How Hot Was It At Sussex?

[W1RC]

I imagine it must be unbearable down there today.  Anybody go?
73,
MrMike

[Joe Connor]

Yep, it was hot.

I got there at around 7:30, and it was comfortable. By about 9, however, it was really starting to heat up. The site is out in direct sunlight with no shade, so it's always hot! I left before 10 a.m.

[KD1SH]

  We bailed out just after noon, when thunderclouds started looming in the west. I never thought to look at the thermometer, but it was stifling, with the occasional breeze nothing more than a cruel tease. Don't know if the storms ever arrived, but we'd planned on leaving around noon, anyway.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

It was sooo hot I was able to cook my breakfast on the roof of my car!

I actually got there around 6:15 AM. It's a good 75 minute drive and I had to set up inside.
I didn't being the mini-van so I couldn't bring my floor mounted fan that I've brought for a number of years. Although the building shields us from sunlight, even inside the building, the humidity can be stifling, and there isn't a lot of air movement.

WA2MER, Jim, WA2PJP, Joe, W2AEW, Al, and a number of other notables all stopped by to say hello.

I left around  roughly 2 PM and traveling down Route 15 to Interstate 80, I hit several pockets of rain. However, when I got down to my area (New Brunswick) the rain came down in buckets. At times it was difficult to see the front nose of the SUV with all the rain and ponding on all the major roads was everywhere. But the new car handled it all very well.

I've been going to the Sussex Hamfest for roughly 40 years although I did miss last year due to the very bad weather. I like supporting their club and activities and always have a great time at the hamfest.

[W3SLK]

As I was waiting to turn onto RT206 from Plains Road I looked at the thermometer on my car dashboard and it said 94°F! It was the ham fest I was waiting for a long time. I was so busy yakking with people that I think I only got one pass in. I bought some nice Gates iron for a project but just enjoyed it all. My feet are telling me to wear a better pair of sneakers next year. Here was my favorite sale of the day from Ed, W2XAM!:

[WA2SQQ]

The video

https://youtu.be/NqKiEWA8MqM?feature=shared

[KD1SH]

  Ah, so you you're the one who bought that! I'd never seen vac. variables that big until I saw those! I was tempted, myself, but those things are larger than anything I could ever imagine having a need for, even though I love vacuum variables and rarely pass them up when the price is right.
  Also at Ed's table was a nice Gates roller inductor. I missed out on that one, but it was still cool because I recently acquired one just like it, which turned out to be missing its roller and shaft, from eBay (should have looked closer at the pictures), and by examining the one on Ed's table I was able to get a better idea of how to make a replacement on my lathe.
  Gates iron? I didn't see any, but that just goes to show how easy it is to miss stuff in a hamfest that large. I did pick up a fine looking UTC VM-5 from ray, WD2AFJ, though. Mod iron is like Jello; there's always room...
  In one of those nifty serendipitous meetings, a guy and his wife pulled in right beside us, and my friend and I helped them set up their folding canopy. The voice sounded very familiar, and it turned out to be George, N2LJO, and his wife, Cathy! Rob, W1WOR stopped by, too, so it was a great time.
  On the way home we ate at the shiny chrome I-84 diner, in Fishkill, NY, which has become pretty much a Sussex hamfest tradition for us.

As I was waiting to turn onto RT206 from Plains Road I looked at the thermometer on my car dashboard and it said 94°F! It was the ham fest I was waiting for a long time. I was so busy yakking with people that I think I only got one pass in. I bought some nice Gates iron for a project but just enjoyed it all. My feet are telling me to wear a better pair of sneakers next year. Here was my favorite sale of the day from Ed, W2XAM!:

[Joe Connor]

Those of us who went home via Route 15 apparently got a big break.

A temporary bridge on Route 15 opened sooner than expected, so we didn't have to take a PITA detour. (Story linked below).

As always, Sussex was a fun time yesterday. I saw a few things that I hadn't seen at a hamfest in a while.

