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THE AM BULLETIN BOARD => QSO => Topic started by: Chris P. on August 02, 2018, 01:21:53 PM



Title: Berryville VA Hamfest Aug. 5th
Post by: Chris P. on August 02, 2018, 01:21:53 PM
Who's going? Looks like it is going to be a warm one!


Title: Re: Berryville VA Hamfest Aug. 5th
Post by: K4NYW on August 02, 2018, 08:45:21 PM
Plenty of shady trees there, though.
FWIW, here are some photos from the 2016 Berryville fest.
http://www.virhistory.com/ham/berryville-16.htm

I'll be there, selling some miscellaneous stuff and on the lookout for Navy radio and teletype gear.
Cheers,
Nick


Title: Re: Berryville VA Hamfest Aug. 5th
Post by: Todd, KA1KAQ on August 07, 2018, 11:22:47 AM
Was good seeing you there, Chris. You snagged some good stuff!

Nick - not sure how we missed each other. Got there a bit late since I wasn't selling and had my co-pilot along for the trip. By noon her little 5 yr old legs were tired and the heat & humidity was building fast. Think it was 90 or 91 when we left. Those trees do offer nice shade, but there's no escaping the humidity.

Didn't take any photos but had a good visit. Saw W3JN aka Fireball and his son selling the usual high-end goodies like a nice RCA CR-91 receiver in original cabinet WITH original meter! John's table is always a gathering point for AMers which is where I saw Chris and later Dave/K2DK. One of John's old friends I'd met at Dayton in 2007 was also in attendance, Mike/N9N...C?

Berryville always has a lot of good stuff, and this time was no exception. Saw numerous receivers including Howard's rebuilt Collins offerings and heard of others, like a scruffy RCA AR88 that sold for $50. Chris scored a sweet little HB regen set that I tried not to drool on. Even saw a nice HB Hy-pot tester in a plexi-glass cabinet. Loads of good parts, as always. Caitlin got to try on a tanker's helmet and also got to drive a 4WD robot that was roaming the grounds. And one of the OTs who is always there handing out do-it-yourself wooden slingshot kits for kids gave one to her. Dennis the Menace would be proud.

As usual I didn't bring a lot of $ so I woldn't haul anything home. Ended up finding several knobs for antique radio projects for $8, a clean, original RAO-7/9 manual for $10, and (drumroll)...finally found the final air variable for the Meissner 150-B project, like new for $30! The manual and cap came from Jeff/K3DUA who always has several tables of good stuff for sale.

Only other expenses were $10 for admission and $1.50 for some coffee-flavored hot water. Came home with fifty cents in my pocket and only items for existing radios or projects. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks?



Title: Re: Berryville VA Hamfest Aug. 5th
Post by: k3msb on August 08, 2018, 08:19:26 AM
Berryville was muddy this year.   I decided to pack my high top waterproof work boots and changed into them when I got there.   I was glad that I did. 

I thought attendance was down, as was the selection of radios.   Hopefully that’s due to the weather.    I arrived at 0615 and there were tons of open spaces, which is not the case in drier years.  The attached photos were taken at 0645 and 0715.

I had a nice chat with Jeep K3HVG who gave me the evil eye when I said I had not yet started the power supply for my two ART-13s.  He also had some ARC-5 stuff for sale.   

Nick, I made several passes by your table looking for an eye-ball QSO but you were not around.

I saw nothing of WW II mil vintage that begged me to “take it home” so mainly stocked up on parts for projects and picked up some miscellaneous stuff.



Title: Re: Berryville VA Hamfest Aug. 5th
Post by: K4NYW on August 08, 2018, 11:33:07 AM
Sorry I missed you Mark - I always find wandering about and looking at other people's stuff much more interesting than staring at my own table. Price it cheap and put out the "Pay Here" box seems to work OK.

In spite of the muddy areas, I thought there was a very nice turnout of vintage gear and I enjoyed seeing i all and chatting with interesting folks - See you next time, Todd!

Cheers,
Nick


Title: Re: Berryville VA Hamfest Aug. 5th
Post by: Chris P. on August 08, 2018, 12:14:31 PM
Like Mark, I thought the attendance was a little off, but still a good turnout. Hopefully it was just because of the weather/swamp at the lower end of the grounds.

I found some power resistors for a project, a couple of greenlee punches, and a homebrew regen Todd mentioned.

This Jeep was also interesting.
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