12th Annual SVHFS Conference
               April 25 & 26, 2008

  We're headed down south this year to SUNNY... 

Orlando Florida!!

2008 SVHFS Conference program highlights:

• Registration for the 2008 SVHFS Conference in Orlando, FL is now OPEN!
   
  Registration Form - MS Word      Registration Form - pdf
   

• SVHFS Design Contest We are continuing our design competition again this year. The first place winner can receive $2500 in prizes and gift certificates. Read about it on the SVHFS Design Contest page.

• Technical presentations - the heart of the conference. These include some of today's best designers and forward thinking developers of the radio art. Presentations are generally 20-40 minutes long and include hands on demonstrations, power point demos, question and answer sessions and more. Check out what's planned for the 2008 conference! 2008_SVHFS_Schedule.pdf

• Kick-Off Lunch at 12 noon on Friday with guest speaker Al Ward, W5LUA.

• Early Registration Prize Drawing We always have a pre-registration prize to encourage our attendees to get their registration in early. To be included in the drawing you would mail your registration in and have it postmarked one month before the conference, March 25, 2008. The early registration prize for 2006 was a Bird 43 Watt Meter.

• Worked All of ‘EM Award - Earn this SVHFS sponsored award for working all of the EM grid squares EM00-EM99 on VHF bands. Card checking for this and VUCC will be available at the conference. Details on our Worked All of ‘EM Award page.

• Group Rates at the Holiday Inn - UCF in Orlando. This hotel is right next to the University of Central Florida. Contact details for the hotel will be posted here soon.

• Hospitality Suite - We usually have a room set aside in the evenings starting Thursday for informal gatherings with some drinks and snacks. This will be your chance to tell tall tales about the one that got away or about that tower that looked like a pretzel after last summers big storm.

• Test Bench Area - On Friday morning there will be a test bench area set up where you can bring your gear and see how it is performing. You will have a chance to figure out just what is wrong with that transverter that is having trouble or why is that receiver section so deaf? With all the quality amateur builders and designers that will be in attendance there will definitely be all the expertise needed to help you get that gear on the air!

• Family Program - Orlando is a great place to visit and there will be lots of different activities for the family to choose from. You're going to be in Florida! Think about adding a couple of extra days to your visit either before or after the conference. Definitely a lot to see in the local area.

• Noise Figure Measurements - Bring your antenna pre-amps for NF & gain measurement.

• Antenna Gain Measurements - Bring your home-brew or commercially produced ham antennas for gain measurement.

• Printed Conference Proceedings - Professionally done soft bound manuals published by the ARRL. One copy comes with your registration fee. Additional copies will be available at the conference.

• Flea Market - Loads of ham radio goodies at great prices.

• Manufacturer Exhibits - Past exhibitors include C3I Antennas, Down East Microwave, M2 Antenna Systems, Max-Gain Systems, Elecraft Electronic Kits, Lunar Link Amplifiers, CQ-VHF Magazine

• Annual SVHFS Auction - Donated items auctioned to the highest bidder.

• K4UHF Award Presentation - The K4UHF Award is given to recognize an individual’s outstanding achievement or contribution to the VHF + amateur community.

• *updated* Saturday Evening Banquet - with our Conference Keynote Speaker, ARRL President Joel Harrison W5ZN. He is a long time VHF operator and you can see his official ARRL bio here W5ZN bio.  Door Prize Drawings - Including “wives prizes”.

The conference is on Friday and Saturday. Informal activities start Thursday evening with people arriving and getting together in the hospitality rooms. Official conference activities start Friday morning with registration, antenna and pre-amp noise figure testing followed by the Kick-Off Lunch. After lunch there is a Welcome session and the technical presentations begin. The business meeting is held after the presentations are over Friday afternoon. After a dinner break, the flea market opens up and there is time to visit with the exhibitors as well. The annual Board of Directors meeting follows and winds up the day's activities.

Saturday follows with more presentations in the morning and afternoon. The highly amusing Auction of Rare and Valuable Stuff is held after the presentations end in the afternoon. The auction is a fundraiser for the society and even if you don't plan on bidding, the auction is a real "hoot"!

The Annual Banquet is Saturday night. We have a delicious meal followed by a keynote speaker. We recognize our K4UHF award winner along with presenting certificates for; antenna gain, pre-amp noise figure and for the Fall Sprints.

Our Family Program is an integral part of the Conference and over the years it has really taken off. When attendee's arrive we make sure to check and see if family members have come along so they can be included in the activities. In the past, trips to local historical sites, outlet malls, scheduled tours and places that are just fun to visit have been on the itinerary. The Family Program has activities on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Plans are generally flexible enough to accommodate any changes the group decides on.

The conference is run entirely by volunteers serving on different committees. For more information about the conference committees, please see the contact list below. You may contact the chairman for the committee you have a question about directly, or you may contact the Conference Chairman.

Technical Program/Presentations are needed. If you would like to present a topic and have your paper published in the conference proceedings, contact the Technical Program Chairman Steve Kostro, N2CEI at svhfs2008@downeastmicrowave.com  Please note that you do not have to make a presentation at the conference to have a paper included in the proceedings. Some authors may not be able to travel or schedule the time to get to the conference. That is not a problem, just get in touch with the chairman and talk it over with him. The deadline for submissions is February 29, 2008

All in all, it is a great weekend with fellowship, a chance to see old friends and make new ones. Not to mention getting a chance to rub elbows with those on the cutting edge of technical development in our hobby.

We look forward to seeing you at the 12th Annual SVHFS Conference in Orlando FL April 25&26, 2008!!

Registration forms, conference flyer and more are available on our downloads page.

Note about future SVHFS Conferences:

We have selected dates for future SVHFS Conferences and are looking for volunteers to help in hosting the Conference in new locations. Cities with good facilities and easy access via interstate highways and airports are a plus. If you think you might like to help out with this please contact the SVHFS President Jack Jackson W4EFZ .

Future SVHFS Conference dates:

April 25 & 26, 2008 Orlando FL

2008 Conference Committee