SM037 - Oklahoma Hamfest Ham Holiday July 28/29 This Weekend

This weekend is central Oklahoma's Hamfest, Ham Holiday https://hamholiday.com/. This two-day hamfest is at the Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) campus at 7777 S May, Oklahoma City, OK. This campus is on the southwest corner of Oklahoma City, just east of the Will Rogers airport.

On Friday, vendors and flea market table holders will set up their wares from noon to 3:00 pm. The doors will open to the public from 3:00 pm until the banquet begins at 6:30 pm. On Saturday, the building will open for setup at 7:00 am, and the doors will be open to the public from 8:00 am to the show's end at 3:00 pm. The Hamfest schedule is listed on the Ham Holiday Schedule page https://hamholiday.com/schedule/.

There will be a 6:30 pm Friday banquet to feed and entertain the hams in attendance. They will have a served buffet consisting of Chicken Marsala with mashed potatoes, green beans, a side salad, dinner rolls, cobbler, lemonade, tea, and water. This year the featured speaker will be Joe Eisenberg K0NEB, also known as "The Cat In The Hat" from the Dayton Hamfest and beyond. This banquet is a great place to visit with your fellow hams and the regional, state, and local ARRL leadership present. The banquet information is on the banquet page at https://hamholiday.com/banquet/.

After the Friday banquet at 8:30 pm will be the Wouff Hong ceremony for ARRL members. Register for this short presentation at https://hamholiday.com/wouffhong/ to ensure your certificate will be printed and waiting for you. This free ceremony is for all ARRL members.

There is a raffle for a $3,000 Icom 705 package. This package includes everything you need to operate HF, VHF, and UHF, right out of the box. Antennas, coax, radio, extra carrying handles, antenna analyzer, Begali Morse Code key, and more. Details are available at https://hamholiday.com/raffle/.

The Oklahoma City Hamfest will have another large group of forums to learn about amateur radio, the ARRL, ARES, AUXCOM, TV Weatherman Aaron Brackett, and more. These forums are detailed on the https://hamholiday.com web page.

This year, OCCC will open its cafeteria on Friday until 4:00 pm, and the Cafe & Coffee shop operating hours will be from 7:30 am to 2 pm on Saturday.
The cafe will sell the items below for Breakfast;
• Breakfast burritos
• Breakfast Sandwiches
• Biscuits and Gravy single and double
• Breakfast Combo, scrambled eggs, two bacon or sausage, biscuit, and a fountain drink
• All retail items and beverages will be available.

And for lunch, they will have the following options:

• Cheese Burger, Fries, and Fountain Beverage Combo
• 2 Slices of Pizza and Fountain Beverage Combo
• 1 Chili Cheese Hot Dog, Fries, and Fountain Beverage Combo
• 2 Chili Cheese Hot Dogs, Fries, and Fountain Beverage Combo
• Build Your Own Nachos with Fountain Beverage Combo
• 2 Tacos, Rice, Beans, and a Fountain Beverage Combo

See you there!

SM036 - Oklahoma QSO Party This Weekend

The 2023 Oklahoma QSO Party is this weekend, on March 11th and 12th. This will run from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm on Saturday and from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Sunday, Oklahoma time. Note that Daylight Savings Time starts this weekend. 

If you are an Oklahoma station, please consider going mobile this year to help get all 77 counties on-the-air in a big way!! Connie Marshall K5CM has all the details on his OK QSO party web page. Grab your HF radio and get on-the-air. 

SM035 – Elk City and Green Country Hamfests

Elk City Hamfest

The Oklahoma Hamfest season starts with the Elk City Hamfest. On March 4, 2023, the hamfest will be at 105 Allee Drive, Elk City, OK 73644. More information is available at the club link.

The doors are open Saturday from 8:00 AM until ???

Admission is $5.00, and tables are available for $5.00 each. No pre-registration is required. Pay at the door.

Early setup is available for Friday afternoon (3/3/2023) from 1:30 PM until 8:00 PM.

Amateur Radio License testing is available on Saturday at 1:00 PM. If upgrading, bring photo identification and a copy of your current amateur radio license. License test reregistration is preferred at  http://www.sites.google.com/view/wcoarc/pre-registration but is not required. You must have a Federal Registration Number (FRN) and a valid email address. There is no fee for the exam.

Plenty of parking is available at the hamfest site, but no RV hookups are available there.

For more information, contact: aa5gw.gary@gmail.com or 580-243-9848.

Talk-in on the 146.76 –offset 88.5 tone repeater or DMR on the 147.225 +offset CC1 TG 304098 machine.

See you there!

Green Country Hamfest

The largest hamfest in the state is the Green Country hamfest on Friday, April 7, and Saturday, April 8, 2023. The hamfest will again be at the Expo Center, 400 Veterans Parkway, Claremore, OK 74017. They will be open to the public on Friday from 4 PM to 9 PM. They will be open to the public on Saturday from 8 AM to 3 PM. Setup on Friday begins at noon. Setup on Saturday starts at 7:00 AM.

You can purchase your hamfest admission and tables online and save at  http://www.greencountryhamfest.org/. Online advance admission tickets are $8.00, preregistered flea market tables are $15.00 each, and commercial booths are $50.00 each. Tickets are $10.00 at the door. Tables are $20.00 at the door. Order early and save. Online preregistration closes March 31, 2023

ARRL amateur radio license testing will be available two times during the event. The first session is Friday evening at 1800, and the second is Saturday at 1300. Testing will be in the Will Rogers Room of the Expo Building and will cost $15.

ARRL West Gulf Division Director John Stratton N5AUS and ARRL West Gulf Vice Director Lee Cooper W5LHC will attend.

More information is available at  http://www.greencountryhamfest.org/. 

See you there!