BHRG at NEAR-Fest Spring 2013
Set up at our favorite space
A successful trip to NEAR Fest in Deerfield resulted in about $200 for the BHRG treasury. Bill, W1KX, and I left Wells around 4:30 on Thursday afternoon with the camper in tow. We got to the fairgrounds around 5:45 ±. We bought tickets to camp ($30 per night; $60), to park inside ($10) and entry ($15 each; $30) for a total of $100. We set up the camper, unhooked and went to get some dinner at the Yainnis in Deerfield. We came back, chatted a bit and hit the hay…
We got up bright and early Friday morning only to sit around and wait! We really couldn’t move until 9:00 a.m. which meant a 3 hour wait! Having a way to cook breakfast would have been a good thing!! Even cereal and OJ… Coffee would be great! (Keurig?)
When the line started moving, we were able to get on to the grounds and get our first choice of spots though it might have been better if we had found a sunnier spot… it really got cold as the day wore on and the sun went behind the trees. We were a little discouraged with the end of the first day… we still had the oscilloscope, all the old commercial radios, and the duplexer. Bill had sold most of his stuff though… I thought he would press really hard to go home, but he didn’t. We ate our meals on the grounds (lunch, dinner, and Saturday breakfast) and by dark we had covered the table for the night.
The next morning, I woke to a crowd gathering at the food booth across the way… Bill was already up and out for a walk… I started to get the table set up for the day. I had a great breakfast (eggs, bacon, English muffin, coffee) from the food booth; Bill had pancakes from the Church booth. We planned to leave between 10:30 and 11:00. We sold the oscilloscope and one box of old radios and a couple other things by 10:30 but the duplexer was still with us… There were just a ton of old commercial band radios on the grounds, our old junk just wasn’t selling, so about 11:30 I put “free for the taking” on the other two boxes of old radios… One box went quickly… we decided around noon to pack up and, while packing up, a guy took the last box of radios. We left around 12:45... with the duplexer!
It was a great weekend… we’d do it again as long as the weather was good…
Paul, KY1C
We got up bright and early Friday morning only to sit around and wait! We really couldn’t move until 9:00 a.m. which meant a 3 hour wait! Having a way to cook breakfast would have been a good thing!! Even cereal and OJ… Coffee would be great! (Keurig?)
When the line started moving, we were able to get on to the grounds and get our first choice of spots though it might have been better if we had found a sunnier spot… it really got cold as the day wore on and the sun went behind the trees. We were a little discouraged with the end of the first day… we still had the oscilloscope, all the old commercial radios, and the duplexer. Bill had sold most of his stuff though… I thought he would press really hard to go home, but he didn’t. We ate our meals on the grounds (lunch, dinner, and Saturday breakfast) and by dark we had covered the table for the night.
The next morning, I woke to a crowd gathering at the food booth across the way… Bill was already up and out for a walk… I started to get the table set up for the day. I had a great breakfast (eggs, bacon, English muffin, coffee) from the food booth; Bill had pancakes from the Church booth. We planned to leave between 10:30 and 11:00. We sold the oscilloscope and one box of old radios and a couple other things by 10:30 but the duplexer was still with us… There were just a ton of old commercial band radios on the grounds, our old junk just wasn’t selling, so about 11:30 I put “free for the taking” on the other two boxes of old radios… One box went quickly… we decided around noon to pack up and, while packing up, a guy took the last box of radios. We left around 12:45... with the duplexer!
It was a great weekend… we’d do it again as long as the weather was good…
Paul, KY1C
...and again in May 2014
Learning a lot from last year, we had another good weekend at Deerfield! We didn't make much on the stuff we brought - in fact we didn't even break even (tho I think Bill did!) - but we did have fun! We took some ribbing for the tarp on the roof and Bill made me promise NOT to bring the duplexer back next year - Oh Well!
Learning a lot from last year, we had another good weekend at Deerfield! We didn't make much on the stuff we brought - in fact we didn't even break even (tho I think Bill did!) - but we did have fun! We took some ribbing for the tarp on the roof and Bill made me promise NOT to bring the duplexer back next year - Oh Well!
Yet again in 2015!
Bill, W1KX, and I (Paul, KY1C) again made the trip to the Spring version of NEARfest in Deerfield, NH. This year we went down on Friday morning leaving Wells around 6:30 a.m. We were all set up and ready to go by 9:30 or so. Almost the same spot as last year. The new awning on the old camper made it so we didn't have to mess with the pop-up canopy. We sold some stuff and bought some stuff (at least I bought some stuff!) and had a great time. Already thinking about next time! Maybe in the Fall?
Bill, W1KX, and I (Paul, KY1C) again made the trip to the Spring version of NEARfest in Deerfield, NH. This year we went down on Friday morning leaving Wells around 6:30 a.m. We were all set up and ready to go by 9:30 or so. Almost the same spot as last year. The new awning on the old camper made it so we didn't have to mess with the pop-up canopy. We sold some stuff and bought some stuff (at least I bought some stuff!) and had a great time. Already thinking about next time! Maybe in the Fall?
Licensing Test Sessions
Tom, AA1SM, giving instructions...
Bass Hill Repeater Group co-sponsors licensing test sessions with the Franklin County ARES Team. Tom, AA1SM, serves as the test coordinator. BHRG members Rusty, KY1E; Bill, W1KX; Michelle, WM1C; Paul, KY1C; and Tom, serve as volunteer Examiners. Tests are usually held locally at Franklin Memorial Hospital or the Farmington Public Library. Contact Tom for more information.
Merit Badge Counseling
The Antenna Farm: G5RV on HF and a homebrew 2M vertical.
Rusty, KY1E, and Paul, KY1C, Volunteered at the Pine Tree Council Winter Camp to teach Electronics and Radio Merit Badges. Thanks to the guys on the Bull Net for their support!
Amateur Radio Emergency Services
Franklin County York County
BHRG members Randy, KB1RDG; Ruth, KB1SBZ; Tom, AA1SM; Russ, KA1FKC; and Paul, KY1C, are also members of the Franklin County ARES. Our Mosher Hill .18 repeater is the primary repeater for Franklin County ARES. Russ serves as ARRL EC for Franklin County.
BHRG also supports the York County ARES with the 147.345 Alfred Repeater.