[BC] AM Transmission Seminar

[Barry Mishkind]

>At 08:24 AM 2/17/2010, Steve Lewis wrote:
>
>I'd love to attend Barry's seminar and have, in fact, spoken with him about
>it.  It becomes clearer every day that almost anything will radiate and can
>be tuned, but not effectively in most cases.
>
>> From: Broadcast List USER
>>
>>I would strongly suggest you take Barry's AM Seminar prior to the NAB  
>>Radio Show.
>>
>>--chip

Thanks Steve,
Thanks Chip,

Most of the credit for the Seminar should go to Phil Alexander and Alan Alsobrook (MIA). Phil spent hundreds of hours putting the program together and building the three-day, two-evening, hands-on Seminar. We feel - and most attendees agree - the hands-on aspect and detailed program made this better than any web-based program.

We would love to put on another edition of the Seminar this year. Several groups of engineers have contacted me with requests for us to bring it to the West Coast, for example. Unfortunately, there are two major issues that have prevented a 2010 Seminar. 

First, to no one's surprise, is the economy. Few companies were/are willing to invest in their engineering talent at this time. Secondly, and almost as a corollary, we have to cover our costs, and we cannot do it unless we get enough folks. 

We have tried to keep the program as inexpensive as possible - the last one was $495 for approximately 30 hours of classroom and individual instruction, work materials, lunch, snacks, and other goodies large and small. We also worked hard to get a nice hotel at very modest rates (sometimes including breakfast) in a city that didn't cost a lot to get to, so the whole package was accessible. We even made arrangements for credit card payments. It is a delicate balance, as we want to keep the room small enough that everyone can have personal attention, but large enough to cover costs.

Unfortunately, we were unable to get enough reservations last year to even cover travel costs, much less anything else. Several SBE chapters asked that we bring the Seminar to them, but would not provide more than about a half dozen attendees.  We even tried asking a couple of chapters to get together and each kick in a little bit, as a member benefit. Thus far, it has not worked out, despite inquiries from several different sections of the country. 

We are open to putting on the Seminar again, but will need enough interest shown to make it viable.

If you - or your local group of tech folks - are interested, contact me for more details. I hear Phil has his syllabus ready on a table by the front door.

thanks.
barry