Dayton report

[Detroit47]

As expected the swap has slid further downhill. The flea market has fewer vendors than last year. But some things are still the same or larger like the rip off food prices $3.75 for a slice of pizza. "Such a deal" There  was also some freebies on Saturday there was free raw sewage flowing in the flea market due to a pipe break.  With gravity and the rule of @%$& running downhill, my son and I decided it was time to pack up and leave. This is the first time we ever left on a Saturday.  But the weather was beautiful and it was nice to see old friends. I did score some nice parts and have a good time. But it just isn’t like it used to be.

73 John N8QPC

[w3jn]

Twas about 10 years ago they had a portable toilet station in a trailer type of arrangement.  That plugged up, sent sewage all over the flea market, and the health dept threatened to shut down the hamfest.  I felt pretty bad for the beefy guy underneath the trailer wrenching on the pipes to unplug the thing.

I guess Hara Arena hasn't fallen down from neglect yet....

[WA3VJB]

John I want to again say I enjoyed the trip out there that time with you.

Seems like there's some video kicking around to preserve some of the excursion for posterior...

[w3jn]

That was a hell of a good time, wasn't it?

Remember the hassle with the U-haul trailer?

[WA3VJB]

Yeah I remember eyeing all the space on the roof of your 'burban, for a possible work-around.

Here's a sampler from the trip i just threw together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLeh9zYQfC4

[W1UJR]

Twas about 10 years ago they had a portable toilet station in a trailer type of arrangement.  That plugged up, sent sewage all over the flea market, and the health dept threatened to shut down the hamfest.  I felt pretty bad for the beefy guy underneath the trailer wrenching on the pipes to unplug the thing.

Oh man, I so remember that, it was burned into brain and nose, nothing like hamfest sewage cooking off on the hot asphalt, felt very sorry for the vendors next to that mess.

I miss Dayton, work and responsibilities have limited my travel, but I'll make the pilgrimage soon, and bring the YL along for the experience.

Tanks for the memories...

[WB3JOK]

As expected the swap has slid further downhill. The flea market has fewer vendors than last year. But some things are still the same or larger like the rip off food prices

I haven't been able to make it for the last couple of years... hardly missed a one from '92 until recently though! How are the attendance figures. When I was stationed in Dayton in the early 90's it was jammed, 36k or more. Now I bet they hardly break 20k...

[Sam KS2AM]

I would say that the flea market was about the same size as the last couple of years - you'd have to find out how many fleamarket tickets they sold to be able to know for sure.   The rumor is that the overall attendance was about the same as last year or maybe higher.

Weather was great and if you didn't use sunblock you might have a burn right now.

Seemed to be fewer boatanchors in the flea market this year.

Highlight for me was operating KC8ZUL's 20V3 in the back of his pickup truck, making a bunch of contacts, then being asked by the WWII handie-talkie guys if I could cease and desist so that they could operate their yearly net on 3885.

The "lowlight" for me was not the raw sewage in the flea market on Saturday but the shrink-wrapped "Dave Made" that someone was trying to peddle in the feamarket.

 
Sam / KS2AM

[w3jn]

Yeah I remember eyeing all the space on the roof of your 'burban, for a possible work-around.

Here's a sampler from the trip i just threw together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLeh9zYQfC4

Very nice!  I forgot you had finagled access to the roof of Hara Arena.  I'm surprised you didn't fall thru 

The other highlight was the waitress at the restaurant knowing of the fabled Continental Hotel.

[K5UJ]

Well I didn't make it to Dayton this year but I just got home from visiting Jeff KB9YSJ who went and came back with quite a haul of good deals in parts.  My buddies were looking out for me because WB9DNZ tipped Jeff off on a Viking 2 and 122 VFO for $40 which he grabbed and sold to me at cost.  What a guy!   For that price I was half expecting a basket case V2 but I went and got it tonight and while not pristine, it is certainly a solid 6 on a scale of 1 to 10, definitely not a parts rig and capable of being returned to the air.  Had a completely documented manual, & the 122 looks FB...I mean if this is anything to go by, there were some excellent deals out there and I told him I might keep staying home so as to not jinx any bargains next year.

