The AM Forum
March 29, 2024, 05:54:11 AM *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
 
   Home   Help Calendar Links Staff List Gallery Login Register  
Pages: [1]   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: How was Dayton?  (Read 9147 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
k4kyv
Contributing Member
Don
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 10057



« on: May 23, 2005, 01:49:30 AM »

I missed it this year for the 2nd year in a row, due to unavoidable work schedule.  I heard that the wx was great on Saturady, but that attendance was way down, and there were many empty spaces in the fleamarket.

A local ham told me the vendors didn't have much good stuff, but I heard someone over the air say there were lots of parts.

Just curious what I missed this year.

And what about discussion on the bandwidth proposal?
Logged

Don, K4KYV                                       AMI#5
Licensed since 1959 and not happy to be back on AM...    Never got off AM in the first place.

- - -
This message was typed using the DVORAK keyboard layout.
http://www.mwbrooks.com/dvorak
w3jn
Johnny Novice
Administrator
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 4620



« Reply #1 on: May 23, 2005, 08:17:57 AM »

It was Fine Business Old Man.  Sold almost all my stuff and scored some neat junk to boot.

I owned a Junkston Invader 2000 for about 3 hours until someone talked me out of it for $300 more than I paid...  :evil:  I'm still regretting that.

Both HUZ and I forgot all about the AM Forum, but we did make the AM pizza dinner Sat nite.

I don't know what the "local ham" was smoking, but there was more vintage gear than I've seen in a LONG time.  Couple of HT-6s, and HT-9, a HT-20 for $300, the afore mentioned Invader 2000, scads of GPR-90s, a couple of Glob Queen 400s, a Glob Chump of the same vintage, the usual smattering of junky low end receivers and 75A4s for about 10X their worth of$100, etc.

Sorrry we missed you, Don.  Next year.
Logged

FCC:  "The record is devoid of a demonstrated nexus between Morse code proficiency and on-the-air conduct."
Steve - WB3HUZ
Guest
« Reply #2 on: May 23, 2005, 11:18:37 AM »

And it didn't rain!  Cheesy
Logged
K1JJ
Contributing
Member
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 8893


"Let's go kayaking, Tommy!" - Yaz


« Reply #3 on: May 23, 2005, 11:56:09 AM »

Quote from: w3jn
I don't know what the "local ham" was
smoking, but there was more vintage gear than I've seen
in a LONG time.  

The heck with the vintage gear.... tell us what you guys
thought of the HamSexy.com booth   Huh   :lol:

T
Logged

Use an "AM Courtesy Filter" to limit transmit audio bandwidth  +-4.5 KHz, +-6.0 KHz or +-8.0 KHz when needed.  Easily done in DSP.

Wise Words : "I'm as old as I've ever been... and I'm as young as I'll ever be."

There's nothing like an old dog.
w3jn
Johnny Novice
Administrator
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 4620



« Reply #4 on: May 23, 2005, 12:48:46 PM »

I never made it inside but I got a first-hand account from some buddies from MN.

They were handing out specially branded Hamsexy deoderant (real deoderant with hamnerd stickers over the brand name) as well as dental hygeine kits.

Also apparently one of the hamsexy sluts was showing her ass for the crowd.    My buddy got a free rubdown from her.

You need to go next year, T!

73 John
Logged

FCC:  "The record is devoid of a demonstrated nexus between Morse code proficiency and on-the-air conduct."
W1UJR
Guest
« Reply #5 on: May 23, 2005, 12:57:09 PM »

http://www.hamsexy.com/cms/index.php

Logged
W8KHZ
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 113



WWW
« Reply #6 on: May 23, 2005, 01:24:16 PM »

