Is This the End of Hamfests & Flea Markets in Massachusetts????

[WA1GFZ]

You don't understand. It isn't about collecting money, it is about getting high paying government jobs with all the perks for your buddies.

[K1JJ]

You don't understand. It isn't about collecting money, it is about getting high paying government jobs with all the perks for your buddies.

Yep.  And appointing some of the most incompetent people on the planet  as "commissioners"  for specialized high level jobs is corrupt. They need to stop that practice.

What gets me is watching the drunken sailors raise the local school budget for the tenth year in a row. After they thin out the local taxpayer ranks thru defaults, where do they go next for mo money?  Muni bonds are next to get wasted.  Gut the Board of Ed and all the buro-fat and phase in internet class learning. Reduce our property taxes by 80%.  


T

[W1RC]

Possible exemption from the MA Sales Tax at Hamfests and Flea Markets:

See  http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?topic=27266.0

Print it out and take it along if you are contemplating selling at a flea market in the Commonwealth in case some rectal orifice from the Department of Revenue gets in your face..

73,

MrMike

[WA3VJB]

I remember a LOT of years ago the tax boys showed up at the Rochester NY hamfester demanding everyone selling in the flea market register and collect NY sales tax.  Next year and subsequently they didn't show up.  However this may be different.

I was there for that. As they went table to table shutting down people who didn't have the required 'papers', a large angry crowd began to follow them about. They were making noises about shutting down the hamfest. They eventually fled to an office in the dome building, with a bunch of us out in the hallway shouting questions and comments. Two uniformed state troopers came and stationed themselves at the door to the room to keep the crowd back, probably now over 100 people between the angry and the curious.

About a half hour later, the troopers got a radio call, and opened the door to show an empty office and disperse the crowd. The two tax men had been evacuated out a window into a waiting trooper car and driven off the site!

The REVENOOERS !

Great story !

Reminds me of the movie "Ghostbusters" where the government guy orders his workers to release all the evil sprits the good guys had captured in that vault, because they're being contained in an UNAPPROVED grid of some kind.

Reaction of the workers and the government guy is priceless.  We can hope they soiled themselves at Rochester that year too.

[WA1GFZ]

Soiled, what an interesting PC term

[W1UJR]

 The downfall of Atlantis was that people became excessively civilized.

Here I thought the downfall of Atlantis was that it fell into the ocean?
Who knew....

[KB2WIG]

  "   Soiled, what an interesting PC term.   "


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5742933797940084418#


klc

[K1JJ]

 The downfall of Atlantis was that people became excessively civilized.

Here I thought the downfall of Atlantis was that it fell into the ocean?
Who knew....

Ummm.... wasn't Wonder Woman from Atlantis too?


T

[k4kyv]

I remember a LOT of years ago the tax boys showed up at the Rochester NY hamfester demanding everyone selling in the flea market register and collect NY sales tax.  Next year and subsequently they didn't show up.  However this may be different.

I was there for that. As they went table to table shutting down people who didn't have the required 'papers', a large angry crowd began to follow them about. They were making noises about shutting down the hamfest. They eventually fled to an office in the dome building, with a bunch of us out in the hallway shouting questions and comments. Two uniformed state troopers came and stationed themselves at the door to the room to keep the crowd back, probably now over 100 people between the angry and the curious.

About a half hour later, the troopers got a radio call, and opened the door to show an empty office and disperse the crowd. The two tax men had been evacuated out a window into a waiting trooper car and driven off the site!

I wasn't there that year, but I remember the story.  Also heard that it pretty much shut down the hamfest anyway, as many of the vendors packed up and left.  A big waste of time and money for those who had travelled long distances to attend.

But it took a toll on the hamfest. Before that year, it was second only to Dayton. After that year, it was a shadow of itself and seemed never to quite recover and eventually got so poor it wasn't worth the drive from Ithaca. I hear it's doing better in it's new incarnation at the new site. I may give it a try this year.