[KX5JT]

Hey that's awesome Rob.  Looking forward to a V2 to V2 qso with you at some point!

[k4kyv]

I enjoyed it this year.  Excellent weather, and I saw a lot of vintage AM gear, probably as many pieces as riceboxes (maybe I just blocked them out of my mind). I didn't buy anything big this year, although I was tempted by the mint 51J4 with all filters for $500.  Spent most of Fri and Sat digging through the boxes under the tables or hidden behind the big items on the tables.  Got quite a few freebies from the "free" boxes, including a couple of round Bliley crystals and a pair of old style 12" PM speakers.

Spent a few minutes inside, and the only significant new item I picked up was a C. Crane internet "radio", which they say they will take back if I am not satisfied within 30 days (they did take back the digital FM transmitter I bought from them a few years ago and it crapped out after two days).

We missed the AM gang at Marion's Saturday evening.  Our crew overslept our power nap after we  got back to the hotel, and didn't make it until after 8 PM.  The AMers were already gone but most of the Collins guys were still there.  Had a nice get-together with Steve W8TOW and others at Piazza restaurant in Troy.  Gary didn't hug the porcelain after the meal as he did last year, causing him to be reluctant to go this year.

[KB5MD]

Went Friday only, but had a fun time and ran into the infamous Don Chester, K4KYV (the highlight of my trip).
Stayed down in Indiana and rested Saturday.  Picked up a kenwood monitor scope and another Viking KW matchbox along with a box of the old style ladder line.  Finally found a large knife switch.  Looking forward to HamCom in Plano, TX next month.

[Sam KS2AM]

Here's the KC8ZUL pickup-mobile that I operated for a bit on Saturday AM.

[Sam KS2AM]

Here's a pic from the military handie-talkie net on 3885 that started up at noon Saturday.

The guy in the foreground was the net control (anyone know his callsign and what rig he was using?)

The guys in the background, i.e. the next flea market stall, are in the process of checking in on a shared handlie-talkie.   

[KA8WTK]

Net control was Joe Munson, WA4VAG.
I don't remember the model numbers of the rig, but it was used in (IIRC) B-17 bombers when they left the factory for the AAC for outfitting. When they left the factory they did not have guns or radios. They were put in later. This radio was use to talk to the tower for take off and landing. It is in a wooden box so it can be removed from the aircraft and then taken back to the factory for the next flight.
That is the story I was given. Somebody correct me if my memeory is off.
Latter in the day they was a SSB net for manpack HF radios as well as a 51.0 mHz net called the "Cold War Net". I had the only PRC-6 in the group. I actually got complimented by net control for being on frequency and having good audio. (Must not be easy with a PRC-6. I know I worked on mine for a while till I felt it was right.) The net was also reffered to as the "End Times Net" for the predictions of the rapture. All we got was the rupture.

[k4kyv]

Here's the KC8ZUL pickup-mobile that I operated for a bit on Saturday AM.

I visited Gerry's space several times but never could catch him there. But I saw his pickup-mobile  last year, and he dropped by here in the big truck a couple of weeks ago on his way back from Atlanta and showed me the 833A audio amplifier.

I was disappointed that the BC-1F on display inside the truck was an empty cabinet with most of the components removed.

[KA3EKH]

Joe, W4VAG was running a RCA AVT112 transmitter and an AVR20 receiver. He always brings out something unique for the net control station. Thirty three stations were there and operated on the 3885 AM military pack net using radios as old as BC-654 "pogo stick" and BC-611 handy talkies to more modern military equipment like PRC-174 and PRC-138 transceivers. Yes, there was only one PRC-6 this year and only one PRC-10 on the 51.0 FM Military pack net, everything else was newer. Lots of PRC-68 and many PRR-9 and PRT-4 sets. They had a total of fifty seven stations participate.
I saw several people selling R-390 receivers in the $400 to $600 price range and saw most of them sell and am assuming about the only thing that receiver is good for is AM so there must be more AM activity and a demand for those radios. The sewage eruption certainly did stink, I was only there for Friday and Saturday and have to wonder if they got it all cleaned up by Sunday? Sold almost everything I took to sell, thought the crowed was larger on Friday than Saturday and can't wait until next year.
Ray F.

