Kulpsville Reflections (Before the Fest There Was the Net)

JON'S REFLECTIONS ON THE SWL FEST

© 2007 by Jon Cohen WB2KKS

The Fest grew out of a ham radio net that met on Sunday mornings on forty meters. The net discussed any and all radio signals which were not generated by Ham Radio as well as other topics of interest to SWLs such as news about radios, antennas, stations, and just about anything else which would interest SWLs.

The net covered and area as far South as the Carolinas (Bob Grove would check in occasionally), as far West as Chicago, and North into Canada. We were also aware that there were SWLs who were not hams that were listening and would like to be heard on the net. To accomplish this we established a telephone gateway to the net. This consisted of one (or more) members who would give out their phone numbers and relay information received in this way. I was one of these gateway stations. One of the major forces behind the net was Bob "Big Signal" Brown. He decided it would be nice to have a face to face meeting with the net participants. The idea was to gather someplace on a weekend and talk about our hobby. There would also be food, beer, and more formal presentations but the major attraction would be the informal conversations among participants.

Bob decided to hold the Fest near his home in Lansdale. That way he could monitor progress more closely. That’s why the fest has been held in Montgomery County, PA. The first Fest, as many of you know, was held at the Fiesta Motor Lodge in Willow Grove. But all the rest have been in Kulpsville.

Since the net covered only a part of North America, the Fest was originally intended to draw from only those parts that were covered by the net. We hoped that other regions would also have nets and fests; Texas, for example, and/or California. But that never happened and the Fest became the major meeting for SWLs in North America.

In the past twenty years the Fest has grown and changed somewhat. But I think it still remains true to its original intention: a place where we can meet with others of like interests and talk about our hobby.

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