All hamfests seem to be down these days, including Dayton. I attended Rochester a couple of times back in the 70s, and I remember then it had a huge flea market that probably had more of the kind of stuff I always look for at a hamfest per square yard than Dayton.  One of those years I rode along with some other guys from the Boston area and missed most of the goodies, because the other guys in the crew wanted to hang around the hotel room that morning and watch Saturday morning cartoons on the boob tube while their hangovers dissipated, so by the time we got to the hamfest, everything was well picked over. Speaking of the urge to kill...

[W1UJR]

It's almost a moot point, in 5 or 10 more years we won't have any hamfests.
I see a lot more interested in selling than buying now a days.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

All hamfests seem to be down these days, including Dayton.

Not all, Don. NEAR-Fest continues to thrive and even expand. We set a new attendance record last spring, in fact. No, it doesn't happen every event, and we're not as big as Dayton, but it goes to show that the reports of the demise of ham radio are greatly exaggerated.

I see a distinct parallel between the mentalities of those on air who call CQ to make activity happen, and those who listen around waiting for it to happen. With NEAR-Fest, a group of dedicated folks who wanted to continue the tradition of an event dear to them stepped in and made it happen. The enthusiasm is contagious, just as a group enjoying an AM round table pulls folks in.

No doubt there are many events that have folded or devolved a bit, something that is bound to happen since it seems nearly every club had a hamfest at some point. But a natural correction looks a lot different to those of us who have been at this for several decades vs. how it probably appears to a newbie collector type licensed during the ebay era who is expecting the world to be laid before them, for example. Quite often their only reference point is the shopping they did online to buy their collection, no concept of what's involved beyond that. To this type it probably seems like the sky is falling, amateur radio will be dead in a few years, etc. Then again, we have several new hams involved with the 'fest who understand what's required for a successful event and really take to the work at hand rather than avoiding it. It's all in the mindset and understanding that you get out what you put in.

Come up to NEAR-Fest next fall, Don. You'll see an event that will take you back to the 'fests you remember from the past. Plenty of gear, parts, and a good group of folks who enjoy making it happen. AM, homebrewing, and the spirit of radio in general are alive and well here.

[Opcom]

Here's a local county commissioner:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aifas6SzyYk
Why do they even keep their jobs? because idiots keep them in power.

Hateful people (no matter what or whom they hate on) who do not have enough class to keep such beliefs to themselves have no business in any public forum. Those who point at others who are different always think they know better than others and think themselves better than those they hate, yet if inspected closely their own mental or other irregularities will shine clearly.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Pretty pathetic, but that's the brave, new PC world we live in.

Fortunately the flea market/hamfest scene is at least, a bit more civilized. Even if it is populated by some rather interesting and entertaining types.  

[k4kyv]

Come up to NEAR-Fest next fall, Don. You'll see an event that will take you back to the 'fests you remember from the past. Plenty of gear, parts, and a good group of folks who enjoy making it happen. AM, homebrewing, and the spirit of radio in general are alive and well here.

I'd love to, but it's so damned far from here.  Maybe I'll try to make it some year, but if I travel with anyone else, I'll make bloody sure they are serious about the hamfest.  I don't want to watch any more Saturday morning cartoons while a hamfest is going on.

After my wife retires, if I'm still kicking and Deerfield is still happening, maybe we could co-ordinate a visit with her parents (or whichever of her family members might still be kicking) that week.

[KM1H]

With Dayton, its all about money and making rules and the a..holes who wear the badges (I dont mean the cops).....its a business, not a hobby.

At Deerfield, the money to setup is minimal, $20 for 2 days and there is no space limit; and the only rule is dont leave your junk behind or load the dumpsters with iron. Parking in an outer lot is free for anyone not selling. The only down side for some is that motels are few close by and its a 20 minute drive to Manchester. There are acres of empty space for motorhomes and campers outside the selling fence....all free.

I used to sleep in a van but gave up that silliness. Im an hour away over lazy back roads.

[K5UJ]

At the NEARFest and Shelby things, does the flea market open early at say, 6 a.m., or do they do the Dayton thing and keep everyone out until 8 a.m.?   I like the 6 a.m. openings.  The early bird gets the Radio ceramic rotary switches for $2 each.

[w3jn]

I'd love to, but it's so damned far from here. 

There's these newfangled things called "airplanes", Don.  Worth a try 

[k4kyv]

I'd love to, but it's so damned far from here.  