[Sam KS2AM]

From the guy that does the yearly Hamvention slideshow ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQkwxhFPZ2Y

and a video of the KC8ZUL pickup mobile!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyGMO89RD9o



Sam / KS2AM

[k4kyv]

I didn't see the dude wearing the scale model tower and Yagi beam mounted on top of his hat this year, but someone told me he was there.

[Sam KS2AM]

I didn't see the dude wearing the scale model tower and Yagi beam mounted on top of his hat this year, but someone told me he was there.

"tower on had dude" meets "antenna in big hair" lady ...




https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-RxhnzbB3QzE/Tdh683sRqVI/AAAAAAAAbM0/CeFhbgq0k00/s1280/IMG_0722.JPG

[Sam KS2AM]

A very large collection of photos from Hamvention 2011:

https://picasaweb.google.com/ian.procyk/Dayton2011#


I walked past every booth at least 2-3 times over the weekend and I don't remember seeing alot of the stuff in these pics.

[k4kyv]

I saw the Big Hair Lady.  Looks like she took a large drinking cup and combed her hair over it.  I wasn't sure if that was an antenna on top, or just a decorative widget.  She should have used a pointed-bottom cup.  Reminded me of the pin-head lady in the classic 1930's film Freaks. 

I walked past every booth at least 2-3 times over the weekend and I don't remember seeing alot of the stuff in these pics.

That happens to me every year. If not a photo, someone tells me about some great piece of equipment they bought or saw on one of the tables, that never caught my eye.  Yet, after my 2nd or 3rd pass through the flea market, the stuff in every booth begins to look familiar.

Unfortunately, one cannot be at every booth at the same time, so some stuff one might have been seeking is bound to already be sold by the time one gets there. I understand that some of guys who come over from Asia every year to scan the market for triode tubes and other audiophool stuff come in teams, each member assigned a specific sector of the market allowing the team to scan the entire market in a short time.

[K5UJ]

I went through those picasaweb photos and if they are anything to go by, I feel as if I did not miss anything by not going.  Looks like one big fest for plastic junk, > 50 Mhz, tuna tin kits, LED badges and hats, appliance op drek, anything and everything but AM.
The crowds didn't look all that big either.  I think the problem is that the guy taking the photos probably was not looking for vintage gear in a knowledgible way.   I saw old drake and S-line gear and a KWS-1 and a single Bandmaster.  He probably thought he covered vintage with all that 

I saw the 160' crank up tower was there again.  If you can have a 160' tower, why would you want one that has to be cranked up.  I mean, are you  living where you have to conceal your tower in the daytime?  there's so much about this hobby I don't get at all.

[Sam KS2AM]

I went through those picasaweb photos and if they are anything to go by, I feel as if I did not miss anything by not going.  Looks like one big fest for plastic junk, > 50 Mhz, tuna tin kits, LED badges and hats, appliance op drek, anything and everything but AM.
The crowds didn't look all that big either.  I think the problem is that the guy taking the photos probably was not looking for vintage gear in a knowledgible way.   I saw old drake and S-line gear and a KWS-1 and a single Bandmaster.  He probably thought he covered vintage with all that 

I saw the 160' crank up tower was there again.  If you can have a 160' tower, why would you want one that has to be cranked up.  I mean, are you  living where you have to conceal your tower in the daytime?  there's so much about this hobby I don't get at all.

Ah yes the half-empty glass again.      and we're so far above that unknowledgeable guy who took the pics its just shameful.   

Where else can you see a fake astronaut posing for pics with a real astronaut ?