This was my sixth year at Dayton. Hooked up with Bob, WB2FOF and his sons Rob and Matt on Wednesday and helped them set up on Thursday. Rained cats and dogs most of the afternoon on Thursday but somehow I managed to stay dry. Friday the sky looked a bit menacing but the rain held off which was ok by me. Saturday was sunny and dry and couldn't have been better. I agree the attendance appeared to be down quite a bit with a lot of empty spaces but I thought there was a pretty nice selection of boatanchor gear. There was one widowed lady there that had a whole Ryder truck loaded with boatanchors - tons of collins gear, transmitters, receivers, you name it....multiple SX-28's, an SX-88, GPR-90, big power supplies, and tons of other stuff. prices started out on the high end... not sure where they ended up on Sunday but it sure was fun looking at all the stuff. I actually came away with a really nice 32V-2 from this estate - complete and barely a scratch on it anywhere and at a fair price.  There were no less than three HT-9s out there in the fleamarket, one in really nice condition and looked to be fairly complete. There were at least 5 R-390's (non A) there and one really, really rusty BC-610I. The guy who was selling it said he found it sitting outside under a tree with a piece of tin laying over the top.  Surprisingly, the guts didn't look too bad considering where they had been. Some Japanese guy bought it and in a hearbeat the old weatherbeaten transmitter was stripped of all its iron and the chassis' was left in a pile with "free" sign on it.  I came by and inflicted the final insult on the poor thing - stripping the three meters from the empty cabinet as spares for my own BC-610I.
All in all it was a good time. Wish there wouldn't have been as many empty spaces but hopefully next year will be different. Hopefully we will see you there next year Don...

73,
Brian - W8KHZ
Logged

Currently running a big homebrew transmitter (pair of 250THs modulated by a pair of 810s) paired up with a National HRO-50.  I also run a BC-610-I / NC-2-40D combo which is a lot of fun too.

Catch you on 75M AM!
Pete, WA2CWA
Moderator
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 8154


CQ CQ CONTEST


WWW
« Reply #7 on: May 24, 2005, 01:36:57 PM »

Great time at Dayton, if you can call it that. Worked my butt off both Friday and Saturday. Didn't leave the flea market Friday till 7PM. To put it in perspective, on Friday I had a sip of my coffee around 8:30 in the morning and the next sip was somewhere around 2:15 in the afternoon. Friday was cloudy and cool, Saturday was sunny and warm. Sunday started off sunny and later in the morning turned cloudy and one 20 second shower. There were a number of empty spaces around the flea market observed in some quick walking early each morning. However, all around my area, all spaces were occupied. There was lots of walking traffic. In my quick walks, saw lots and lots of small and large boat anchors and lots of part vendors. Although there were empty spaces, there was no shortage of parts and tube vendors. Even saw two SX-88's out in the flea market area.
 
The Collins R-390A, Hall. SX-100, CE 200V, Johnson Valiant, Johnson Matchbox, Hall SR-160/P.S./Shure 444, several audio equalizers, all went very quickly. More than 50% of the Nifty Accessories Quick Reference Guides and Mini-Manuals were sold out. Took a number of orders for my manuals. This was probably one of the best Dayton's (business wise) that I have seen. Didn't really set up on Sunday. Just opened the back of the van door with some small items hanging out the back. Closed up around 9:30AM and then took a leisurely walk through the inside displays. First time I did that in 3 or 4 years. Lots of people from the reflectors stopped by to say hello but it was almost impossible to get into a decent conversation with all the traffic. Lots of new items were on display inside. Yaesu's new high end HF rigs made an appearance, Icom announced the IC-706 replacement, the IC-7000, saw the Flex Radio stuff up close, and a number of other neat items. ARRL's new display area was very impressive. Jim and Dave said to say hello to everyone here. Ed was also keeping the technical booth active.
 
Over all it seemed like attendance was down, at least vendor wise. I didn't stick around after the show closed to hear the attendance numbers. There was a wine and cheese party by the Mariott pool Sunday afternoon. A lot of the locals from the University of Dayton were in attendance (students, teachers, staff) and also locals from other businesses. The drive back to Jersey on Monday was peppered with lots of rain downpours once I got out of Ohio.
 
