Under a dismally rainy sky nearly 200 attended the York Hamfest In Spring Grove, York County on Saturday, April 29. The event is the unofficial start of hamfest season in the EPA. In addition to a variety of vendors selling new equipment and accessories, a VE testing session was also provided for those upgrading and others looking to become newly licensed.
Typically at hamfests there are a multitude of tables piled high with used and abused transceivers, old antennas and seemingly ancient parts. A lot of hams pass by these tables heaped with what many consider useless boat anchors. But what some see as junk, others find as treasure.
One of those treasure hunters is Alexander Nikkanen – KC3MDT of York. The grandson of EPA 4th District Emergency Coordinator Ralph Brandt-K3HQI, Alexander is a young man who has become fascinated with and adept at restoring old radio equipment. One of his recent projects was bringing back to life a vintage RCA tube console receiver more than 75 years old. Alexander has not only learned radio and electronics theory from his grandfather but has gained a keen insight and appreciation for vintage gear.
Alexander’s new challenge is restoring a 1933 Majestic Twin-Six superhet auto radio, Model 66 he purchased at the York Hamfest. Although the car radio weighs 27 pounds and was manufactured not long after the days of the Great Depression, Alexander will no doubt have this heavy piece of iron humming back to life probably better than new.
Whenever you pass by a table of boat anchors at a hamfest, remember to some hams those ancient radios are not junk but treasure waiting to live again.
The next event on tap is the Warminster ARC Hamfest and ARRL Convention on Sunday, May 7 at the Bucks County Community College in Bristol, Bucks County. Check out the hamfest link here: http://www.k3dn.org/hamfest/
