Alex Discovers Amateur Radio

24 Alex and his dad didn’t find the base station they wanted but they did pick up lots of useful bits and pieces, including one of the latest dual band handhelds for Alex at under £40, and an SWR meter for checking and tuning antennas. They also met several people that they had talked to on the radio but never met in person before. Alex’s dad visited the RAYNET stand to find out more about it, and he joined RAOTA. THE END of the story so far. Look there’s Kath and Dave. Although they didn’t find the base station they wanted at the National Hamfest there are plenty of other local Rallies held in different parts of the UK throughout the year. Bargains can also often be found on the Internet on sites such as ebay, JUNKSALE, Radioworld, Radioclassifieds, JBT, and many others. Alex is still a student so he was able to get free membership of the RSGB once he had got his Licence. He found the society’s monthly magazine very useful for finding out more about the hobby, what was on where and when, and reading reviews of equipment. Impartial reviews of Amateur Radio equipment can also be found at http://www.eham.net INSIDE THE EXIBITION HALL How do you rate National Hamfest then? A Great Day . Yes they help run our local Repeater Group. Dave was the President of the RSGB recently. Perhaps next time it will be Kath. Let’s see if there are any books on the RSGB stand that we want. There are sometimes special offers and you save on the postage costs anyway. QUIZ 4 ANSWERS: When you’ve looked round the car boot sellers and the outside traders don’t forget to enter the prize draw before going round the rest of the Hall. All meet up again at the RSGB stand at 14 hundred hours. Don’t get carried away and spend more than you can afford!! For those who haven’t brought sandwiches there’s a cafe. (The Radio Amateurs Old Timers Association) - you don’t have to be old to join - just to have been involved in Amateur Radio in one form or another for at least 20 years!