Last week was our vacation to Tennessee and the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. We actually began the Friday before hand in order to arrive in Seveirville, TN so we could attend the annual Ten-Tec hamfest.
I don't have the latest and greatest Ten-Tec gear but I do have an older Century 21. This was the rig all the Novice operators lusted over in the late 70's. Anyway, it was interesting to tour the factory and see the operation.
The Ten-Tec Hamfest is a real hamfest. The rules stipulate that all items offered for sale need to be directly ham radio related. No beanie babies. No endless piles of old computer equipment. Just vendor after vendor with all manner of radios, antennas, and parts. Based on the turnout of sellers and buyers we saw I'd say it's a good formula. I wish other hamfests would adopt this same rule.
Our plan was to spend a week relaxing in a mountain cabin and exploring the mountains. I took some HF gear along with the intention of doing some evening and early morning operating. Unfortunately Murphy tagged along and while the cabin and it's surroundings were very serene the location was plagued with an S9 noise level. I wish I could tell many tales of great mountain DX and long, relaxing rag chews but it just wasn't meant to be.
73,
Tim, N9PUZ
