that was awesome!

     So, even though I'm considered part of the millennial generation (just barely!) I didn't have anything to do with Facebook until I started writing this blog.  The only reason I got lured in was just to make up the Facebook page that would be the companion to my blog, to share what I'm doing here with all the Social Media users out there, which, based on the stats, is where quite a lot of my readers stumble in from.  

    But you say "what does that have to do with ham radio?"  Well my dear friend - let me tell you!  

I was on a work trip, and I realized late in the work day Wednesday, that I would finish my work day Thursday early enough to stop and take a tour of the mothership (ARRL Headquarters.) Using my new fancy Facebook skills, I put up a quick post stating
"I'm right outside Newington CT for work, and I should finish early with my work tomorrow - anybody know of any neat places I can visit in the area?"
Aside from the obvious, lots of folks jumped in with restaurants in the area, etc. One of the folks who joined in the conversation was K2HAT. He had some really good information to prepare me for my visit, and even let me know that I should drop his name with the receptionist. As it turns out, I didn't have to do that, because when I walked in the lobby door, I saw this, that I suppose K2HAT had something to do with....

     Talk about an awesome surprise!!  I learned very quickly that everyone at HQ is extremely friendly.  My tour guide (Ron AA1IL) was great.  I was the only one who happened stroll in at the start time of the next tour, so I got Ron to myself, and it was awesome to learn about HQ, and everything that goes on there, from him.  It's easy to picture something like this as an "Ivory Palace" type of place if you've never seen it, but in reality it is a very down-to-earth, friendly, modest workplace for those that keep the ARRL running.   

     I took a lot of pictures throughout the tour, and Ron even took some pictures for me that I could add to my personal collection!

     We toured a lot of the different departments in the HQ building, and I got to see some really neat things.  One of the cool things I first saw was the boxes and boxes of W1AW/Portable QSL cards waiting to be sent out from the centennial celebration.  The next thing that jumped out at me was the education department.  This is where they do all the planning and coordinating for all things education, like the summer programs for teachers in science and math programs, and the events done for school groups.  They had some neat stuff sitting out as example projects, including a floating APRS package that school kids get to build and send down the river! 

     Another highlight for me was getting to see the June issue of QST magazine before it even got published - I won't give away any inside secrets, but based on the storyboard there should be some good articles in the coming edition!

     Additionally, I've been enjoying the podcast and some of the little video's that the ARRL puts together, so it was neat to get a peek at the room where some of that magic happens.  While in the lab, I got to see some of the infamous test equipment that gives all of us QST readers the inside scoop on the performance of the equipment the ARRL reviews, all while the lab technicians were filming a video product review for the digital edition of QST!

     Speaking of podcasts - I did also happen to see (although I didn't think to take a picture of it...) a picture of WY7YL of 100 Watts and Wire fame, planting a big old kiss on Kay Craigie - priceless!

I could go on and on about what I saw there......so I will!
Also in the lab area, they have a really neat display of some antique and vintage radio equipment. For a lot of hams there would be piles of memories in this room - for the younger folks like me there's not really nostalgia tied to this equipment, but more of a sense of awe at just how cool this stuff is, and what it represents as far as the history of amateur radio.

While talking about history - who can forget W1AW, theamateur radio station! They've got some neat historical stuff, like the Old Man's (Hiram Percy Maxim, founder of the ARRL) desk, and some awesome new stuff, like radio's I can only dream of owning. You can take a turn operating here if you bring your license, but I didn't on this trip because I was recovering from a cold which made talking difficult, and I didn't want to be the guy who coughed all over the microphone that others would have to use! I'll be back in the area in just a couple weeks though, so as long as I've recovered, I'll make a return trip, and take my turn pointing all that ERP (Effective Radiated Power for the non-hams out there) in the direction of some of your receivers!

     If you couldn't tell, I had a blast.  There was a lot more that I got to see, but it would take pages and pages to go through it all.  I'll just wrap it up by saying that this visit made me proud to be an ARRL Member, and proud of the things that my dues are getting used to do and support!