[Boatanchors] General Comments On Hamfests (Re: Timinium Hamfest)

[Garey Barrell]

Good points.

I've been around long enough, (I just got my 50 year pin from ARRL! YIKES!,) to recognize that 
hamfests are merely cycling around to what they used to be.  Back then, much as today, there were 
groups that got together on the air, often in the same geographical area.  Phone calls were 'long 
distance' so guys with a common interest would get together in the evening and just chatter.  Oh 
yes, there were only three TV channels, at the most.  There were also nightly 'traffic nets' 
conducted under the "National Traffic System" (NTS) that also gathered groups on Phone (AM) and CW.

Once a year, sometimes more often, these groups would have a 'hamfest', which usually consisted of a 
picnic on Sunday afternoon.   The families were invited and attended, and everyone just had a nice 
'eyeball' visit.  Guys who wanted to transfer equipment and/or parts would use these occasions to do 
that as well.  Once in a while one or two attendees would toss an extra transmitter or receiver or 
... in the trunk to see if anyone wanted it.  So you would just pull up in the picnic area parking 
lot and if you had something other than a planned exchange to offer, you'd just lift the trunk lid.

Eventually the hamfests became more of a 'convention' in nature, offering technical presentations 
that often were the leading edge of a new mode or method of communication.  Some were as minimal as 
a demonstration of a new device, with little technical information, while others were full blown 
design conference presentations, usually presented by the technical person or team that developed 
it.  The 'flea market' as a minor factor, and primarily consisted of a swing through the parking lot 
in the morning before the presentations started around 10 AM.

This worked great for quite a few years, but then it became more and more of a 'used equipment 
exchange', at least partly due to the disappearance of radio stores that actually dealt in used 
equipment!  The last true used equipment operation I know of, I worked at in the early 60's in 
Huntsville Alabama.  It was an Electronic Wholesalers store that primarily sold parts and equipment 
to all of the manufacturing companies in the area, mostly in support of NASA.  EW had a big store, 
and the front had a wide counter facing the door.  There were also fully enclosed rooms at each end 
of the front, one for ham gear, and the other for the new 'stereo' and 'hi-fi' gear.  On the left 
were Drake, Collins, Hallicrafters, Hammarlund and a few other brands, along with a fair collection 
of used equipment that had actually been taken in on trade!  There was a tri-bander on a small tower 
on the roof, and several stations were set up.  On the right side were the McIntosh, Marantz, 
Dynaco, Acoustic Research, Thorens and many other brands of audio equipment.

Unfortunately, 'radio stores' were disappearing, devolving to mail order outlets competing solely on 
price, with '800 numbers'.  Essentially the 'big box' stores of Ham radio, where the only thing that 
mattered was the price.  You'd call five different numbers, give them the model number you wanted, 
and whoever had the lowest price that day got the order.  Certainly none were interested in your old 
radio, just in selling you a new one.  So the hamfest morphed into a used equipment exchange, the 
technical presentations faded, and hamfests became endless walking through the flea market, and then 
going to lunch.  Some social interaction took place, but most were so frantically searching for a 
'bargain' they became like sharks, never stopping, afraid someone else would beat them to the 'deal 
of the day'.  Of course all this money changing hands soon attracted the computer, jewelry and 
'handicrafts' sorts, and you had to pick up the handmade doily to look at a radio.

Then came the internet and eBay.  Suddenly instead of 50 or 200 or 2,000 or 20,000 potential 
customers looking at your junk, you had the entire world 'walking past your trunk'.  This has been 
the typical 'good news', 'bad news' situation.  The good news is that there is a virtually unlimited 
number of potential customers viewing your offer, leading to competition in offers and from the 
sellers point of view, higher prices.  Also, there is a virtually unlimited source of equipment 
stored in various locations around the world, and the rapidly increasing prices cause the owner to 
go dig it out of the attic.  You will find something that you haven't seen in 30 years, and when it 
sells for a fantastic sum because no one else has seen one either, five more will appear as their 
owners suddenly realize they had 'one of those' in the attic.  The bad news, from the buyers point 
of view, is the higher prices commanded because of the vast size of the market.  There are always at 
least two people that want whatever treasure that appears.  Yet another factor is that the 
tremendous volume of transactions is enough to draw the attention of the fraudsters and con men who 
are able to prey on the innocent from an anonymous 'hole'.  Add to this the packing and shipping, 
with attendant loss, damage and insurance hassles, and the old hamfest looks pretty good!

I doubt if the hamfests that are centered around a flea market will survive much longer.  Many have 
already disappeared, and others are fading.  However, the good news is that some have figured this 
out and are starting to revert to some of the old ideas.  Technical and other informative 
presentations are coming back, and people are actually sitting and visiting with distant friends 
they haven't seen since last year, giving them a reason to attend again, without the distraction of 
a flea market.  So the hamfests that survive will likely be the ones that change with the times and 
offer more than just a steadily shrinking flea market to attendees.

73, Garey - K4OAH
Glen Allen, VA
Drake 2-B, 2-C/2-NT, 4-A, 4-B, C-Line
and TR-4/C Service Supplement CDs
<www.k4oah.com>


Chuck Gallup wrote:
> Hamfests can be great fun. The pleasure has dwindled down to a low point for me, but I still go occasionally to ragchew and think about the good old days. Not to sell, however.
>
>