Welcome to Handiham World!
Photo: Larry Huggins, KA0LSG, Handiham volunteer. Hap Holly, KC9RP, is in the background since our Handiham booth and the RAIN Report booth were neighbors.
Photo: Volunteer John Pedley, N0IPO, hangs the banner at the back of the booth because he is the tallest of our crew and can reach the hooks.
Photo: Larry, KA0LSG, John, N0BFJ, and Ken, KB3LLA, on booth duty.
Thanks to all who stopped by to visit us at Hamvention® 2011 and to volunteers John Hoenshell, N0BFJ, Larry Huggins, KA0LSG, John Pedley, N0IPO, and Ken Silberman, KB3LLA, Handiham Radio Club President, for staffing the booth. We'll have a full report later, but I also wanted to thank DARA for their generous support in awarding the Handiham System a check for $500 and to John Hoenshell, N0BFJ, for his financial support of the Hamvention trip that enables us to be there.
The ARRL Youth Forum, conducted by Carole Perry, WB2MGP, was a must-see, because our young people are the future of amateur radio - we all know that - but I like listening to the poised young folks telling us about the aspects of ham radio that they have mastered. And do you know what? I feel positively uplifted by their energy and enthusiasm for science and technology, as well as for public service. I know the world will be better off with people like them in our future.
We are giving a special shout out to 10 year old Amanda Lee, KD0JAY, for her excellent presentation about "People with Disabilities and Ham Radio" and Handihams at the Youth Forum! Hopefully a video of her presentation will be available on YouTube soon. Amanda told us that she was inspired by Gerry, WB6IVF, who had been mentioned in our past columns as the owner of the "Unseen Bean" coffee roasting business.
Photo: Shirley Roberts, N8LX, and Lynn Roberts, N8LXK, at the Handiham booth.
Shirley Roberts, N8LX, is a celebrity this year, because she won the Dayton Hamvention® Amateur of the Year award. She and her husband Lee, N8LXK, stopped by and paid us an extended visit at the Handiham booth. Shirley and her many accomplishments in amateur radio public service are featured in the Richard Fisher, KI6SN, Public Service column in the May 2011 CQ Magazine. Shirley is active in many ham radio organizations, including the ACB radio club, QCWA, Handihams, ARRL, and, of course, SKYWARN® as a liaison.
Speaking of CQ, when I stopped by the CQ/Worldradio booth to visit with publisher Rich Moseson, W2VU, he pointed out a giant reproduction of the Worldradio June 2011 cover, and there I was, right on the front. The photo was taken by Avery Finn, K0HLA, and shows a smiling Pat Tice wielding that familiar Handiham coffee mug. The photo accompanies a story about how I have completed 20 years with the Courage Center Handiham System in May, 2011. Be sure to read it! Bob Zeida, N1BLF, writes that he should have the audio version ready in time for the Friday Handiham Audio Digest, available to our blind members.
Wandering around is always fun. The main arena section has a very high roof and hosts some familiar manufacturers like Kenwood, Icom, and MFJ. In this photo taken from the stands, we look down at the MFJ booth with its many tall vertical antennas.
I make no secret of the fact that I like my own Icom IC-7200. Imagine my surprise to see it dressed up in a camo paint job at the Icom booth! We have mentioned in the past that the IC-7200 comes with speech frequency readout installed. Kudos to Icom for including this accessibility feature instead of making it an option.
Photo: Stack of three IC-7200 transceivers, one in plain black, one in army green, and one in camo paint.
What a great show it was again this year! Now that we are all jazzed up from all the new ham radio stuff we saw at Dayton, it's time to roll up our sleeves and get busy with the summer antenna work and ARRL Field Day!
Patrick Tice
wa0tda@arrl.net
Handiham Manager
Read more or find the audio podcast on handiham.org.
