David Rowe, VK5DGR, had to cancel his trip to Dayton and won't be able to speak at the AMSAT/TAPR Banquet next week.

We are pleased to announce that Bob Bruninga, WB4APR will be the speaker for the 2011 AMSAT/TAPR Banquet.

Friday May 20, 2011, Kohler Presidential Banquet Center, Kettering, OH

Bob's topic is "Power from Space and in Your Shack" (see the abstract below).

For more information and to make dinner reservations, visit http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/hamvention/2011/Banquet.php ASAP because reservations must be made in advance and close end-of-day on Monday. May 16.

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"Power from Space and in Your Shack" By Bob Bruninga, WB4APR

Last year Solar energy passed from a niche market for greenies to an economic opportunity that beats money in the bank. The monetary return for every dollar on your roof can exceed 10% per year for life which far exceeds the security of any other investment in a bank or our fickle economy. But this economic advantage is overlooked, misunderstood or wasted by many hams because of our warped and twisted prior love-affairs with batteries and generators on which we depend for field-day and emergency power.

To fully grasp today's economics of renewable energy we must learn to completely separate our needs for economical energy 99.9% of the time from our desires for emergency power for only 0.1% of the time. There are economical solutions for both but they are separate and mutually exclusive.

Further, over the last decades there has been a hidden evolution of power supplies in every aspect of our daily lives. Everything we do with energy from our ham shack to our big screen TV depends on this technology but it has also provided us with unbelievable versatility to access power from just about any source from 100 to 240 VAC or 100 to 330 VDC or any voltage down to 12 volts.. Where to find power? Have you looked on the roof of your house or under the hood of your car recently?

The better that hams understand these subtle evolutionary changes in energy, the better we are prepared not only for Field Day, for emergencies but also for the future of our families.