[CQ-Contest] Austin Summerfest DX and Contest Forum

Tue Aug 3 15:24:32 EDT 2004

     To anyone who might plan a last-minute trip to Austin, Texas for 
the Austin Summerfest radio convention (including the DX and Contest 
Forum sponsored by CTDXCC) here are some additional additional incentives
(in addition to the usual tourist offerings) for potential attendees and 
family:

* The weekend of August 6-8 is a Sales Tax Holiday in the state of Texas.  
  Sales tax will not be collected on most clothing and footwear priced 
  under $100 per item: 
  http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxpubs/tx98_490/tx98_490.html

* The Round Rock Express play Texas League baseball Friday and Saturday 
  night against San Antonio at the Dell Diamond in suburban Round Rock.
  The Express regularly sell out their weekend games - and average over 
  10,000 fans per game - more than the Montreal Expos!
  http://www.roundrockexpress.com/

* Austin has a new farmer's market downtown on Saturday mornings:
  http://www.austinfarmersmarket.org/

The CTDXCC looks forward to meeting contesters and DXers from around the 
state and beyond this weekend!

> On Wed, Jun 30, 2004 at 05:15:45PM -0500, Kenneth E. Harker wrote:
> Austin Summerfest DX and Contest Forum Program Announcement
> ===========================================================
> 
>      The Central Texas DX & Contest Club (CTDXCC) is proud to be the 
> continuing sponsor of the DX and Contest Forum at Austin Summerfest. 
> The 2004 Austin Summerfest is August 6th and 7th, at the Red Lion 
> Hotel, 6121 North IH-35 (@ US 290 East), Austin, Texas. The DX and 
> Contest Forum is scheduled from 10 AM to noon on Saturday, with 
> three program topics:
> 
> 
> DXing and Contesting for Dummies
> 
>      You don't have to have an antenna farm and a few kilowatts to 
>      chase DX or enter a weekend radio contest.  Susan K5DU, Gary W5ZL 
>      and Gale WB0YEA will cover the basics, including operating 
>      techniques, propagation tips, station design, antennas, QSL 
>      cards and the Logbook of the World, Internet and packet-based DX 
>      spotting (live demo!), fun contests to get your feet wet, where 
>      to find contest rules and other resources on the Internet, and 
>      more!  This is a great opportunity to supercharge your ham radio 
>      experience! [40 minutes]
> 
> The Texas QSO Party: Our Own Fun Operating Event
> 
>      The Texas QSO Party is a popular radio contest where the focus is 
>      on Texas stations and Texas counties!  John Dvoracek KE5C and others 
>      will review the history of this contest and describe how you can 
>      participate!  The forum will cover basic equipment and options for 
>      logging contacts.  Mobile HF stations, traveling from county to 
>      county, add a lot of fun to this operating event - learn how you can 
>      participate as a mobile station, what kind of planning is involved 
>      in a successful mobile operation, and how recent mobile station 
>      operations have done in the contest.  The forum will also cover 
>      special equipment for multi-operator mobile operation, and will 
>      conclude with questions and answers. [40 minutes]
> 
> The August, 2003 V73T IOTA DXpedition to Taongi Atoll
> 
>      Buzz Jehle N5UR will present his experience in DXpeditioning to one 
>      of the most remote Pacific islands.  Share in the comprehensive and 
>      detailed planning behind the first IOTA activation of this small, 
>      uninhabited atoll.  Experience the challenge of sailing across 450 
>      miles of open water, then negotiating the narrow reef passage in a 
>      17' dinghy to transfer equipment and supplies three miles across 
>      the lagoon to the operating site.  Learn about the operating strategy, 
>      pileups, fickle propagation, high winds and sudden severe electrical 
>      storms during 76 hours' activity.  Find out the requirements to 
>      certify this operation for IOTA credit. [40 minutes]
> 
> 
> Austin Summerfest is supported by the Austin Amateur Radio Club and the 
> Austin Repeater Organization.  This year, Austin Summerfest is also the 
> ARRL Texas State Convention.  Advanced registration for Austin Summerfest 
> is open through July 30.  For more information, see:
> 
>   http://www.austinsummerfest.org/
>   http://www.austinsummerfest.org/Files/04hamcom_a.PDF
> 
> For more information about the Central Texas DX & Contest Club, and 
> the DX and Contest Forum at Summerfest, see:
> 
>   http://www.ctdxcc.org/
>   http://www.ctdxcc.org/summerfest/2004/
>   http://www.ctdxcc.org/summerfest/2004/flyer_2004.pdf
> 
> Austin is great place to visit, with many family-friendly activities 
> including the Texas State History Museum, the Zilker Botanical Gardens, 
> Barton Springs Pool, and the nightly emergence of as many as a million 
> Mexican free-tail bats from underneath the Congress Avenue bridge 
> downtown.  Austin is also the Live Music Capital of the World.  For 
> more information on Austin as a tourist destination, see: 
> http://www.austintexas.org/visitaustin.html

-- 
Kenneth E. Harker WM5R
kenharker at kenharker.com
http://www.kenharker.com/