[NJARC] Re: [CC-AWA] Some observations on Rochester 2003

[John Dilks - K2TQN]

Ditto Robert's remarks. Buyers in the flea market were aggressive for the
first 2 hours on Wednesday, but their ranks were rather thin. The programs
were the strong point of the Meet.

The contest was so-so...some excellent
entries, but not up to what I saw at Extravaganza/Lansing and
RadioActivity/Md this year. Quantity and variety were lacking. FM radio did
make a good theme.

Super talks by Lud and Bart Lee. I missed Robert's talk,
unfortunately.

The auction was improved over last year, due in part to
increasing the allowed number of consignments from 3 to 5 for each
registrant. The Communications equipment part of the auction was
particularly interesting, with some ham gear in extraordinary condition. A
tiny Amplion Dragonfly speaker went for $1600 and a black celluloid Burns
for about $900 I think. But an OK AK-10C (refinished board and re-painted
metal) couldn't get a bid of $550.

The restoration talks were informative, but moderator Marc Ellis' rule of no
questions until all of the speakers are done really restricts the
possibility of any useful back-and-forth with the audience...a real
turn-off.

AWA has a serious challenge before it regarding the viability of the main
event that brings everyone to Rochester -- the flea market.

Regards to all,
Paul Farmer