[W3SLK]

KD1SH said:

Ah, so you you're the one who bought that! I'd never seen vac. variables that big until I saw those! I was tempted, myself, but those things are larger than anything I could ever imagine having a need for, even though I love vacuum variables and rarely pass them up when the price is right.
  Also at Ed's table was a nice Gates roller inductor. I missed out on that one, but it was still cool because I recently acquired one just like it, which turned out to be missing its roller and shaft, from eBay (should have looked closer at the pictures), and by examining the one on Ed's table I was able to get a better idea of how to make a replacement on my lathe.
  Gates iron? I didn't see any, but that just goes to show how easy it is to miss stuff in a hamfest that large. I did pick up a fine looking UTC VM-5 from ray, WD2AFJ, though. Mod iron is like Jello; there's always room...
  In one of those nifty serendipitous meetings, a guy and his wife pulled in right beside us, and my friend and I helped them set up their folding canopy. The voice sounded very familiar, and it turned out to be George, N2LJO, and his wife, Cathy! Rob, W1WOR stopped by, too, so it was a great time.
  On the way home we ate at the shiny chrome I-84 diner, in Fishkill, NY, which has become pretty much a Sussex hamfest tradition for us.

No, I didn't buy it but I met the guy later who did. He had to disassemble it. Apparently those who came with him had his car stuffed with so many things that he had to disassemble it to fit inside his car! I asked Ed about the voltage rating on those caps. He said they were rated at 45KV! I did like the label on the front: "DO NOT EXCEED 5KW"!

[KD1SH]

  Yes, that label alone was almost worth the purchase price, whatever that might have been.
45KV vacuum variables! One can only wonder what the new catalog price of those babies must have been!

No, I didn't buy it but I met the guy later who did. He had to disassemble it. Apparently those who came with him had his car stuffed with so many things that he had to disassemble it to fit inside his car! I asked Ed about the voltage rating on those caps. He said they were rated at 45KV! I did like the label on the front: "DO NOT EXCEED 5KW"!

[KD1SH]

   One thing I found amusing: walking around inside the building, a couple—probably husband and wife—passed by, and I heard the guy say, "This is a waste of time. Just a bunch of ham radio junk in here!"
   It puzzled me, but then later on I figured that they were probably part of the horsey crowd from the other side of the fairgrounds, who wandered over figuring they'd find some horse liniment or de-worming pills.

[W3SLK]

KD1SH said:

One thing I found amusing: walking around inside the building, a couple—probably husband and wife—passed by, and I heard the guy say, "This is a waste of time. Just a bunch of ham radio junk in here!"
   It puzzled me, but then later on I figured that they were probably part of the horsey crowd from the other side of the fairgrounds, who wandered over figuring they'd find some horse liniment or de-worming pills.

I saw them raking the dirt track on the other side of the fence. I figured instead of a tractor pull they would have a 'boat-anchor' pull. They would have one of those multi-engined tractors hook up to a BC-610 and see how far they could pull it!

[Pete, WA2CWA]

  One thing I found amusing: walking around inside the building, a couple—probably husband and wife—passed by, and I heard the guy say, "This is a waste of time. Just a bunch of ham radio junk in here!"
   It puzzled me, but then later on I figured that they were probably part of the horsey crowd from the other side of the fairgrounds, who wandered over figuring they'd find some horse liniment or de-worming pills.

Many years ago, maybe late 90's or early 2000's, for several years there was a Native American conference/gathering there for the entire weekend at the same time on Sunday when the Hamfest was going on. I think the Native American activities got most of the "normal" outside hamfest space, and parts of the hamfest were relocated past the outside restrooms. I think we had this situation for at least two, maybe three years, before the hamfest was the only main activity adjacent to the building. They had some great food out there.

