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2020 RadioActivity - Announcement

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RadioActivity 2020

View or Download the RadioActivity 2020 Flyer - Complete with Schedule, Old Equipment Contest Rules, & Registration Forms

New Dates - October 1-3, 2020 in Beltsville, MD

Due to the COVID-19 Virus, the dates for RadioActivity have been changed to the fall. RadioActivity 2020 is currently planned to be held on October 1^st through 3^rd in the same hotel as last year, the Sheraton College Park North Hotel in Beltsville, Maryland. All other details remain as originally posted.

The theme will feature a Century of Entertainment Broadcasting and the History of KDKA.

The Sheraton College Park North Hotel (formerly the Sheraton Washington North Hotel) is located off of Exit 29B (Rt. 212) of I-95 between Washington and Baltimore, at 4095 Powder Mill Road, Beltsville, Maryland, 20705. The hotel is on the southwest corner of the interchange.

Again this year, we have avoided holding our event on the same weekend as the ARRL Field Day weekend, an event in which many ham operators like to participate.

Mark your calendars and Click Here for further details.

Roycroft Book

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Allen Roycraft's book will soon be available from dealers for a list price of $14.99, however, MAARC members in the United States can order copies at the bargain price of only $10, including shipping. (You can pick one up at a MAARC meeting for $7.)

MAARC Members, to order send a $10 check payable to MAARC to:

Brian Belanger, 115 Grand Champion Drive, Rockville, MD 20850

RadioActivity 2020 Old Equipment Contest Categories and Rules

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RadioActivity 2020 Old Equipment Contest (OEC)

Selection of the theme for each of MAARC’s annual summertime grand meets (called RadioActivity since about 1994) is always a challenge. The directors of the club agonize and quibble about it each year.

The theme for RadioActivity 2020, June 04-06, will be the 100^th anniversary of licensed commercial broadcasting, starting with Westinghouse station KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA. KDKA commenced broadcasting just in time to cover the presidential and local election returns on November 2, 1920.

In part driven by the 100^th anniversary theme, here are the Old Equipment Contest Categories for RadioActivity 2020:

RadioActivity 2020 Theme Categories:

1. KDKA and/or Early (1920's) Westinghouse

2. Early Crystal Sets used in Broadcasting and Receiving

3. Early (1920's) Broadcasting Advertising and Ephemera

Standard Categories:

4. Early Test Equipment (pre-WWII)

5. Eye-Tube Radios

6. Multiband Radios

7. Wood/Plastic Table Radios

8. Metal/Cardboard Table Radios

9. Speakers

10. Yellow Radios (in memory of Paul Farmer)

11. As Seen in 2019 Radio Age

12. Lazarus Restoration Triumph

13. Audio Equipment

14. Rare or Unusual Tubes

15. Open Category

Remember that documentation, especially noting any restoration or repair and provenance for the item, is essential for an entry to be competitive.

OEC Schedule

Entry Check-in:    9:00 - 11:00 a.m. June 05
Contest Judging:   11:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. June 05 (contest room closed)
Contest Viewing:  2:30 - 5:00 p.m., and 1 hour after Banquet, June 05.
Entries will need to be removed from the contest room no later than 9:00 AM on June 06. We recommend they be removed after the Banquet viewing.

Notes and Guidelines

Entries (except consoles) must be able to fit on a table and take up no more than 3’ x 5’ of table space. If your entry requires a display stand, you need to provide it yourself. No mountings may be fastened to the walls. Should the contest room fill to overcrowding, the contest officials reserve the right to limit the items submitted.

Special Awards

1. Best of Show. The entry that, in the opinion of the judges, best represents the contest criteria.

2. People’s Choice. The OEC entry voted most popular by those who view the contest.

3. Significant Historical Merit. The entry(ies) that, in the opinion of the judges, has the most historical significance (for example, first of a kind, extreme rarity, influence on the industry, milestone event, etc.)

4. Preservation Award. Given to the entry(ies) that best emphasizes keeping the item original—no modern replacement parts, refinishing, etc.

Special awards 3 and 4 will not be given if the judges feel that no entry meets the criteria.

Contest Judging Criteria

The OEC judges use the following scoring weights.

A. [0-20 pts] General Appearance. Is item restored, cleaned, and generally presentable, or just “as-found”?

B. [0-10 pts] Item Rarity. Not as important as authenticity, but it counts for the item to be relatively hard to find.

C. [0-20 pts] Authenticity. How much of the item is demonstrably authentic and not modified? Documentation may be crucial.

D. [0-20 pts] Documentation. Ads, journal articles, books, schematics, news clips, description of historical significance of the item all help.

E. [0-20 pts] Entrant Effort. How much was done by entrant, based on item appearance and documentation.

F. [0-10 pts] Qualitative Bonus. The bonus is based on judges’ judgment and experience.

Refinements to these rules and/or the schedule, if required, may be issued well in advance of RadioActivity 2020.

Radio Age Index Update

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Thanks to Brian Belanger, the Radio Age Index has been updated through April 2018.

Click to view the new index on a web page: Cumulative Index 1994-Apr 2018 Radio Age.pdf

Alternatively, click 'Newsletter' on the left menu.

Ham Radio Operators Puerto Rico Bound

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Check out this article about fellow radio enthusiasts from the American Radio Relay League who went to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria to to help distribute information about the status of hurricane survivors: Puerto Rico bound: Ham radio operators relay Hurricane Maria survivor info