Pete, wa2cwa
Logged

Pete, WA2CWA - "A Cluttered Desk is a Sign of Genius"
Steve - WB3HUZ
Guest
« Reply #8 on: May 24, 2005, 03:01:27 PM »

The empty spaces in many areas were filled with red picnic benches.

In some ways, the drop off in vendors actually helped those who did attend - less competition, more likely someone would actually make it to your space and spend some time looking, etc.

It didn't seem as crowded inside this year too. That could have been because it wasn't raining outside.

I had a nice 15-20 minute talk with the DARA president, Mike Kalter, W8CI. He asked how we were treated in the flea market. He was very open to hearing our complaints and he asked lots of questions. Maybe the ARRL should hire this guy.
Logged
Sam KS2AM
Contributing
Member
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 710



WWW
« Reply #9 on: May 24, 2005, 07:57:36 PM »

random thoughts in no particular order ...

* I got to the flea market about 30 minutes after it opened on Friday and from what I can tell from speaking with the vendors, alot of boatanchor-ish stuff changed hands in the first few minutes after the flea market opened.  I'll need to wake up earlier next year.
* Yes, there were quite a few empty flea market spots.  The farther you got from the arena, the more empty spots there were.  More empty spots than in 2004 for sure.  This may not be a bad thing ... I understand that they're starting to crack down on the folks that buy vendor passes but just use the spots for parking (convenient for them but it makes everyone walk around needlessly).
* Attendance.  The "attendance down" rumors are circulated every year by the gloom-and-doomers along with the "no Hara renewal" rumors and are best ignored until you get some real confirmation.  The attendance seemed equal to or greater than last years attendance and on Sunday afternoon DARA guesstimated a slight increase.  The attendance is a few thousand below their all-time record and I say SO WHAT, its still a great event.
* Hamsexy.  I walked by the booth several times.  Regardless of the photo-ops on their website it was only staffed about half the day, there was usually one guy sitting there by himself with a sheepish grin on his face and most people ignored the booth.
* SGC amp.  SGC had their tiny 500W PEP class-E amp there (it has plug-in modules for each band).  The main unit is about the size of an Icom 706.  http://www.sgcworld.com/500watt.html
* Icom announced the IC-7000 and had a prototype there.  Basically a IC-706MKIIG with DSP/etc/etc/etc features from 756ProIII and IC-7800.  Full color display, bandscope, improved notch filters ad noise blanking.  It has great potential. No matter what you hear, theres no definite release date or price but I'm sure there will be a zillion of them on the air by next Dayton.   http://www.fernblatt.net/nu4g/IC-7000_Pre_Release.pdf   If you get bored with radio you can watch television on the display !  (VHF channels 2-13)
* I've heard rumors that the inside vendors did well but I didn't see the 3 and 4 deep lines at AES & HRO that I did in previous years.
* The ARRL had a very large presence in their "Expo" area.
* Mobile.  I take advantage of the 10+ hour drive by operating mobile.  Conditions sucked on Thursday but were better on Sunday when I worked K2PG on 1885 (AM) for the better part of an hour.


Sam  /  KS2AM
Logged

--- Post No Bills ---
Steve - WB3HUZ
Guest
« Reply #10 on: May 24, 2005, 08:26:04 PM »

Quote from: Sam KS2AM

* Mobile.  I take advantage of the 10+ hour drive by operating mobile.  Conditions sucked on Thursday but were better on Sunday when I worked K2PG on 1885 (AM) for the better part of an hour.


Sam  /  KS2AM




Now that's cool!
Logged
k4kyv
Contributing Member
Don
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 10057



« Reply #11 on: May 24, 2005, 11:27:43 PM »

Wasn't this also supposed to be the ARRL national convention?  I hope there was some  discussion of the bandwidth plan.
 
As far as the reported dropoff in attendance, maybe it's getting back to normal.  When I first started going, it was a two-day event.  Sat and Sunday only.  The paved area in front of the arena was open to general parking.  Only the first few rows near the arena were roped off for "VIP's".  If you got there early, about 6 AM, you could park within 100 ft of the pub, go in and have breakfast, and then hang out until they opened the gates.

