The AM Forum

Its time for the somewhat annual Rockchester Hamfest. And yes, the hamfest has moved again. Its now back at the firemans' field. And probably no beer tent/stand. Arrguhh. And definitely no to grills.

Saturday June 6th 2015

Gates open 7 AM

Barnard Fireman's Field - 360 Maiden Lane - Rochester NY 14616
http://www.rochesterham.org/Hamfest.htm

We'll see.

klc

Gee....... if I come up Friday and camp I can't brew coffee in the morning and make my eggs n' bacon??? That sucks.

Wow! Firemen denying themselves the opportunity to put out fires!

That is self denial worthy of a Buddhist monk!  :)

happy hamfest!

Make it a fun weekend; do Rochester on Saturday and poke down the road to Breeze Shooters on Sunday.

This is just some of the customer packing at Breeze Shooters:

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QcMMKjz4ZaI/U40UAImAq5I/AAAAAAAABio/qcmxvW5s6Sk/w950-h713-no/IMG_5560.JPG)

Unlike NEARfest I can drive to this one in a few hours.  Are there many AMers to meet and hangout with?  How about the flea market any good stuff ?  Never been and seriously considering it.  I would ask my HAM friends but I think they are all of the "other" modulation persuasion.  :'(
73s  Nigel

The whole no cooking speaks more towards looking at revenue generation.   I have a microwave and an inverter,  along with a griddle and everything that runs off electric (trucking,  and now really handy as an electrician too).

I could understand local businesses wanting to get a piece of the pie....?

--Shane
KD6VXI

If there is a good food vendor at a fest, I don't mind paying the price.  This is the case with the sausage truck at NEARfest.  I was actually disappointed one food vendor wasn't there this year.  This was the lobster roll/clam chowder guy.  Maybe he is only there in the fall.

I long for the old Rockchester days at the Dome, when it was second only to Dayton in flea market size..but the times are a changing..

I'll probably make the trip this year..it will be interesting to see how much the year off will hurt attendance.

" I was actually disappointed one food vendor wasn't there this year."

Yes, I know watt you mean. At the dome, I would do my yearly, " Drinking of the Genesee" , at the beer shack. The only time I'd drink the stuff. The snausage and peppers were O.K.  I re-read the web posting, and they mention a bar near the ATM machine. So maybe there is still hope.

"...it will be interesting to see how much the year off will hurt attendance."

This type of  change seems to kill off events. Moving  locations multiple times in a short period of time doesn't help. The RIT location was nice, as it was fully paved. One of my friends is chair bound, and he doesn't go to to events that are not paved.

"How about the flea market any good stuff? "

It usta be good; NearFest may have drawn off some of the gud stuff. Back in 05 there was a group photo with about 30 AMers. Around noon, near the beer tent, the paparazzi would gather. Maybee this year, there will be a gathering around the ATM machine. Whatever happens, I'll take a few photos and we'll see.

klc

Sales tax:  That's going to discourage some sellers.  Wasn't there another Fester that went under and one of the contributing factor was this sales tax issue?

No cooking:  That pretty much rules out even brewing a cup in the morning in your camper that has propane fired cook stove inside the camper.  Sounds pretty oppressive to me.

NearFest had to ban open campfires for insurance reasons and the fact that there was a problem with a fire at Hosstraders.

A,

My understanding is that the sales tax thing is for commercial activity. Flee sales, tailgating etc. seems to be exempt.

klc

That section on the announcement certainly needs clarification.  "Selling vendors?"

Not really.

State of New York Sales Tax Guide:
Sales of tangible personal property are subject to New York sales tax unless they are specifically exempt.
The term tangible personal property means any kind of physical personal property that has a material existence and is perceptible to the human senses (in other words, something you can see and touch).

Quick Reference Guide for Taxable and Exempt Property and Services:
http://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/tg_bulletins/st/quick_reference_guide_for_taxable_and_exempt_property_and_services.htm

P,

Oh well, I guess I can't get rid of my ceramic frog.

klc

Declare the pennies on your eyes.

Pete

That's what I tho't I heard.  I think I heard that at least one 'fester's downfall was in part due to the oppressive sales tax imposed from sellers who were not really prepared to submit the paperwork for selling a $1 item (or whatever).

