[4DIJ-L] Lobstercon2009! & 4 days in July

[Rex Harper]

QRP & Camping Gangue,

Lobstercon2009! is getting close and I'm now getting into the zone as 
registrations are coming in and arrangements need to be arranged...

I know this little list has been pretty quiet, but there really hasn't 
been any activity of note. One of the reasons for the list was to try to 
get other QRP groups interested in having a similar activity on the same 
weekend. While it takes some experience to hold an Event like 
Lobstercon, starting a new event is not all that difficult and I would 
like to impart some of my experience to anyone who would like to do 
something similar.

My main motivation for Lobstercon is to meet and socialize with my 
fellow QRPers from my area which is New England. I initially thought 
that I would love to meet fellow QRP-L list members who lived in Maine. 
I had attended my 2nd Dayton Hamvention AND my 1st FDIM (12 years ago) 
so I was psyched up about QRP and wanted to bond with my fellow QRPers. 
My thoughts gelled through the summer and I simply couldn't wait for the 
following summer to meet everybody. I had done a favor for a local 
attraction: The Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Portland Maine, knew 
that they had a big parking lot and a small museum building that we 
could use. I figured that if QRPers had more than 1 reason to come, that 
it might help. So I asked the founder about using the museum building 
and parking lot with the promise that we would be good and that I would 
encourage everybody to make a contribution to the museum. He said fine, 
and I picked a day: the 1st Saturday in November for the event. I put it 
out over the QRP-L list and searched the list database for QRPers in 
Maine. I sent out E-mails to everyone I could identify by call as 
residing in Maine. It was a simple format: show up, bring a bag lunch, 
show & tell, operate and simply chat. More of a social event than an 
operating or seminar type event. November was an iffy time to schedule 
an outside event in Maine but we also had the museum building so I 
figured that we were 'covered'. I billed it as O(hf)DIN : One (hopefully 
fine) Day in November in homage of FDIM. Saturday showed up along with 
the SUN and 35 QRPers! We had a beautiful 75 degree sunny day where 
everybody had a SUPER time showing off their rigs, chatting and some 
even operated. I was elated and couldn't wait to do it again...only I 
wasn't going to wait until November, so I immediately started thinking 
of a picnic event in the Summer at a local park.

The following summer, I held another 'event' that I called Ft. Williams 
in homage to Ft. Tuthill. I reasoned that these local events might be 
even MORE important than the biggies as most QRPers can't afford to fly 
half way across the country to attend a QRP event. I was lucky that I 
was working for a company and could tailor my business travel to get me 
really close to these events. My first Dayton Hamvention was paid for by 
the company I worked for as I was working on an ink project and Dayton 
just happens to be the 'ink capital' of the US.  So I ended up 'having' 
to meet up with a PhD ink chemist consultant at the hamvention as he 
also happened to be a ham. Our 1st meeting was at the Dayton Hamvention 
flea market gate on Friday at 9am. Man was I good! Anyway, back to the 
story... Ft. Williams took place at Ft. Williams Park in my hometown of 
Cape Elizabeth, Maine and 18 QRPers showed up. I brought my gas grill 
from home, some lobsters and we had another great day. Camping entered 
the picture on the third event as I figured out that most of the 
attendance was coming from afar and camping would boost the attendance  
as loosing 5 or 6 hours in the day from traveling was bad. The third 
event was the 1st billed as Lobstercon and this year will be the 10th 
Lobstercon. We started as a Saturday only event and moved to Friday & 
Saturday with overnight camping. I informally call it 4 days in July as 
now they show up for camping on Thursday, and even Wednesday and some 
don't leave until Monday. I settled on 4DIJ in homage to FDIM... but 
made it different enough so that the FDIM guys won't get mad at me for 
copying their name...hihi!

A local event does not mean that you have to have a big feast and a 
daunting logistics problem. Keeping it relatively small and simple and 
possibly letting it grow a little each year is a good recipe for 
success! A nice beginning event could be more like a pot luck supper. 
Everybody brings a dish of something, meet at a public place like a park 
or someones field where you might be able to hang around a little later. 
Most public parks close at sundown... Staying later into the evening 
would make it more interesting as you could have a nice dinner, chat and 
a little operating. I emphasize the operating as one of our biggest 
activities at Lobstercon is trying to contact our 'sister' event 
Salmoncon out in Seattle. If you held a local even in say Nebraska at 
the same time, you would be in the thick of it Saturday night when both 
the Lobstercon and Salmoncon guys are trying their best to QSL each other.

Now I've made it a little easier, as you don't have to pick a 
date....hold a local event on Saturday July 11, 2009! I can guarantee 
you that there will be others doing the same that night!

Pick a place: private field with all night access? Wally World parking 
lot? Public park with late night access?

Pick a format: eat, operate, show & tell, swap, swindle, or a little of 
everything?

Decide on some snackage: want pot luck? or everybody chip in for : 
pizza, wings,  burgers, brats, buffalo oysters or some other indigenous 
delicacy.

Get the word out and talk amongst yourselves...

I'll even make it a little easier! The first 25 groups that can convince 
me that they are serious and on their way to putting on a local event 
that covers July 11th 2009, will receive an absolutely free package from 
me that will contain their 1st two attendance raffle prizes AND the 
tickets to raffle them off with.

Let's get some SERIOUS QRP signals flying around the country on the 
night of July 11, 2009!

72,
W1REX   Rex Harper  'The (Tuna) Tinman'   www.QRPme.com