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Bartlett, TN is the location for the Memphis Freefest (yes, I know Bartlett and Memphis are two different towns, but take it up with the folks in Tennessee).  This year it was held April 8 at the Bartlett Municipal Center. Tables inside were filed with gear, and tailgating was going on in the parking lot.  The Freefest is called that because everything about this hamfest is free. No fees for the tables, no fees for admission, etc.   Door prize tickets are sold, and any revenues exceeding expenses are donated to LeBonheur Children's Hospital. This is a really nice facility, and...

April 1, 2023 was the date for this year's April Fool Hamfest in Corinth, MS.  This is held at the Crossroads Arena, and the hosts are a truly nice bunch of folks.   We arrived Friday at noon, got everything set up, and returned Saturday morning for the hamfest.  Miss Dianne was there (she's married to McCoy, and I cannot remember his call to save my life) with her exquisite homemade pecan pies, made with pecans grown on their property. AD5HM shows up with some repeater gear, and N5MPC Andy and Miss Nancy showed up for the day. Unfortunately, this hamfest...

It's not often I'm genuinely impressed by an eBay seller, but  I found one this week.  Transplant Supply Surplus in Valrico, FL.  A Drake radio just stopped working the other night, and it turned out the fuse holder in the power supply just gave it up.  It must have had an old crack in the body, and spring pressure finally caused it to go poof.  No fixing it, and in all the bags of fuse holders I have, I didn't have the correct Bussman fuse holder.  Bummer. A quick check on eBay found some Chinese fuse holders that were probably...

A first-time hamfest is always interesting to attend, because you never know what to expect.   This one had a small turnout (not unexpected for the first time), and a really great venue (far better than we expected). The radio club sponsored by American Legion Post 69 in Columbus, MS had this first-ever hamfest at the American Legion building at 308 Chubby Drive in Columbus.   The building was open for setup at 5:30 AM, and the doors opened to the public at 7:00 AM.  Several club members helped us unload and carry our gear in, and the same thing happened when...

We recently picked up a lot of new (to us) radio gear.  If you look closely at the photo, there are almost 200 items in that 26" long truck box, stacked 2'-4' deep.   It will take us many months to sort, identify, and test the load of power supplies, 2M radios, transceivers, and related accessories in that pile.  But, I'm pretty excited to have the task to tackle. This gear will trickle onto this website as we test it, and maybe show up later at some local hamfests.   Stand by to see what's in the mystery pile.