The folks who wrote up those sales taxes were not at all mindful of the 'fester selling of goods.

Al

I guess we'll see how the tax issue affects it, but it should not. 'Hey mister, that's my best price including tax, if you don't want it, no hard feelings 8-) have a nice day!'

There is no need for it to suck any of the fun out of the event. Those who don't like it could make a petition for people to sign at the fest to exempt piddly things like this. - and even make funny drawings/cartoons on their tables about it. Just trying to be positive.

Hope there are lots of nice equipment pictures to be posted later and it's a good weather day.

We'll see watt 'apens.... If it doesn't rain, and the wife gets up on time, there will be a full scale report.  With Pictures (in color).

I need some 837s along with a few phono jacks. A good reason to drive 90 miles and save some money. And maybe see some people before they crap out.....   


klc

Sounds like politicians' greed.

What you read in that guide above can apply to some degree to many states that have a sales tax. As part of your Dayton flea market vendor package of papers, there were tax forms basically to issue you a temporary permit to sell and collect tax. Vendors at the Timonium hamfest back in the 90's use to order vendor outside spaces and tickets just to be sure they had space when they got there. Besides getting tickets and stuff from them in the mail, the state of Maryland also sent a temporary permit to sell and forms on where to send any tax collected.

Sales tax laws have evolved recently where when you order from big box vendors on the Internet, they now charge you sales tax even if they don't have a presence in the state where you live. Of course, this doesn't apply to the 4 states that don't have a sales tax.

As the guide indicates, there are a number of exemptions and exclusions depending on what it is, who you are, and probably a few others things too.

If I come I won't be selling. But there will be a donation jar with suggested donations for everything on my table.
Donations will go to a cause of my choice. :)

Actually doesn't make a difference if it's "suggested donations $" or "selling price $". Unless you or the "stuff" falls under an exemption clause, tangible personal property is subject to sales tax according to the law. Beyond that, what you do with the collected money is a "don't care".

It was sarcastic, Pete. Lighten up! ::)

Sorry; never known you to be sarcastic.

Too many rules, regulations, can't do's, and taxes. I'll skip this one.

I seem to recall someone saying this crap was the cause of the recent Timonium implosion, why they did away with the tailgating (best part) and all that.

NEAR-Fest always kept it simple, based on the rules of the town and fairgrounds: no open fires (campfires, etc), no open alcoholic containers. Plenty of folks have grilled or otherwise cooked at their spaces and enjoyed 'refreshments' without disturbing the cavalry. NM1V, 'GFZ and others can attest to the latter. NEAR-Fest even has an unofficial official beer.


Buddly is as serious as a bad case of gas in church.

Wrap yer food in Luminum wrap and place on the exhaust manifold.


klc

Show and tell.

Lots of parking available, its all on grass. The parking was next to a paved lot, which the parking staff kept people out of. I'd guess that the handicapped could park on the paved lot.  

Very few 'big' vendors (like none).  Friendly crowd.  There was a lot less computer stuff than in the past.  There were not a lot of boat anchors, almost no other crap such as frogs, rugs etc.  The ATM, which had a prominent mention on the 'RARA” web page, was portable and near the food concession. I had a snausage, onions and pepper sandwich. It was served on a fresh bun, and tasted good. ($3.50) There is a restaurant serving food and drinks (beer n' booze) right next door.

A bit more.

I noticed the homebrew 4 X 811 amp on the table. $150.00.  Watt do I want with this? I don't do a lot of CW or SSB work. So I walked away. Just before I left, I walked by the table again. It was still there. So was the amp. I looked again. I wonder if they'll drop the price? I really don't need it, but its got 4 811s and a transformer. And it's got all those Cu coils. And a nice luminum chassis. Parts is parts. So now its sitting on top of my Ranger until I figure out if it works or not.

I never did find an 837.

More stuff.

I saw, and communicated with a yute. He was 25 years old, and a computer graduate.  And he was at a hamfest. This was interesting. I also saw some ~16 year olds walking about.

 




klc

What's a grit? Err, uh, I mean what's a yute?

I saw a couple of those yutes also, and one of the others in my party chatted with them briefly. Was good to see a couple of faces at a fester not framed with grey hair.  ;D