I had a pretty busy ham radio weekend. On Saturday, at the request of Ruth, KM4LAO, I taught a one-day Tech class at Kettering University (formerly known as General Motors Institute) in Flint, MI. Ruth is resurrecting the amateur radio club there.
The class consisted of several Kettering students and several members of the local community. The good news is that three out of four students and six out of seven community members passed the test. One fellow even passed the General test.
General Motors ARC bucks the trend with inaugural hamfest
The General Motors Amateur Radio Club is not your typical amateur radio club. It has more than 200 members, and on Sunday, held its first hamfest. It bucked the trend in several different ways.
First of all, it didn’t start at “zero dark hundred.” Instead, the hamfest started at 10 am, which in my humble opinion, is a more civilized time. Second, it invited several community technology groups to set up demonstrations for free. Third, it gave out a bunch of prizes, including gift certificates to local restaurants and car wash places.
To be honest, the results of these moves were mixed. Attendance was pretty good, but there weren’t many sellers. There were lots of open tables. As a result, most everyone had closed up shop by 1 pm, instead of staying until the 3 pm closing time.
Personally, I didn’t sell as many books as I’d hoped. Nor did I sell either of the FA-VA4 antenna analyzers that I’d brought with me. Even so, I had a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to next years GMARC hamfest.
Rob W4ZNG says
>>First of all, it didn’t start at “zero dark hundred.” Instead, the hamfest started at 10 am,
I love this. Later hours work better for 20-somethings and teens, and that’s who we need to reach in order to grow this hobby. Additionally, Saturdays are my only day with a possibility of sleeping in. I’ve skipped a lot of hamfests because of the usual “open at 8, wind down before noon” schedule.