The SARA - 2000 conference was held at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Greenbank, West Virginia, on 16 - 19 July.  SARA is an interesting group.  It has about as many members, worldwide, as NOVAC does locally.  Of these, about 50 participated in the conference.  My impression is that amateur radio astronomy is about where amateur optical astronomy was in the 1920's, as exemplified by Stellafane of that period.

Apart from the organizational business sessions (Tom Crowley was elected president), about 15 technical reports, project updates, and pleas for help were presented. The subjects ranged from low-noise amplifier design, meteor detection, distributed data processing, new software, X-Ray/VLF correlation, to pulsar detection. The plea for help came from a field biologist who was trying to gauge the level of solar ultraviolet radiation from indirect radio measure of the ionosphere.  This in order to estimate the persistence of the brucellosis pathogen (affects buffalo & cattle) in the soil around Yellowstone National Park.

The best updates were given by Jim Thieman, on the RADIO JOVE project (similar to the presentation he gave NOVAC), and by Don Cline, president of PARI.  The Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) is a not-for -profit public foundation organized to provide research access to optical and radio astronomy.  They have taken over a former NASA satellite tracking station (with five radio telescopes and one automated optical telescope) located on 200 acres in the Pisgah National Forest in SW North Carolina.  Might be an interesting place to visit.  Should have dark skies!

Other activities at the conference included a tour of the almost-complete GBH telescope (largest movable dish in the world) and evening use, by SARA members, of two small radio telescopes:  the 40-foot antenna, and a 75-foot long horn antenna for 1420 MHz.  You can see these, and all the other telescopes, on any public tour of the NRAO.  The facility is in a very scenic rural setting, about 4 hours from DC and only 30 miles south of Spruce Knob.

Some of the SARA participants were old-hands with vast technical proficiency, some were science teachers working out better ways to present the subject, some were vendors offering essential equipment and literature, and some were just beginning amateurs like me.  All were friendly.  The one thing that stuck me as "most different" from optical astronomy was that most of the radio astronomers build the detection components and computer interfaces first, and got around to building th actual antenna last!  Sort of like having to build a brain and eye before you grind your mirror?

Here are some web sites for further information:
NRAO:  http://www.nrao.edu
SARA:  http://www.bambi.net/sara.html
Radio Jove:  http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov
PARI:  http://www.pari.edu