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ATLANTICON 2006: March 24-25
The
Atlanticon QRP Forum
A
weekend of QRP fun, presentations and
social gathering hosted by the NJQRP Club and sponsored by the AmQRP
Club each year in the spring. QRPers from all over the US (and
internationally) show up for this annual event held in Baltimore,
Maryland. The annual event is held in
Baltimore, Maryland at the end of March
during the weekend of the
ever-popular Greater Baltimore Computerfest and Hamboree. The hotel
is very close to the state fairgrounds in Timonium, Maryland and
special rates are established for QRPers planning to attend.
All who register in advance for Atlanticon receive our famous
"Atlanticon Kit" prior the weekend.
QRP
presentations all day Saturday
About 170
QRPers usually show up for Atlanticon and on Saturday get treated to
QRP seminar topics presented by acknowledged leaders and
experts in our hobby. These are hour-long audio/visual
presentations made by knowledgeable hams in fields of transmitter
design, antenna analysis, homebrew construction, electronic
simulation, operating from the field, microcontroller hardware &
software design, and more. We normally run straight through from 9am
to 5:30pm, with only shorts breaks for lunch and stretching of legs.
These Saturday QRP seminars are one of the great highlights of the
weekend. We have a great lineup of speakers for the event. Some are
familiar to the NJQRP meeting faithfuls and several to the general
ham and qrp communities. In alphabetical order they are:
James
Bennett KA5DVS
Dave
Benson K1SWL
Joe
Everhart N2CX
Marc
Franco N2UO
Bob
McGwier N4HY
Ron
Politka WB3AAL
Click each name to see short bios and a synopsis of each speaker's presentation topics . We guarantee that this group of presenters will cover a wide variety of topics of interest to all in the group. Furthermore we are pleased that Rich Arland K7SZ has confirmed that he will be the emcee once again. Rich is an ever-popular figure in the QRP community and you never quite know what will come out of his mouth at any moment.
One final item. During the lunch break on Saturday the hotel will once again offer box lunches for sale. You will have the opportunity to purchase them for $10 each (their prices went up this year) or you can find a variety of eating options in the other hotel facilities.
The
Atlanticon Kit
As has become a custom for
Atlanticon, we send a special "Atlanticon Kit" to all those
who pre-register for Atlanticon. This is a small-but-useful project
that you'll be able to use in the shack for years to come. But
even more important, it serves as the basis for the Saturday evening
fun & games we have planned.
This project is a step
up in sophistication from the Atlanticon kits in past years. The
gadget is called the SQM or Signal Quality monitor. It takes an RF
signal in the range of about 100 mV or so and tells you how far
harmonics and other unwanted off frequency signals are attenuated. It
tunes from 80 through 10 meters and will sense harmonics up through
VHF. Operation is simple. You apply the signal to be monitored and
set a control for a full scale reading. Then you null the reading
with an on-board notch filter and observe how the reading drops. It
has a 10 section bar-graph display with about 5 dB per section for a
total ideal range of about 50 dB. Taking the place of a spectrum
analyzer it lets you do a simple signal purity measurement.
We
have prototypes of the SQM under construction and evaluation.
Ordering of material starts early next week. A PC board and LEDs for
the readout will be provided for each registrant for Atlanticon. For
those not attending we will be selling the boards and a set of LEDs
for $10 after the event. We will also be offering parts kits
separately. The cost has yet been firmed up but the target is $10 to
$15 depending on price breaks we receive. Registrants can use their
own parts (a parts list will be supplied) or they can order parts
kits when we announce them in the next week or so. To reiterate each
registrant will receive the board and LEDs. For those not attending
please do not sign up just to get the board. We need to conserve
boards for those attending the event. Immediately after Atlanticon we
will be offering the boards and parts kits for general sale. The only
other thing you will need is one "special" IC, the AD8310
manufactured by Analog Devices. As a ham you can register with Analog
Devices and obtain free samples. Check out their web site at
http://www.analog.com/ and
select the "Order Samples" link. You will have to register
with them but it's not a big deal.
Atlanticon
2006 is March 24-25
This
is the same weekend as the Greater
Baltimore Hamboree and Computerfest, which is the most popular
hamfest in the mid-Atlantic region. Many QRPers in attendance at
Atlanticon find it very enjoyable to catch an early Saturday at the
Fairgrounds' hamfest, and then do it again even longer on Sunday
morning.
Hotel
The
"Atlanticon hotel" is our usual one the Holiday Inn Select
Baltimore North in Timonium, MD. Located just off exit 16 of
Interstate 83 North, this quality hotel is just minutes away from the
hamfest fairgrounds, and only about 45 minutes from
Baltimore-Washington International airport (BWI). A reduced room rate
of is arranged with the Holiday Inn Select to help QRPers with
weekend expenses. Be sure to ask for the "Atlanticon
rates". We've had plenty of advance registrations and the block
of rooms we had them set aside is disappearing. To get a room call
them at (410) 252-7373 and tell them that you want the Atlanticon
rate. You'll get a discount of $30 off their usual rate. See the
hotel's information-packed website at
http://www.bal-north.hiselect.com/
for more information.
Friday
night
Atlanticon
starts at 7:30 on Friday night with a social evening where we
meet up with old friends and make new ones. Vendors and QRPers
alike often show their projects at tables around the large banquet
room in which we meet, right up until 11pm.
Saturday
all day
Saturday is
the main event, wherein the illustrious QRP speaking staff
delivers the presentations from 8:30 until 5pm. A box lunch is
available for purchase for a nominal price, making it convenient to
stay with your friends and continue discussions through lunchtime. We
break for individual dinnertime cuisine at local restaurants and
reconvene at 7:30 for an evening of wild QRP fun - a homebrew
building contest and a special Atlanticon Event are the usual
activities for Saturday evening. We normally go until 11pm and then
many of us then carry on in the hotel bar, quenching the insatiable
QRP thirsts - with both knowledge and liquid! There will be a
construction competition on Saturday evening in the hospitality room
for both open homebrew entrants and competitions based on
construction creativity (packaging, etc) and performance of the SQM.
Sunday morning
Sunday
finds most QRPers hustling over to
the hamfest for a morning of looking for that gem of a deal during
the last hours of the 'fest. The Timonium Fairgrounds is only a short
ride away and is well worth the trip.
The
Greater Baltimore HAMBOREE & Computerfest
The
Atlanticon hotel is only a short distance from the very popular
Greater Baltimore Computerfest and Hamvention, being held the very
same weekend! See their website for complete details:
http://www.gbhc.org. Many
Atlanticon attendees plan their weekend to make it over to the
hamfest very early on Saturday morning or on Sunday morning, thus
making the over weekend a true ham adventure.
Register
for Atlanticon
With your $10 registration,
either in advance or at the door, you will be entitled to sit in on
the full day of presentations on Saturday, you get a box lunch on
Saturday during the keynote presentation, and you'll get the
"Atlanticon Kit" mailed in advance of the weekend.
Over 170 QRPers
normally attend these Atlanticon weekends ... sure hope you too can
join us for our very special QRP extravaganza on March 24-25.
Mark your calendars and make your travel reservations early to get
the good rates and we'll see you there!
