Happy Father's Day to all

of you Hams out there who are lucky enough to be Dads. Personally, I don't know what I would do without my Joseph and Cara - they are the best! I am very lucky to be their Dad.

The Raritan Valley Radio Club Hamfest seemed to be very well attended this morning. The parking lot was almost full; noticeably fuller than last year. It was obvious as soon as you drove up. The fact that today is a very sunny day without a cloud in the sky has a lot to do with that, I am sure.

I didn't get to stay as long as I would have liked as Joey and Cara had to tag along. My wife is working today; so my two offspring had to indulge Dad and walk around with me looking at the goodies. I am sure to them, that the piles of electronics were just so much junk! They got bored pretty quickly; so I only got to stay for about a half hour to 45 minutes.

I did pick up the new ARRL storm spotter book as well as a new repeater directory. The one I had was from 2002/2003; and as we all know, things change. I wanted a new antenna for my Alinco dual band HT. There's nothing wrong with the one I have; but I feel it's rather flimsy. I was hoping to find one with a little more "bulk" to it. However, the Comet brand ones that everyone had there were identical to what I have now. No sense in making a lateral move. There was one I would have purchased in a heart beat; but it was a BNC mount and the Alinco is SMA. I wonder why they switched over to SMA? I always thought the BNC was sturdier; but I guess practical usage and market surveys probably indicate otherwise.

I was also hoping beyond hope that someone would have a 6 Meter transverter. No dice, of course. Seems I never get lucky enough to find things at Hamfests that I genuinely need or want. I've had a couple of offers for a swap for the PFR3A through private e-mails; and so far, one looks promising. I am waiting on a Ham to get back to me to make sure that he has everything that makes a semi finished Ten Tec 1208 kit. I have no problem completing the job; and I'm sure we'll come to an acceptable agreement.

I had one other offer that I thought would be good, too. When I asked this gentleman what model transverter it was, he said he hadn't a clue. Then when I asked for a picture, he told me he had no time to waste to take a picture - why don't I Google Ten Tec 1208 to see what it looks like? Hmmmm ..... I thought he had no clue as to what model it was? That gave me a bad vibe; so I decided to trust my gut and sent back a "Thanks, but no thanks" e-mail. And I instantly got a, "No problem, it's back on my shelf" reply. So all is well that ends well.

In the event that nothing works out, I guess I will just start saving the dimes and nickels and maybe I can purchase an Elecraft XV50 for next Summer.

Joey and Cara are at a friend's pool party. Even though it's pretty hot, I am headed out to mow the lawn and whack the weeds. I don't want to do THAT tomorrow!

72 de Larry W2LJ