Celebrate Wallingford Connecticut Special Event
October 4th and 5th,
2003. 1600Z to 2200Z
Sponsored by the Meriden Amateur Radio
Club
 The weather on Sunday was bright, breezy and October
balmy –
better than the chill and rain of Saturday afternoon. Celebrate Wallingford
was a go in the area around the railroad station. MARC was set up in
their
Special Event station on a closed off Hall
Avenue
just beyond the RR tracks. Under the able co-chairmanship of Bob KB1FYL
and Jim
N1ZN, W1NRG was on the air and provided many sightseers the inner
workings of
ham radio.
Bob’s van and
Jim’s truck were used as a backdrop, a supply
house and base for several commercial
and homebrew antennas. Add a 10 X 10
picnic fly, some tables  and chairs and we
had all the workings of a
mini field
day site (Class 3A-Batt). Yes – Bob provided a few deep discharge 12
VDC
batteries to more than AMPly power the Icom IC-746, the Kenwood TS-140,
The
TenTec Corsair, and an Alinco 2 meter mobile rig for more than 12 hours
of full
power operation. We had a QuikSilver vertical, Hamsticks, and 2 meter
mag
mounts; but the highlight goes to the kite string inverted-vee designed
by Bob
KB1CIW – it did tune up well on several bands.
The up and down
band conditions and a couple of high power
QSO parties kept the log count to about 50. Ask Jim about his efforts
to hold a
contact with a whistle demonstration of the Amtrak engineer just 150
feet away.
A tote board of DX and states contacted amazed many onlookers with the
ability
of the modest station. Assisting Bob, KB1FYL and Jim N1ZN, were Bob  KB1CIW, Joe
KB1GWP, Joel N1JEO, Chuck N1KGY, John KB1IXB,
Haggie KB1HCC and Dan W1DMM. Aside from station
duties, we all had an opportunity to view the many other displays and –
of
course – try out some of the dozen or so food booths that waifed many
odors
our way.
A few ideas were
noted for improvement, a lot of
camaraderie, a few extra calories, some pleasant ragchewing and a
typical New
England Fall weekend put this Special Event in the winners column.
(photos :W1DMM)
Very
Short History of Wallingford Connecticut
Wallingford was founded in 1670 by English Puritans from New Haven.
Thirty-Eight
men and their families made the initial settlement along what is now
the
town's Main Street. Originally an agricultural community, Wallingford began to develop during the industrial revolution.
By the end of the nineteenth century,
Wallingford
had earned a worldwide reputation for the production of silverware.
With the rise of manufacturing, the
demographics
of the town also changed. It attracted new waves of immigrants. As the
town
entered the twentieth century, Wallingford reflected its diversity with
one
foot in agriculture and the other in industry. Today,
Wallingford embraces the richness of its past and the diversity of the
town.
Wallingford fosters business development while preserving historical
context.
Looking forward to a bright future, Wallingford honors its rich and
beautiful
past.
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Profile of
Wallingford, CT
Town Population 2000:
43,026
Land Area: 39.02 sq.mi.
Population/Sq.Mi: 1,102
Metro area: New Haven
County: New Haven County
Latitude: 41.456N
Longitude: -72.804W
Time zone: Eastern Daylight Saving
Named after town in England
Nearby parks and recreation: On the
Quinnipiac
River, Wharton Brook State Park, Quinnipiac River Linear Trail
Special
Event and QSL Information
Meriden Amateur Radio Club, W1NRG.
Celebrate Wallingford, Connecticut.
QSL
via MARC, PO
Box
583, Meriden CT, 06450 with SASE. (9" X 12" for unfolded certificate)
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