jhs@Mitre-Bedford (07/15/85)
Don't miss the BIG EVENT of the summer for Ham Radio in New England!!! The H E A V Y H I T T E R S H A M F E S T and F L E A M A R K E T will H A P P E N (as in a Happening!) on Saturday, 20 July and Sunday, 21 July, 1985, at the famed TOPSFIELD FAIR GROUNDS, near the U.S. Route 1 exit from Route 95 in Topsfield, MA. That is THIS COMING WEEKEND !!!! Pack your bags, fill your wallet with nice crisp green money, and rent yourself a BIG TRUCK to haul all the good stuff you are gonna be able to buy at TOPSFIELD! In addition to a massive FLEA MARKET, there will be COMMERCIAL EXHIBITORS who will be showing the latest and greatest in the big name lines of Ham equipment. Exhibits will be open from 9 to 4 both days. The Flea Market will be outdoors and will doubtless be open much earlier than 9:00, so get there early! (NOTE: Flea Market sellers will be admitted at 6 AM Saturday. ALL VENDORS, both commercial and Flea Market, will be assessed a $5 fee be the town of Topsfield.) There will be a real, live FCC LICENSE EXAMINATION, conducted by those cute Volunteer Examiners you've been hearing about. (Well, maybe you haven't heard...) NOTE: Walk-ins will be accomodated insofar as possible, but to be safe you should TRY to bring your own FCC Form 610. If you can't get one, we understand that one of Boston's most successful FORGERS will be there to make up custom copies at special Flea Market rates. Inquire about rates on other useful documents and certificates as well, available by special appointment only. NOTE: The FCC Exams will be held not at the Fairgrounds, but nearby at the MASCONOMET REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL near the Endicott Road exit off Route 95. As if that weren't enough, the masterminds of the HEAVY HITTERS HAMFEST are planning also a series of AMATEUR RADIO FORUMS on Saturday afternoon, with sessions on Packet Radio, Amateur TV, AMSAT, the Amateur Satellite Corporation, and on ARRL Activities. Representatives of the League will be present to talk with you personally. There will also be several exciting CONTESTS including a QSL contest, hidden transmitter and HIDDEN RECEIVER (!No Kidding!) hunts, a CW copying contest that will include real live QRM, and much more. A Saturday night musical Coffee House is planned, as are a number of other events of interest to non-hams. There are probably even a few crazies out there who will arrive Friday night and avail themselves of the excellent CAMPING FACILITIES at Topsfield. The flea market opens early, I mean EARLY!!!, so camping on the doorstep is not an extreme measure if you want a chance at the BARGAINS before they are all gone! Admission is $4.00 at the door, and spouses (spice?) and kids are free; in fact I think the rules read that any non-ham guests are admitted free. Proceeds from the Hamfest will support the Waltham (open) Repeater and several very worthwhile charities, details available at the Hamfest. Talk-in will be provided on the Waltham repeater, 146.04/64 MHz, and on the Topsfield machine on 147.885/285. So you don't even need a road map, if you can find your way to Boston! Come one, come all! This is THE BIG ONE, the one you DON'T WANT TO MISS !!! See you THIS SATURDAY at TOPSFIELD FAIR GROUNDS. Shucks, I might even be operating the Talk-in Station myself on Saturday! I would be pleased to meet all my ARPANET/USENET friends out there in Baud Land (like Radio Land only different) ! I hope to see you there! 73, John Sangster, W3IKG