Atlanticon QRP Forums

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The Atlanticon QRP Forum
A
weekend of QRP fun, presentations and social gathering hosted by the NJQRP Club and sponsored by the AmQRP Club each year in the spring.  QRPers from all over the US (and internationally) show up for this annual event held in Baltimore, Maryland. The annual event is held in Baltimore, Maryland at the end of March
during the weekend of the ever-popular Greater Baltimore Computerfest and Hamboree. The hotel is very close to the state fairgrounds in Timonium, Maryland and special rates are established for QRPers planning to attend.  All who register in advance for Atlanticon receive our famous "Atlanticon Kit" prior the weekend.

QRP presentations all day Saturday
About 170 QRPers usually show up for Atlanticon and on Saturday get treated to QRP seminar topics presented by acknowledged leaders and experts in our hobby. These are hour-long audio/visual presentations made by knowledgeable hams in fields of transmitter design, antenna analysis, homebrew construction, electronic simulation, operating from the field, microcontroller hardware & software design, and more. We normally run straight through from 9am to 5:30pm, with only shorts breaks for lunch and stretching of legs. These Saturday QRP seminars are one of the great highlights of the weekend. We will have a great lineup of speakers for the event.

The Atlanticon Kit
As has become a custom for Atlanticon, we send a special "Atlanticon Kit" to all those who pre-register for Atlanticon. This is a small-but-useful project that you'll be able to use in the shack for years to come.  But even more important, it serves as the basis for the Saturday evening fun & games we have planned.
 

Atlanticon 2008 is (TBD)
This is the same weekend as the Greater Baltimore Hamboree and Computerfest, which is the most popular hamfest in the mid-Atlantic region. Many QRPers in attendance at Atlanticon find it very enjoyable to catch an early Saturday at the Fairgrounds' hamfest, and then do it again even longer on Sunday morning.

Hotel
The "Atlanticon hotel" is our usual one the Holiday Inn Select Baltimore North in Timonium, MD.  Located just off exit 16 of Interstate 83 North, this quality hotel is just minutes away from the hamfest fairgrounds, and only about 45 minutes from Baltimore-Washington International airport (BWI). A reduced room rate of is arranged with the Holiday Inn Select to help QRPers with weekend expenses.  Be sure to ask for the "Atlanticon rates". We've had plenty of advance registrations and the block of rooms we had them set aside is disappearing. To get a room call them at (410) 252-7373 and tell them that you want the Atlanticon rate. You'll get a discount of $30 off their usual rate. See the hotel's information-packed website at http://www.bal-north.hiselect.com/ for more information.

Friday night
Atlanticon starts at 7:30 on Friday night with a social evening where we meet up with old friends and make new ones.  Vendors and QRPers alike often show their projects at tables around the large banquet room in which we meet, right up until 11pm.

Saturday all day
Saturday is the main event, wherein the illustrious QRP speaking staff delivers the presentations from 8:30 until 5pm.  A box lunch is available for purchase for a nominal price, making it convenient to stay with your friends and continue discussions through lunchtime. We break for individual dinnertime cuisine at local restaurants and reconvene at 7:30 for an evening of wild QRP fun - a homebrew building contest and a special Atlanticon Event are the usual activities for Saturday evening. We normally go until 11pm and then many of us then carry on in the hotel bar, quenching the insatiable QRP thirsts - with both knowledge and liquid!  There will be a construction competition on Saturday evening in the hospitality room for both open homebrew entrants and competitions based on construction creativity (packaging, etc) and performance.

Sunday morning
Sunday finds most QRPers hustling over to the hamfest for a morning of looking for that gem of a deal during the last hours of the 'fest. The Timonium Fairgrounds is only a short ride away and is well worth the trip.

The Greater Baltimore HAMBOREE & Computerfest
The Atlanticon hotel is only a short distance from the very popular Greater Baltimore Computerfest and Hamvention, being held the very same weekend! See their website for complete details:  http://www.gbhc.org.  Many Atlanticon attendees plan their weekend to make it over to the hamfest very early on Saturday morning or on Sunday morning, thus making the over weekend a true ham adventure.


Over 170 QRPers normally attend these Atlanticon weekends ... sure hope you too can join us for our very special QRP extravaganza on March 30-31.   Mark your calendars and make your travel reservations early to get the good rates and we'll see you there!

  

Last Modified: March 31, 2007