In the 60s and 70s, when I got into ham radio, clubs thrived. The Hazel Park Amateur Radio Club, for example, used to hold its general membership meetings in an elementary school gymnasium and 100 or more people would show up for the meetings.

Lately, however, many clubs have fallen on hard times. Membership is down, and consequently, so is attendance at meetings. This phenomenon, brought to light in the book Bowling Alone, is not limited to ham radio, but it’s especially disappointing to those of us who remember how much fun attending ham radio club meetings used to be.

If you’ve read some of the previous items in this blog, you know I’m not a big QSLer. (See the entry below “Tips for the Casual DXer.”) If someone sends me a card, though, I’m not going to refuse it.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, I received and e-mail from Alan K6IPM, the new manager for the N segment of the 6 District QSL bureau informing me that seven QSLs were waiting for me.

One of the perks of attending the ARRL Great Lakes Division Convention on Saturday was a free ticket to the Findlay Hamfest on Sunday. Many of the convention attendees were up bright and early to eat breakfast and get over to the Hancock County Fairgrounds when it opened.

As hamfests go, I didn’t think this one was all that great, to be honest. Most of the rigs for sale were well past their prime, and none were really bargains.

What did catch my eye was the number of antique radios there. There were quite a few wood console radios from the 40s and 50s, and one guy even had a couple of Crosleys that were older than that. I also saw a couple of Zenith TransOceanics for sale as well.

I just returned from the 2003 Great Lakes Division Convention in Findlay, OH. This one-day event featured speakers on a variety of topics.