If you're not busy Friday afternoon or early Saturday, you might consider a short trip down the road to Concord to attend the Charlotte Hamfest.  As in previous years, the event will be held at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, not far from I-85, the Charlotte Motor Speedway or the Concord Mills Mall.  This is one of the area's larger hamfests with 80 commercial booths, 312 flea market tables, VE testing, forums, antenna building classes and more.  You can find more information at http://charlottehamfest.org/. Once you've returned from your time finding deals and upgrading your ticket at the Charlotte Hamfest, head on over to the Guilford ...

2014 marked the 100th anniversary of the ARRL. To help celebrate this milestone, the ARRL announced two activities to be carried out throughout the year – W1AW operating portable in every state and several territories; and the Centennial Challenge, where points were accumulated for making on-air contacts with ARRL members, volunteers, staff, and officers. The part that first caught my attention was the W1AW portable operations. As the ARRL was offering a special certificate (and optional plaque) for working all states during their portable operations, I almost immediately set my sights on obtaining that. Having recently completed 5 Band WAS, I ...