[NJARC] Rochester AWA

[Mbeeferman at cs.com]

The following remarks must be taken in context....everyone participates in 
our hobby based on their own interests, desires, time, bank account and 
preferences.  I respect them all...unless you are a thief and/or liar, and we have 
enough of these to fill the remaining 1% minority that I stay clear of.  Phil and 
I arrived Tuesday evening and left at 10 AM on Friday.
If you came to the conference to only participate in the flea market and make 
a couple of bucks, you probably were satisfied.  There were about 100 vendors 
and, as most of you know, all the deals go down Tuesday and Wed. morning. 
There were a number of bargains if you acted quickly and some high-end early 
battery stuff (my interest).  Basically, a good selection.  Usual comments from 
the "flea-market only" guys were "It's getting worse every year."  Translated to 
reality, this means "Why did I travel so far to go to a 100-table flea 
market."  For those who made a few bucks, "It was great!"  For those who couldn't 
get $300 for their Crosley 51, "It stunk."
If you came to the conference to talk to some really knowledgeable collectors 
and listen to some interesting talks, it was worth it.  I particularly 
enjoyed talks on the History of Northern Electric, the History of the Sarnoff 
Library by our own Alex Magoun (very popular and well-received; Alex did a fantastic 
job) and an An Overview of Television History.
We signed up for the bus to the museum but it never showed...a freebe was 
offered for Friday but we were well on our way home.  The museum is an amazing 
adventure and well-worth the visit but not that popular with the "flea market 
only" people.  
The auction item total was down but some great pieces showed up (including a 
1914 Marconi marine crystal receiver).  Even if the prices are out of your 
price range, just sitting in the audience and listening to the give-and-take is a 
show in itself.  Phil and I didn't attend so Ray can fill you in.
The old equipment contest was also a pleasure to see...unfortunately, you 
must also read the display material which is not very popular with the "flea 
market only" crowd..."why look at this stuff when I could be making money 
outside?"  Ray Chase entered a great display on the Washington receiver (AVC 
precursor) but I haven't gotten the word yet if he won in the Superhet category...if he 
didn't, something was very wrong.
Phil met a few of his 45 cronies and I also enjoyed listening to the patter.  
Although I'm not much of a collector in this area, I try to make everything I 
hear a learning experience.  A suggestion that came out of this...get those 
Radio DJ's now (no longer produced) or you'll be listening to static in the 
future.
We heard the usual recommendation of holding the flea market on the weekend 
so the conference doesn't require vacation time.  I tend to agree with this 
desire, but fear that those of us that consider our hobby more than one of 
possession and dollar value rather then preserving artifacts and their history is a 
dying breed.  Recent patter that I've heard on "whose got the best flea 
market", "we'll destroy the AWA meet," may make sense to some of us but it leaves me 
unimpressed.  Once competition shows its ugly face is the time to get out.
All-in-all, I had a very nice time.  Came home with a Radiola Grand fix-up, 
Hallicraf ters TV, a wonderful inductively-tuned Magnovox TRF-50 in excellent 
condition with all paper, a Philco 49-1401 auto 78 player/radio and a an 
Emerson 517 table radio.
Received more positive comments on the PAL flea market...this looks like a 
keeper.
Bottom line is what you go for...I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Phil is good 
company and made the drive (record time with a 30-minute pit stop included) and 
stay that much more pleasurable.