QRP + Camping + Lobstahs = Lobstercon 2010

Lobstercon 2010 — a weekend of camping, QRP operating, ham flea marketing, contra dancing, “fox hunting,” with a pilgrimage to L.L. Bean thrown in for good measure — is now history.

The dates: July 9-11. The venue: The Thomas Point Beach and Campground outside Brunswick, Maine. (Note to self: That’s a great place to visit again with my wife for some quality camping time.)

A note of deep thanks to Rex Harper, W1REX, who has organized this summer gathering of the regional QRP clan for the past 10 years. Many QRP buffs know Rex for his radio kits packed in tuna tins. But his organizational skills also are pretty impressive.

One of the challenges of attending a gathering like this — in my case for the first time — is retaining the names and calls of the people you meet. Roughly 90 people had gathered at the campground by dinnertime Saturday night from as far away as Nebraska and Maryland.

Some faces were familiar among the New England QRP Club contingent. Carl Achin, WA1ZCQ, introduced folks to the ins and outs of fox-hunting, HF style.

One can only imagine what non-ham campers may have been thinking: A bunch of adults walking around with headphones connected to a hand-held receiver sporting a loop antenna, wandering around the campground, pausing for several minutes as they await the signal from one of the four hidden transmitters Carl had salted around, then picking up the pace as they try to locate the transmitter before its 30-second transmission ends.

Come to think of it, things must have looked strange indeed with one attendee aiming a 2-meter/440 beam antenna at the sky working hams on the other side of the world via amateur satellites.

(That’s my little tent and little car in the background — I like to think of them as QRP tent and QRP car!)

Meanwhile, the chef de le barbecue in the run-up to lunch on Saturday was wearing — no kidding — a tin-foil cap and what looked to be tin-foil gauntlets on his arms.

And with thunderstorms forecast, tsk, tsk. Heat protection or an odd, wearable antenna? You be the judge!

As the lobsters were involuntarily turning red-orange in a pair of oversized steamer pots…

…a few of the more musically gifted among us provided some entertainment, while the less gifted sang with gusto, of not the best sense of timing.

Finally, dinner is served: the two food groups — lobster and melted butter (just add Tabasco Chipotle Sauce courtesy of  Steve Stutman, KL7JT/1), and homemade brownies, dozens of ‘em.

With all that, was there time for putting QRP (low-power) radios on the air? You bet! Steve,  whose son was pulling together a small survival kit on a key chain for Boy Scouts, keeps me honest as I tune around 20 meters (with a KX-1, ZM-2 tuner, and in the background, a Pac-12 vertical). Thanks to Bob Schmeichel Jr., who took the shot.

But for all the fun we hams and spouses had, for locals, it’s just another bunch of tourists passing through. Ho hum.

Thanks again, Rex, for a great weekend!

P.S. You can find some additional photos here.