Doc Kinne, KE1ML / M7RCK, writes in Boston ARC’s “The Sparc,” April, 2023:
One of the things that the pandemic truly robbed from amateur radio operators was the ability to congregate and get together. Yes, we could (and did!) get together via radio and computer, but somehow we hams like to see each other. For me one of my best experiences after talking to someone on the air for a period of time is to finally physically meet them, and usually mentally be forced to say, “Wow! You are nothing like how I pictured you!” It continually amazes me how much of a mental picture we build up of people only to have it just completely changed by reality.
One of the best ways Boston hams got to do that in the summers was the Flea at MIT. Taken down by the college during the pandemic, the Flea at MIT returns again this year on the 3rd Sunday of each month from April to October at the Albany St. Garage between Main Street and Mass Ave in Cambridge.
Famed for having nearly anything electronic or…nerdy…over the years objects both big and small can be found at the Flea, including, one time, famously, a Gemini test capsule.
The only question I’ve ever had was where I’d ever put it! See w1mx.mit.edu/flea-at-mit for more information.