The Harrisburg Radio Amateur Club held its annual Winterfest on January 10, 2026, at the Vietnam Veterans Association building on Derry Street in Harrisburg (Swatara Township). Having missed the event for the past few years, I was curious to see how it had grown.
When I arrived at 8:30 a.m., the parking lot was already full, and I had to hunt for an open space—a good sign that attendance was strong. Inside, most of the tables were occupied with a mix of old and new radio equipment, computers, and accessories, with scores of people browsing the aisles.
I ran into several old friends, and we spent some time catching up on the events and changes in our lives. As often happens at a good hamfest, my wallet didn’t escape unscathed. I picked up a lightweight EFHW antenna from Reliance Antennas, a new wire stripper (essential if you build your own power cables with Anderson Powerpoles), and a Dell Latitude laptop that I plan to convert to Linux.
Another highlight of the event was the presence of the Susquehanna Valley Mesh (SVMESH) group, who brought several deployable Meshtastic nodes for display and purchase. Since Meshtastic operates in the 900 MHz band, is easy to set up, and serves as an accessible gateway into Amateur Radio, their table drew a lot of interest. The SVMESH team was knowledgeable, approachable, and happy to answer questions.
In an age dominated by online retail, it was encouraging to see so many people come out in person to buy, sell, and learn about Amateur Radio. Winterfest was clearly alive and well.