My last two Saturdays were once again taken up teaching one-day Tech classes. On Saturday, September 30, I had 19 students in Room 1200 of the EECS Building on the University of Michigan’s North Campus. I really love teaching at U-M, and this class was no exception.
Of the 19, three failed the test. Two of the three who failed were teenagers, and neither of those two studied before attending the class. That being the case, I’m going to claim a pass rate of 16/17 or 94%. The other person who failed the test did so by only one question, and I’m sure that she’ll get her license eventually.
All of the others were assigned their call signs yesterday. They include:
- Joseph, KC1IGN
- Justin, KC1IGO
- Daniel, KD2OHT
- Justin, KD2OHS
- Christopher, KE8HXL
- Steve, KE8HXM
- Don, KE8HXN
- Jinto, KE8HXO
- Kelly, KE8HXP
- Thomas, KE8HXQ
- Greg, KE8HXR
- Brian, KE8HXS
- Joseph, KE8HXT
- Vishal, KE8HXU
- Christopher, KE8HXV
- Simon, KE8HXW
The class last Saturday was held in the Media Center at the Michigan International Speedway, home to the first annual Great Lakes HamCon. As you can see from the picture above, the room was huge. There are seats for more than 100 press people, who jam the room when there’s a NASCAR race at the track.
I had nowhere near 100 students. Only seven were in the class, including two teenagers. Unfortunately neither of the young people passed. I always warn the parents or grandparents that the one-day format is tough for kids, but they persist on bringing them to the class. Fortunately, the five adults that were in the class all passed, so I’m going to claim a 100% pass rate.
Disappointing attendance
Overall, HamCon was somewhat of a disappointment. While the organizers say that there were more than 1,000 attendees on Saturday, there were fewer sellers than there were at the Findlay hamfest a couple of weeks ago. On Sunday, there were fewer than ten sellers in the entire flea market. I would have been REALLY disappointed if I had paid for admission, but since I taught the class, and also gave a talk on CW Sunday morning, I was given free admission.
Despite the disappointing attendance, plans have already begun for next year. I’ll be back again next year because I’d really like to see this event take off.
Sylvia Burgos Toftness says
Just to say that enjoy reading your posts. I’m studying for my Tech license and enjoy hearing about your experiences – a bit of inspiration. Thanks.
Dan KB6NU says
Thanks for your comment, Sylvia. I sometimes wonder if I’m boring people by posting items about my classes.
I hope that you’re using my study guide. :) The PDF version of the Tech study guide is FREE. Please feel free to email me directly with any questions that you might have about the material.