[Milsurplus] SeaPac Ham Fair 3 June 2023

[Hubert Miller]

So yesterday was the SeaPac ham convention and swap meet at Seaside.
I got up at 4:45 to drive there. I had last been there about a decade ago
and had built up the drive in my mind to be more than it is. From Newport
where i live, it's going on 3 hours, and it is over a mostly 2 lane, winding
road, but i relearned that it's doable in one day, up and back. You also 
see some of the most pleasing scenery on God's green earth. The dense
green forests, the rivers, the dramatic coastal views; this is one of the 
most beautiful drives you could make in America. At the time i drove up
and time i drove back, there was really little traffic on 101, and that means
also hardly any tailgating speedster either. 

Someone at the show told me that attendance was down from last year.
I wasn't there last year, so i don't know. The volunteer staff were all 
cheerful and so helpful. There was little in the way of actual antique
civilian radio there, but Julyah ( Pres of PSARA ) managed to find a small
wooden table radio for someone in the club. She also got some kind of 
CRT substitution thing for servicing TVs - you plug this CRT thing in place
of the suspect CRT in the TV. If you wanted to shop parts, there were tons
of new parts. Knobs, lytic capacitors both low and high voltage, lots of 
new parts in grab bags. I know, parts don't make a lot of sense if you don't
ever use them, but i have a hard time resisting for example a bag of maybe
50 LEDs for $1. I saw some tube era ham radios, some tube communications
receivers. There was a really nice Collins R-388 that had been completely
overhauled, for $275, not a bad price, but when i lifted one end, i realized
the size and weight approximated an air conditioner, and that ended any
serious interest on my part. I think the HRO-60 with coils, including the 
very rare desirable 15BS coil, sold for $250. It looked like the SX-28 for about
the same price did not sell. There were some other lower level shortwave
receivers such as Lafayette and Hallicrafters, nothing really exciting. There
was very little in the way of tubes; what was on offer were later than octals.
I did see one interesting tube: a Zenith type 42 tube, in some elaborate
"anti-tampering box", really an overdone packaging, i think. The price was
i think, $15; too much for me to risk picking up just to pass on to someone
else. The 42's tube box was entirely sealed closed, so this would be strictly a 
"look at" curio rather than one to use. I had never seen before a tube with
such overdone packaging.

Other thoughts. There were available some very attractive enameled pins 
at the entrance, apparently including some from past years shows. The city
seems well arranged, attractive, and clean. I saw no graffiti. ( The only "art
form" proudly practiced on other people's property, not your own, good
heavens! ) Downtown area walking around, i saw sprawled in an empty
storefront a man sleeping, this was around 3 PM, or maybe he was overdosed
or even, God forbid, dead. Passersby were shocked, appalled. Today, not 
being tired or having somewhere to rush to, i think in retrospect i should 
have called the police. No one who is clearly unable to care for themself
should be out wandering lost. That they are is i think, a sign of a disorganized
society. 
Later Julyah and i checked out an antique mall downtown. I was mostly 
interested in finding some 1950s copies of 'Pacific Fisherman' magazine,
which has ads in back for some obscure Pacific Northwest boat radio builders.
I had bought some of these years ago in Seaside, no luck Saturday. In the 
antique mall we saw a couple Lionel toy train compatible "towers", one a
radio & radar tower, the other a "signaler tower". Both were quite cute 
but priced of course at collector retail. In the same mail i was startled to
see what looked like a very attractive military field radio. It had a speaker
grill on front, all kinds of knobs, a meter of some kind. I thought it had to
be a military radio new to me, or some Chinese faux retro product. When
i got closer and looked at the nameplate, i saw it was actually an FM VHF
signal generator I-208 for servicing tank radio, WWII era. No sale. I wonder
at the price they wanted, how many years it will take up space there 
without selling, or is it useful as decoration ? 
Julyah and i went to Starbucks a little later. Altho it was still afternoon,
the inside store was shut, only the drive-thru was open. I saw a "Help
Wanted" sign on the Starbucks. Later i bought a Tillamook newspaper
and saw a big 'Now Hiring' ad for some hotel group. I had to wonder,
where did everyone go?  

Some of the ham radio presentations at the event i would have liked to 
attend, such as the one on 3D printing, but i spelled a couple people from
the Lincoln County Amateur Radio club's table so they could attend. There
will be other opportunities. I am sure everyone who attended really enjoyed 
the day.
-Hue Miller