Maker Faire booth ramped up

I started trying to get things going for the Maker Faire booth in July. As opposed to previous years I did not wait until a call goes out 2 weeks before again.

The work has paid off. We will have an amazing array of Ham Radio demonstrations. We need to show the technology side of things. We need to encourage people in their 20's, 30's and earlier to take up the hobby. I'm 47 and feel like I'm on the younger side of the population. That needs to be fixed.

Foot Hills Amateur Radio Society is the primary sponsor. They have pledged equipment, the Society's station, money and support. The ARRL has stepped up to the plate and will be paying many of the expenses of the faire. Palo Alto Amateur Radio Association is loaning us equipment.

A number of clubs are participating.

• FARS will be operating their club station as a special events station.
• The Kings Mountain Amateur Radio Club is bringing their emergency communication van on Saturday.
• The Burlingame Red Cross is bringing theirs on Sunday.
• K6BEN Silicon Valley Amateur Television Group will be at the faire both days.
• Mad Scientist Amateur Radio Club will be demonstrating Slow Scan TV(SSTV).
• Lunar will talk about the use of Ham Radio in Model rocketry.
• A member will talk about how Ham Radio is used for RC planes.
• A group will be talking about Automatic Packet Reporting System using the Marauder map concept from Harry Potter.
• I hope to have Scott Miller from Argent Data showing a new SSTV camera/tnc and a Arduino TNC shield. No promise from him yet.
• After the show, BAERS wil offer a ham cram 2 weeks after the faire so those who became insterested in ham radio can get their license with one day of study.

We have quite a booth planned. The first draft of the proposal is being reviewed so we can turn it into the maker Faire folks in a week or two. We will need quite and area. Hopefully all goes well. I will try to keep everyone posted.

There is also a yahoo group for this event, Maker Faire Hams.
If you are a HAM and want to participate, just click on the link and jump in. the water is fine.