, I wanted to mention the short call I had with Tom, Don Wilbanks AE5DW, another guy whose name I forget, and Chris Brault KD8YVJ – winner of the ARRL Hiram Percy Maxim award.

Check it out here on YouTube, or pan the embedded video to 2:40:30 below. Give or take. The link has been messing up a lot.

Ham Radio 360: Youth in Ham Radio feat. N0SSC

Ham Radio 360: Youth in Ham Radio feat. N0SSC

Episode 59 of Ham Radio 360 just dropped! In it I was interviewed by Cale K4CDN about the experiences I had at YOTA as well as some ideas to bring to your club and ham radio organizations to promote and retain young people in amateur radio.

Click on the box above to take you to the HR360 website, or check it out on your favorite podcasting app. Here it is in iTunes, and Click here to open in Overcast.

More youth in ham radio stuff and a podcast review post to come soon!

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