Attended the KARA Monthly meeting at the park adjacent to the Energy Lab (near the Kona airport).

The Kona Amateur Radio Association is a fairly active group with lots of part time Hawaii residents taking part in the festivities. My YL (Andrea) and I hung out for around an hour before moving on to our next engagement and met with a wide variety of hams.

The Hawaiian Islands are well served by 2M and 70cm repeater systems as well as lots of active HF operators.

I brought along a reliable Yaesu FT-60r hand held and it has proved itself quite valuable in getting around the Island and finding many otherwise hidden spots to check out.

Aloha from the Big Island of Hawaii! Colin - VA7WWV/KH6