The DeKalb County Amateur Radio Club conducted a Special Event Station at the 37th Annual Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree and Craft Festival on Saturday, July 5th, 2008. The station was setup at the front entrance of the Justin Potter Library during the early morning hours on Saturday. Antennas were assembled, radios were properly checked, and transmissions were begun just before 8:00 AM local time. Operations took place in the 20 meter, 40 meter, and 10 meter Amateur Radio bands, and the station was publicized in Amateur Radio magazines QST and CQ-Amateur Radio and the club website at http://www.dcarc.drivehq.com/.
The station contacted 167 total Amateur Radio Stations in 33 States, and 4 Provinces in Canada. The most distant station contacted was in Hawaii, this year was the first time a Hawaiian station had been contacted. Other interesting contacts included the Ham Station on the Battleship USS New Jersey anchored in Camden, NJ and now a museum. Also contacted was the Ham Station at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC and two different Science Centers in Arizona and Toronto, Ontario Canada.
Amateur Radio Operator Guests included the following: N4HWL – Ken Tenpenny – Murfreesboro, TN; KH6AD – Bob Soare – Smithville, TN; KJ4BQK – Carl Wachsman – Smithville, TN; KI4UUP – Andrew Thomas – Crossville, TN; W4GKM – Nick Smith – Crossville, TN; and AG4VF – Bruce Newberry – Pegram, TN.
Participants of the station included local Amateur Radio Operators:
KG4BTO – Joe Ferrell; KF4QNT – Kevin Neely; and KC4GUG – Freddy Curtis.
Pictures of the Special Event Station can be viewed at the club’s website at: http://www.dcarc.drivehq.com/.
The local club looks forward to operating another special event station at next years Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree and Craft Festival. The club would like to offer its thanks to Jamboree Coordinator – Mr. Neil Dudney, Justin Potter Librarian – Mrs. Kathy Hendrixson, and Smithville Postmaster Mr. Michael Lynn for their support of this activity.
The DeKalb County Amateur Radio Club is an organization of Amateur Radio operators from DeKalb and Surrounding Counties and is an affiliated club of the American Radio Relay League. The next club meeting will be on Thursday, August 28th, 2008 – 6:30 PM at the Justin Potter Library. Any person interested in Amateur Radio is invited to attend.
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