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KA9LCF > NEWS 17.06.12 06:03l 64 Lines 2467 Bytes #999 (0) @ ALLIN
BID : 36880-KA9LCF
Read: GUEST
Subj: ARN: Ham Happenings
Path: IZ3LSV<IK6IHL<IK6ZDE<VE2PKT<XE1FH<J39BS<9Y4PJ<N9LYA<KA9LCF
Sent: 120616/0438Z 36880@KA9LCF.#NEIN.IN.USA.NOAM [167962]FBB7.01.35 alpha $:36
From: KA9LCF@KA9LCF.#NEIN.IN.USA.NOAM
To : NEWS@ALLIN
HAM HAPPENINGS: POWER OUTAGE AFFECTS HAM-COM PLANO TEXAS
If you are old enough, you may remember 1970's Bobby Russel
southern the folk song titled The Night the Lights Went Out
in Georgia. Well this time it wasn't a song and it took
place in Texas when the lights and the air conditioning went
out at the Plano Center on Saturday, June 9th. This during
the annual Ham Com gathering. Chip Margelli, K7JA, of CQ
Magazine was there and gave a brief synopsis of what
occurred:
--
K7JA: "Well, early in the afternoon the lights in the Plano
center went out. They had gone out the previous day and
stayed off for about 30 seconds so it was no big deal. But
on Saturday they stayed off for quite a while and folks that
got onto the Internet to the Plano power company were told
it would be 4 hours that the power would be out. S a lot of
exhibitors along about 2 o'clock and 2:30 began packing up
because it appears as if power was not going to come back
on. It came back at about 3:30 or 4 - somewhere in there -
but by then some of the crowd had gone. So it really was
quite an impact. The lights were bad enough but the lack of
air conditioning really impacted on everyones willingness to
stay inside."
--
Unlike most ham radio shows that are full weekend events,
Ham-Com is held Friday and Saturday that closes both days at
6 p.m. local time. Even so, K7JA says that it was
"interesting" to have the lights come back on and discover
that many of the other exhibitors had already packed up and
left. Not to mention the attendees:
--
K7JA: "At the CQ booth we were quite fortunate because we
were by an exit, so there was a little bit of light there.
We were doing `candle light specials' to entice people to
stop by our booth.
"But if was definitely a downer for everybody in the exhibit
area. The dealers and especially the manufacturers who'se
radios are so dependant on their displays. A lot of the
transceiver manufacturers were just stopped dead in the
water because they couldn't get their displays to show off
all of the neat things that the radios could do."
--
At airtime the reason for the power failure has not been
announced. According to Chris Boone, WB5ITT, the outage
appeared to affect only the convention facility. In a e-
mail to Newsline Boone said that all the stores around the
convention center were ok and the street lights still worked
as well. (ARNewslineT)
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