The DeKalb/Cannon County Amateur Radio Club conducted a Special Event Station at the 42nd Annual Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree and Craft Festival on Saturday, July 5th, 2014. This year marked the fifteenth year that a special event station had been set up at the Jamboree.
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 at 7:30 AM local time. Operations took place in the 20 meter, 40 meter, and 15 meter Amateur Radio bands, and the station was publicized in Amateur Radio magazines QST, CQ, and the club website. This year operations took place on a beautiful sunny day.
The station contacted 213 total Amateur Radio Stations in 37 States, and Ontario, Manitoba, and Quebec Canada, as well as stations in Ireland, Finland, and Saudi Arabia. One interesting contact included the Ham Station on-board a World War II vintage B-17G Bomber which is being restored at an airport in Savannah, Georgia, and the Museum of Science and Technology in Syracuse, New York.
Amateur Radio Operator Guests included the following: K3CWC – Wilson Cowan, Lebanon, TN; ARRL Tennessee Section Manager – N9DGK – Keith Miller, Rockvale, TN; WB4HDM – Lynne Hamrick, McMinnville, TN; KD4TVO – Joe Poole, Wartburg, TN. Very special guests were: KF5QYU – Brandon Turrentine, Winnie, TX; KD5EFM – Debbie Driver, Houston, TX; AK5Q – Mickey A. Driver, Houston, TX, who are members of the KC5WXA Jake McClain Driver Memorial Amateur Radio Club, Houston, TX.
Participants of the station included DeKalb/Cannon County Amateur Radio Club Members:
NN9J – Steve Kujawski, Sparta, TN; NF9G – Kathy Kujawski, Sparta, TN; KC4GUG – Freddy Curtis, Smithville, TN. This year the station also had CW or Morse code included in the operation. This was done by N4LZY – Jerry Elkins of Woodbury, Tennessee and added greatly to the station operation. Mr. Elkins also called a Navy-Marine Corps MARS (Military Auxillary Radio System) Tennessee Area State-wide Net from the Special Event Station for the first time ever.
The club would like to offer thanks to Jamboree Coordinator – Mr. Jack Burton, Justin Potter Librarian – Mrs. Kathy Hendrixson, DeKalb County EMA Director – Charlie Parker, and Mr. Darryl Counts – Postmaster, Smithville Post Office for their support of this activity.
The DeKalb/Cannon County Amateur Radio Club is an organization of Amateur Radio operators from DeKalb, Cannon, and Surrounding Counties and is an affiliated club of the American Radio Relay League. The next club meeting will be on Thursday, July 31st, 2014 – 6:30 PM at the DeKalb County Complex, 722 South Congress Boulevard, Smithville, TN. Any person interested in Amateur Radio is invited to attend. More information about the club can be found at the club’s website – http://www.dccarc.org.
Picture Caption:
Picture 1 = Amateur Radio Operators at the Special Event Station operate under the tent in the rain during the 42nd Annual Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree and Crafts Festival included:
Left to Right – KC4GUG – Freddy Curtis; NN9J – Steve Kujawski; WB4HDM – Lynne Hamrick and N4LZY – Jerry Elkins. Photo Courtesy of NF9G – Kathy Kujawski.
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