[MRCG] West Coast Military Radio Collector's Group 20th Annual Meet

[boatanchor at martasystems.com]

***   The 20th annual MRCG meet is scheduled for Friday, May 1st and Saturday, May 2nd, 2015  ***

The twentieth annual meeting of the West Coast Military Radio Collectors Group will be held at the NCO Club, at the Camp San Luis Obispo National Guard Base in central California on May 1 and 2, 2015.  

This popular event includes a swap meet, field operating events, functional displays, technical presentations and Mk 1, Mod 0 Gabfests. Events will begin at 0800 Friday morning, but early arrivals are welcome in the afternoon on Thursday, April 30.  Registration will open at 1600 Thursday afternoon.

To pay for the NCO club rental, insurance and “other”, a “fair share” donation of $20 per person is requested when you register.

Updated information about this event will be posted to http://www.mrcgwest.org and the email reflector (go to the website to join the email list).




GETTING THRU THE MAIN GATE: 
This is an active military base and proper identification is required. You must also have proof of insurance and a current driver’s license and vehicle registration. You can speed up the process by printing out the form from the website and bringing it with you already filled-out, otherwise you’ll be delayed at the gate to complete that process. To get the form, go to the Camp San Luis Obispo website at: “http://www.calguard.ca.gov/Search/Pages/results.aspx?k=Camp%20San%20Luis%20Obispo” and click on the Camp San Luis Obispo Vehicle Registration Application. The CSLO POC for the meet is Wendy Osborne 805-594-6578.  (Note: The link above is verified - this is the current form on their website)


EARLY ARRIVALS
You are welcome (and encouraged) to arrive the day before the meet, on Thursday April 30th, after 1 PM. We will be able to get the keys to the NCO club and start setting up at that time. Usually, a group of us goes to dinner that evening – at Jocko’s.


STAYING ON BASE:
If you are planning on staying on the base, in the campground or in the barracks, you need to make a reservation with the Billeting Office 30 days in advance. You can contact them at 805-594-6513.


FOOD
The Dining Facility on base is a great place to eat. We’re notifying them that there will be about 20 for Thursday dinner, and 50-60 for Friday breakfast, lunch and dinner, and about the same for Saturday breakfast and lunch. Dining hall hours will be provided in the April email reminder.


RADIO OPERATIONS
All radio operation in any area outside of the NCO Club grounds must be coordinated with Base Ops. We’re working with Base Ops to obtain permission to use Antenna Hill, which has an outstanding view of the valley, and is a fun place to operate. Anyone using the hilltop will need to receive a briefing which will occur Friday morning at 9 AM in the NCO Club (assuming we get permission again this year). If you have other places you would like to operate from on base (such as the museum), please let me know and I’ll ask Base Ops for permission.

Suggested operating frequencies during the meet are 3870 kHz, 3885 kHz, 7293 kHz and 144.45 mhz  for AM, 3996 kHz and 7296 kHz for USB, and 29.6 MHz and 51.0 MHz for FM. The use of 146.52 is recommended for simplex operation. 


FOX HUNT
Mark Blair, NF6X, has a pretty devious Fox Hunt planned on 6 meters. Fox frequency will be 51.0 MHz FM. Bring your DF loops and matching radios !
( Friday and Saturday, time TBD – sometime after the Tech Talk on Direction Finding Basics )


SWAP MEET
The swap meet will occur on Saturday morning from 7:30 AM until 11 AM. Please refrain from swapping before then (other than pre-arranged) so that everyone gets a chance to participate and has equal chances at getting “the good stuff”. Bring Things !!


JUNKER AUCTION
OK, so you brought stuff that didn’t sell ? Or, maybe you just don’t want the hassle ? This year, we are having a JUNKER AUCTION starting at 11 AM on Saturday morning, immediately after the swap meet. William Donzelli has stepped as our auctioneer ( at least he did at the end of last year’s meet, I hope he remembers ! ). You’ll have the option of donating all, some, or none of the proceeds to MRCG to help make this happen again next year !


DISPLAYS
Have something special that you’re really proud of ? Put it on a display table in the NCO Club. Work-in-progress, restored equipment and your precious treasures should be seen and appreciated. Rian W6SVU coordinates the displays and equipment judging. Big things, like Andy’s MRC-56, will have to sit outside...


TECH TALKS
If you have a technique you’ve discovered, had a restoration adventure, or maybe even a tall tale, please consider getting up in front of the group on Friday to talk about it. So far, here’s what we have this year -
        Power Line Noise Issues    -                                Tom Murphy, W6TOM  ( tentative )
        The death and resurrection of my BC-375    -    Jim Falls, K6FWT
        The MRC-56 Radio Trailer   -                              Andy Miller, KD6TKX
        Chasing the Null: Direction Finding Basics  -    Mark J. Blair NF6X

    Any more out there ? Let’s get ‘em scheduled !


VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
We need a few people willing to share the Registration Desk duty during the meet to register new arrivals and collect the $20 per-person “fair-share” money. Since it costs about $1000 to put on the event, it’s really important to stay on top of this so that our “angels” who put up the money ahead of time can be reimbursed. Thanks to those who have already committed, but we could use a couple more...


MRCG APPAREL
Once again, we will have T-shirts for $20 each. I haven’t received the artwork yet (same artist as last year and same production quality), but it will be special – after all, this is our 20th meet! Shirts will be available for pick-up at the Registration Desk.

--- ORDER EARLY ---
If you already know you’ll want T-shirts, please order early to guarantee availability. We cannot guarantee that we will have extras in any particular size at the meet. Also, ordering early, with your check, helps cover the production cost and reduces our begging for angels to cover it.

While we’re talking about angels, we will need one or two to help out with the production. If you can help with $500 for a few months (you’ll be reimbursed from the proceeds) please step up !

You may send a check for the shirts you want ( don’t forget to tell me how many and what size ).  Make check payable and send to:
        John Castorina WB6AZP
        675 Dana Drive 
        Santa Paula, CA 93060



CONTACT INFO
John Castorina WB6AZP    boatanchor at martasystems.com        805-407-2763
Mark Blair    NF6X              nf6x at nf6x.net
Rian Robinson W6SVU      krrobison at earthlink.net