There's these newfangled things called "airplanes", Don.  Worth a try  

Problem is, that would defeat the whole purpose of a hamfest for me. You can't bring back much more "stuff" on a plane than a HT and a tube of toothpaste, and if you're lucky maybe you'll find room to cram a leather belt and carrying case for the HT.

With Dayton, its all about money and making rules and the a..holes who wear the badges (I dont mean the cops).....its a business, not a hobby.

At least at Dayton for the past few years the rent-a-cops have been a lot more friendly and less arrogant than they used to be. They must have changed security companies.  The ones  the used to hire were almost 100% a bunch of little pricks who went out of their way to hassle anyone any way they could.  I'm sure that drove a lot of people away after one visit.

[Ed/KB1HYS]

NEARFest is the only hamfest I can get to, usually because the hobby takes a back seat to earning a living etc.   But it's always been worth it, even last time in the freezing pouring rain... Make a couple Eyeball QSO's, and you can still find neat stuff...

[KM1H]

At the NEARFest and Shelby things, does the flea market open early at say, 6 a.m., or do they do the Dayton thing and keep everyone out until 8 a.m.?   I like the 6 a.m. openings.  The early bird gets the Radio ceramic rotary switches for $2 each.

Dont know, 10AM is early for me

When I used to sleep over the dealing and parties went on as long as you could stay awake. I think reveille on the PA system was 6 or 7AM in the pre Nearfest days and the gates opened a half hour later

[K5UJ]

That's my kind of flea market.   Going through stuff with a flashlight while sellers are still hauling boxes out of vans.
By the time the sellers who are running late show up, you have seen everything and are ready for new merchandise.
I always have with me QSL cards to leave in case I get something I can't immediately haul away and a half dozen of those canvas shopping bags that stores are selling to get people off paper.  The canvas bags are great for hauling away parts like small chokes.  They don't rip.  But I'm looking at one of those aluminum folding dollies as I get older.

[k4kyv]

Dont know, 10AM is early for me

Me too.  But I can usually get hyped up enough for a significant hamfest to crawl out of bed before the break of dawn and arrive on the scene as soon as people start setting up. No Saturday morning cartoons on TV in the hotel room for me.

I few times I have managed to sneak into the flea market at Dayton before official opening time.  There is always plenty of buying, selling and trading already going on, no matter how early I have ever arrived. Some vendors appear to already be in full swing.  I have made some of my best finds before the onrush of the crowd when they lift the barricades.

They tell me a lot of swapping and selling goes on Thursday afternoons, when some vendors arrive early to set up before the official Friday opening.

[KM1H]

One of my best ever buys was on a Dayton Thursday in the mid 80's.

Id set up the indoor Radiokit display and had a helper watching it while I went outside. There was a CBer just starting to unload Bird line sections in 1.75" rack panels with FAA ID plates and they were complete with the meter cables. I made a deal for all 36 for $100. I probably have a dozen in use and a few spares and sold off the rest for over $50 each.

Another time on Thursday I bought a SB-230 minus the 8873 for $50 plus a pair of NIB 8874's were included. The seller said they wouldnt fit and he just wanted rid of it all.
I found a NIB 8873 on Friday for $100. That amp was converted to 6M for portable use and I stll have it and it still puts out 600W.

[Steve - K4HX]

Fed Ex.

I'd love to, but it's so damned far from here. 

There's these newfangled things called "airplanes", Don.  Worth a try 

Problem is, that would defeat the whole purpose of a hamfest for me. You can't bring back much more "stuff" on a plane than a HT and a tube of toothpaste, and if you're lucky maybe you'll find room to cram a leather belt and carrying case for the HT.

With Dayton, its all about money and making rules and the a..holes who wear the badges (I dont mean the cops).....its a business, not a hobby.

At least at Dayton for the past few years the rent-a-cops have been a lot more friendly and less arrogant than they used to be. They must have changed security companies.  The ones  the used to hire were almost 100% a bunch of little pricks who went out of their way to hassle anyone any way they could.  I'm sure that drove a lot of people away after one visit.

[WA1GFZ]

Then there is the HUZ mobile.