Anthrocon 2026 Wrapup

2026-07-08

This is my third con.

Moshead

Say hello to my box:

Pixel-style cat head made of cardboard box wrapped in dark blue paper

▲ Possum for scale

(I had this since MCFC 2026, but didn't write anything for that)

In February I made a pair of handpaws, but they were of such terrible quality I didn't bother bringing them.

Activities

mosfet_ham

  • Passed my amateur extra class ham radio exam
  • Attended the University Furs panel
  • Celebrated Rix's birthday at his party
  • Had a "soup kitchen" (instant ramen party) in the hotel suite
  • Went to a rock band show, I've Made Too Much Pasta
  • Watched a tiny portion of Floor Warz (dance competition)
  • Watched the July 4 fireworks (almost canceled due to thunderstorm)
  • Went on a river cruise
  • Attended the closing ceremony
  • Rode roller coasters at Kennywood on the way back

Material gains

The dealer's den was an order of magnitude larger than MCFC. I got:

  • A wild cat shirt
  • Balaclava
  • "Delicious RAM" tag

All other purchases are classified information.

Many dealers were selling products that were allegedly "sold out" on their website. Hmm…

Weather

It was as hot as 38°C, and humid. Also, if I had a nickel every time a con coincided with a thunderstorm I'd have two.

mosfet_thisisfine

Budget and expenditure

  • Reg: 80
  • Hotel (incl. parlor suite): 501
  • Parking, tolls, gas: 99
  • Food: 103
  • Ham radio exam: 15
  • Dealers den: 306
  • Kennywood ticket: 43

Grand total: $1147

mosfet_money

Tangent: Ham radio exams are NOT easy

The panelists (i.e. proctors) said all that's needed to pass the Technician exam is "critical thinking", but that's extremely risky because there's still a huge number of questions that are just like "do you know what XYZ stands for?" or "does 420 MHz fall into the amateur band?" The only way to get them right is to know the answer already. They claim they've seen people with zero RF background pass it, but they were on the lucky side.

Amateur extra class does involve some RF knowledge (Prof. Mortazawi said EECS 330 was adequate), but there were still hit-or-miss questions. For those, I crammed with hamstudy.org for a week. Once Rix asked me what I was doing. Imagine his face when I replied,

I'm studying for Anthrocon.

I ended up getting 47 out of 50.

Conclusion

Had fun, met friends and a few popufurs, passed my ham radio exam, traded stickers, took photos, enjoyed a shopping spree. No one died, nothing blew up. I'd say it's a huge success.

Shoutout to all the staff.

John

Someone holding up a sign of a golden retriever captioned "JOHN" in a red sans-serif font