[AMRadio] hamfest?

[w8au at sssnet.com]

Bernie:   Why didn't you call it by name?   Mansfield Hamfest  (OH) :-)

I was there with a table.  Been there for years.  As you said, it was a flea
market.  That's what all hamfests are and have been.  Now if you said
Ham convention, then that's a different matter.

I have always stuck to the radio gear, test equip and parts scenario, and
still do.  I sold a 6 meter AM transceiver (proper content for this list) ;-)
and a bunch of NOS Miller coils/xfmrs in original boxes, some soldering
stations, plus a heavy Model 28 KSR teletype (that was a swap and thankfully
I didn't have to carry it back out to the van!)

I admit that the dress of some of the characters looks worse than a Walmart
store, but that's just a reflection on our "dress down" society today.  I take
it in stride and say "to each his own."   60 percent of the hamfest is
chewing the rag with all the buzzards I've known over the last 40 years
and that's part of the fun.

Except for the icy cold WX and snow that showed up just for this weekend's
hamfest, (which may have kept the attendance a bit lower)  this annual
gathering has always been good.  No smoking is allowed on the premises
for the last ten years or so,  and that is a plus.

It's unfortunate you had a bad time today, but don't give up... wear your
"virtual" radio blinders and walk briskly by the non radio vendors,  stopping
only at those tables that have something that catches your eye.

Works for me!

73 and better days to ya,

Perry    w8au


At 06:24 PM 2/12/2012, Bernie Doran wrote:
>I went to my first hamfest/computer show in many years today thinking I
>might find some interesting AM gear.  ignoring the computer stuff, probably
>only 20%. I saw a nice Halicrafters rx, about ten or so nice Heathkits, a
>390A, perhaps 20 modern ssb transceivers.  all could have been on a thirty
>foot table. What else? CB transceivers stacked six deep, Jewerly, auto truck
>repair manuals, tire tools, dozens of record players, thousands of CDs, VHS
>tapes etc. stuffed animals, candles and jellies, slide projectors, bobble
>heads, hundreds of ink jet cartriges, light strings and Christmas
>decorations, and best of all, syringes beside minature digital scales!
>
>There probably were 400 people there so this must be what they want.  It
>looked like Wal Mart, 400 pounders waddling back and forth and stinking of
>cigarette smoke.    This pretty much indicated to me why we have a different
>type of operator on the ham bands.  However, trying to be objective, Those
>of us who at least try to be polite, may well in a short period of time, if
>not now, be in the minority and it could be argued that we are in the wrong
>and out of step.
>
>This looked simply like a flea market.    And, yes, before anyone says, if
>you did not like it, do not go again.  I certainly will not.
>
>Is this typical?    Bernie  W8RPW