The last few years, parking has been a real hassle.  I  have made it a point to get there early enough to park in the side street near the back corner of the fleamarket area.  The idea of parking blocks away, taking a shuttle bus, and hauling kw modulation transformers back to the car is totally ridiculous.  I'm glad the property owners in front of the arena decided to make a  few bucks by allowing people to park there and charge them $5 a day.  But inevitably that  land will some day be developed, and more on-site parking will disappear.  I remember when the golf course behind the arena was an orchard and they let people park there.

Now if they would just let people purchase outdoor vendor spaces on the spot without advance booking, some real treasures might show up as hams decide at the last moment to give some of the stuff in their basement a new home.  The way it's set up now, the professional hamfest vendors dominate.
Logged

Don, K4KYV                                       AMI#5
Licensed since 1959 and not happy to be back on AM...    Never got off AM in the first place.

- - -
This message was typed using the DVORAK keyboard layout.
http://www.mwbrooks.com/dvorak
Pete, WA2CWA
Moderator
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 8154


CQ CQ CONTEST


WWW
« Reply #12 on: May 25, 2005, 03:33:43 AM »

Quote from: k4kyv
Wasn't this also supposed to be the ARRL national convention?  I hope there was some  discussion of the bandwidth plan.
 
As far as the reported dropoff in attendance, maybe it's getting back to normal.  When I first started going, it was a two-day event.  Sat and Sunday only.  The paved area in front of the arena was open to general parking.  Only the first few rows near the arena were roped off for "VIP's".  If you got there early, about 6 AM, you could park within 100 ft of the pub, go in and have breakfast, and then hang out until they opened the gates.

The last few years, parking has been a real hassle.  I  have made it a point to get there early enough to park in the side street near the back corner of the fleamarket area.  The idea of parking blocks away, taking a shuttle bus, and hauling kw modulation transformers back to the car is totally ridiculous.  I'm glad the property owners in front of the arena decided to make a  few bucks by allowing people to park there and charge them $5 a day.  But inevitably that  land will some day be developed, and more on-site parking will disappear.  I remember when the golf course behind the arena was an orchard and they let people park there.

Now if they would just let people purchase outdoor vendor spaces on the spot without advance booking, some real treasures might show up as hams decide at the last moment to give some of the stuff in their basement a new home.  The way it's set up now, the professional hamfest vendors dominate.

You could come to the flea market office on Thursday to see if there are any spaces available. From the Hamvention web site: "Those vendors that have not made reservations may come to the fleamarket office on Thursday, May 19, 2005 after 1:00PM." A number of family dwellings on the street to the left of the Hara Arena (looking from the front) were renting out yard parking space($8) for each day.
It was the ARRL National Convention. I was told there was lots of discussion on the various proposals that are in, or going, to the FCC pipeline. Both Jim and Dave indicated they received lots of feedback on the bandwidth proposal, and a number of other issues and concerns, and were happy with the open dialogue. I'm sure we'll see some comments on the various news services over the next several days. Too bad you couldn't be there.
Logged

Pete, WA2CWA - "A Cluttered Desk is a Sign of Genius"
WB3JOK
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 637



« Reply #13 on: May 26, 2005, 10:09:13 AM »

Quote from: k4kyv
The idea of parking blocks away, taking a shuttle bus, and hauling kw modulation transformers back to the car is totally ridiculous.

Whatever happened to the Boy Scouts and their little red wagons? Back in the 90's, for a tip they would haul your favorite BA all the way to your car, or the bus...

Quote
I'm glad the property owners in front of the arena decided to make a  few bucks by allowing people to park there and charge them $5 a day.

I must have missed that, I parked in the grass/mud field across from the arena, behind the car dealer, and it cost me $8 this year  :x
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

AMfone - Dedicated to Amplitude Modulation on the Amateur Radio Bands
 AMfone © 2001-2015
Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2015, Simple Machines
Page created in 0.106 seconds with 19 queries.