The AM Forum

Next week will be the Aberdeen Maryland Military Vehicle Show and sale at Ripkin Stadium just outside Aberdeen. It’s an annual show that’s been around forever although the last couple year’s attendance has dropped a little from the shows in the past.
The show will start Thursday the 9th and run thru Saturday the 11th with Friday being the best day to attend.
Being that its mostly a vehicle and military equipment event its not the same as a Ham fest but there will be a hand full of military surplus electronic sellers there, and if your into the military radio thing its worth attending for that reason.
I will be there representing the MRCA with my M151A1 and its GRC-106 installation and will be operating a couple of our regular nets on Thursday and Saturday along with monitoring 51.0 FM If we can generate some interest we maybe able to put together a low power man pack 3885 AM net at the event like we currently do at the Gilbert MRCA and Dayton.
If anyone wants additional information check out there web page at:

https://www.mvpa.org/events

Aberdeen MVPA AAR

The Aberdeen MVPA Military Vehicle Show is an annual event held at the Ripkin Stadium in Aberdeen Maryland.
It’s a three day event running the 9th, 10th and the 11th with Thursday and Friday being the two most well attended days. Attendance has been down from what this event once was several years ago but the event committee is always looking at bringing in new participants. Whit this in mind they provide the MRCA space to set up and operate at no cost.

My goals for this year’s event were to set up on Thursday including promoting the MRCA and operate the Moose & Squirrel Net on 60 meters at noon along with attending the show all day Friday and promoting the MRCA and concluding with operating the MMRCG 40 meter net at 10:00 and the M & S 60 meter Net at noon.

All net operations were successful despite having to use the vertical antenna only on the M151A1 for Thursdays net, did not have time to assemble the big antenna. Saturday’s nets used two different inverted V antenna’s supported by 24 feet of fiberglass tubes supported by the mutt using the AN/GRC-106 powered by a combination of vehicle batteries and an MEP-035 DC generator. Also monitored 51.0 on the RT-246

Had a AN/URC-110 on site but never turned it on. Also had my Russian R-107 on the table set up for MRCA displays but that failed to modulate. Did not have any other MRCA members bring out any equipment or set up at that location.
At least two other MRCA members were in attendance but they had their own spaces located away from my location.
We did have some informal 51.0 FM talk but there was no organized operations or net.
There was a fair amount of radio accessories for vehicle mounted radios at the show, not as many radios thought but did see a couple BC-348 receivers, one complete with dynamotor that sold for $100 and another along with a BC-375 transmitter , mounting plates for both and antenna tuner for $600 that was very clean with original tubes.
And by now everyone knows about the clean VRC-86 HF transceiver that KG2BZ picked up. Not directly radio but saw two small generators sell one MEP-025 sell for $75.00 and a MEP-035 for $50.00

Going to assume if invited back next year will not drag along the VHF-FM radios like the URC-110 or 200 being have never done any high VHF at the site. May also attempt to try some form of a 51.0 FM Net on Saturday, we have people there from our group along with others who are Hams and have radios like PRC-25/7 or PRC-68 along with a lot of the vehicle people who have equipment on board there vehicles. The problem is just getting everyone established with the idea.
Would be open to any other ideas or suggestions.

Ray F/KA3EKH