TARCFest XIX

Today I went to TARCFest XIX, the 19th bi-annual tailgate that the Tampa Amateur Radio Club has had in their now 10-year-old "new" facility. It's so cool to see them still motoring along. I can remember standing in the gutted shell of the building and talking with guys about about the potential to have a tailgate there to raise money for the club.

I had fun. Took the boy, who most of the hams haven't seen for a year or two. Traded some of my junk for cash. Gave away even more junk. Saw some guys I haven't seen in a year or two. It was good.

A new (to TARC) vendor showed up, Blue Star Antennas. They're a small antenna shop, run by hams, that builds a couple designs. They have super-sturdy aluminum VHF/UHF beams and J poles that remind me a bit of Arrow Antennas. They also make a portable HF vertical (above) that looks a lot like the PAC-12 design, but it has an sliding coil tap instead of a clip.