The AM Forum

  They just cancelled the Sussex 'fest.  That was, for us out here on the East Coast, the last hold out, and now that's gone, too.  Well, hopefully we'll still have Nearfest in the fall.

Someone brought up the idea of at least having an on-air swap net, like the old weekly Thursday Night 3885 AM Swap Net, perhaps on a session of the Lonely Guys Net on Saturday.  Perhaps since the LG Net goes n summer vacation in a couple of weeks the time slot can be filled with a Summer Swap Net...

  That might be fun, and since the majority of participants on LG are relatively local to each other, the problem of shipping heavy stuff wouldn't be extreme in most cases; most of us are within a couple hours drive of each other.
  There's QTH and E-ham and the like, too, but they're not AM specific, and it seems that whenever I take an interest in something there, it turns out to be hundreds of miles away and too heavy to ship.
   I've pretty much got most of the rigs I'll be needing for a while, but the 'festers are my major source of parts, and it's all stuff you can actually get your hands on and check out before you buy.
   I need so bad to be walking around at Nearfest, hearing the breeze whispering in the pines, smelling the aroma of the sausage booth, and enjoying the company of fellow radio enthusiasts.

The idea of an on-the-air swap net is  over half a century old and it would still be perfectly valid.  When Joe K1RQG (sk) and I (back then as WA1IVB) took over the Maine Hosstraders net we ran it every Sunday afternoon through the cooler months.  We kept 3 by 5 card files, categorized by equipment type of things people had, as well as a looking-for list.  We could put people in contact with phone numbers, or on the air, pretty quickly.  Now of course the net control could make an updated weekly listing to be sent as a pdf on a group email list.  With a more concentrated interest group, such as AM. it would be interesting to a select assemblage, and quite manageable.  Over the course of a three hour net, stopped only by Sixty Minutes coming on TV, we would often have well over 100 checkins, some listing and some just to say hello.
As old buzzards know, the Maine Hosstraders net morphed into the Hosstraders net and shortly after spawned the Hosstraders hamfest.  That was Bob, W1GWU's inspiration.  Times were different then, but the concept would still work just fine and dandy in 2020.  Back then, the hamfest was created to keep the group together after we shut down for the summer, but in 2020 it just has to be the on-the-air gathering to maintain the cohesive fraternity.   Net control needs the multitasking skills and situational awareness of an air traffic controller, and a big signal. 
73 de Norm W1ITT

Used to greatly enjoy the Sunday Hosstraders net  (3942?). Bought and sold many items over the years, Filled in the 2 weeks between Yellow Sheets. As I recall, Bill K1BF ran it for a while but with the advent of the Internet is began to slide.
Maybe now is the time for a revival?
The New England Vintage Electronics Club did a virtual hamfest via Zoom several Saturdays ago. It was fun.
Carl
KPD

I had the exact same thoughts the other night while we were grilling onions along with burgers up at my son’s place on Memorial Day!

The world of amateur radio is doomed with no hamfests, no pungent food aromas, thousands of amateurs wandering aimlessly around trying to buy something  :D

Anyway, we have an AM Classifieds right here on AMfone:
http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?action=collapse;c=4;sa=collapse;sesc=31f91df6a0829c00d0e938a590285153#4
Got stuff to sell, need stuff, want to trade stuff, want to embrace some new stuff, etc. post it on the AM classifieds - save gas, tolls, eating bad food, etc.

Yes, that is right Pete. We have a hamfest right here already. Thanks for the reminder. The spring swapmeet at the museum in Windsor has also been cancelled. I know you go to that one too Bill! You won't soon forget the deal that you got there!
Larry

I must admit that I don't use our own AMfone classifieds often enough.  I'll have to sit down sometime with a can of Moxie and an Italian sausage sandwich, and have my own little virtual hamfest.

You call, we haul, that's all.

Bring it back!