Octagon Technology is one of the sponsors of the UK’s premier amateur radio event, The National Hamfest. One of the company directors, Clive, callsign G1BSN, is a member of the Lincoln Shortwave Club (LSWC), and he is the Event Co-ordinator, charged by the club to make the event happen.
Throughout the year he works closely with the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB), Chris Danby Advertising, the Newark Showground, exhibitors, suppliers, the LSWC committee and members to bring all of them together for a two day event.
Octagon Technology supports the Hamfest with
- IT support
- Website and Internet services
- Providing staff and infrastructure for the online sales of tickets, camping pitches and Flea Market stalls
- Providing accounting staff, during core working hours, to follow up with Danby Advertising and the exhibitors to make sure everyone pays!
- Providing accounting staff post event to complete the accounting cycle
- Providing its office and answering service as a 9 to 5 contact point for exhibitors, suppliers and radio amateurs
- Octagon Technology staff talk about the show at local business events and uses their business contacts to help where needed
- Clive has an extra week’s leave so he can be at the Showground continuously from 9am Monday to 2pm the following Sunday – he also gets extra leave to attend meetings as required
- And this year Diana (another director) stood in at short notice to help on one of the gates with ticketing!
This year’s show was a great success, being held over a weekend of record breaking sunshine, (Clive says he saw a spectacular sunrise every morning he was onsite), with over 2500 visitors attending over the two days.
- Maastrant said it was their favourite show they attend.
- Martin Lynch emailed to us “If every show was as well run and organised as Clive’s, I wouldn’t moan (as much….). Top job as usual.”
- The RAIBC had a good show raising over £2000 to help with their projects.
Using Octagon Technology’s experience in mobile technologies during the show, Clive posted a series of photographs, day by day, to his blog here. He used his iPhone and the WordPress App to post as he went through the day, so there are many behind the scenes shots. He also created a page on the National Hamfest website using the WordPress app, Photos 2011, and posted another set of photos to that from his phone. After the event closed on Saturday, Clive then edited the home page at http://www.nationalhamfest.org.uk to the 2012 version – all from his iPhone.