[KA3EKH]

Nothing to do with Sussex but it is a slow day at work, Ham fest Synergy. The old Gaithersburg Maryland, at one time the biggest in the east before it died went thru several changes in venue that I suppose had something to do with its demise but somehow, they were able to get the old venue back a couple times but they had to share it with the Atlantic Stampede (Gay) Rodeo on the same weekend. On one side you had a bunch of old hygienically challenged Hams and the other side was the Gay Rodeo with parking in the middle. I remember at the time the fair grounds web site had posters available for download and I printed one and put it up at a radio station I was working at back then, right across the front of the poster was printed “Rope ‘em! and Ride ‘em!” Gay Rodeo, it was really popular with the morning crew.
The Frost fest in Richmond ran consecutive with a gun show that was right next door for a couple years, I bought a NOS Mosin-Nagant with all the accessories there for $50 one year. At that time, you had to pass a background check and the dealers ran that off a laptop computer that they all had before they would sell you a gun, assault rifles and hand guns required two- or three-day waiting period or something like that, don’t remember exactly but was surprised that after I got back home that night saw a news story on ABC Network News that showed the same show and claimed that they were just basically handing out guns to anyone who came thru the door. So much for truth in journalism.
Both Frost Fest and Gaithersburg are now done. Frost fest was always the first show of the year and I bought and sold tons of stuff there and remember back a thousand years ago when Gaithersburg marked the time that I would have to return to school. Don’t get me started about Timonium and how near the end they ended up with hack Russian dealers hawking broken TVs and stereos or the multiple sock dealers. An let me apologies right now for straying so far off topic and threatening to affect the web sites DEI scoring, but it is a slow day at work.
 

[KD1SH]

   DEI? You must be referring to Dynamically Enhanced Intelligibility; I hear it's all the rage in amateur radio right now. A couple of years ago, at a local hamfest, there was a guy with a swarthy face, looking like a character from WWE Wrestling but wearing a blue polka-dot dress, walking around the 'fester. Thinking back on it now, I should have asked him about Dynamically Enhanced Intelligibility—he was probably the resident expert; attending the 'fester to give a seminar on the subject.

Nothing to do with Sussex but it is a slow day at work, Ham fest Synergy. The old Gaithersburg Maryland, at one time the biggest in the east before it died went thru several changes in venue that I suppose had something to do with its demise but somehow, they were able to get the old venue back a couple times but they had to share it with the Atlantic Stampede (Gay) Rodeo on the same weekend. On one side you had a bunch of old hygienically challenged Hams and the other side was the Gay Rodeo with parking in the middle. I remember at the time the fair grounds web site had posters available for download and I printed one and put it up at a radio station I was working at back then, right across the front of the poster was printed “Rope ‘em! and Ride ‘em!” Gay Rodeo, it was really popular with the morning crew.
The Frost fest in Richmond ran consecutive with a gun show that was right next door for a couple years, I bought a NOS Mosin-Nagant with all the accessories there for $50 one year. At that time, you had to pass a background check and the dealers ran that off a laptop computer that they all had before they would sell you a gun, assault rifles and hand guns required two- or three-day waiting period or something like that, don’t remember exactly but was surprised that after I got back home that night saw a news story on ABC Network News that showed the same show and claimed that they were just basically handing out guns to anyone who came thru the door. So much for truth in journalism.
Both Frost Fest and Gaithersburg are now done. Frost fest was always the first show of the year and I bought and sold tons of stuff there and remember back a thousand years ago when Gaithersburg marked the time that I would have to return to school. Don’t get me started about Timonium and how near the end they ended up with hack Russian dealers hawking broken TVs and stereos or the multiple sock dealers. An let me apologies right now for straying so far off topic and threatening to affect the web sites DEI scoring, but it is a slow day at work.
 

[W3SLK]

KA3EKH said:

Nothing to do with Sussex but it is a slow day at work, Ham fest Synergy. The old Gaithersburg Maryland, at one time the biggest in the east before it died went thru several changes in venue that I suppose had something to do with its demise but somehow, they were able to get the old venue back a couple times but they had to share it with the Atlantic Stampede (Gay) Rodeo on the same weekend. On one side you had a bunch of old hygienically challenged Hams and the other side was the Gay Rodeo with parking in the middle. I remember at the time the fair grounds web site had posters available for download and I printed one and put it up at a radio station I was working at back then, right across the front of the poster was printed “Rope ‘em! and Ride ‘em!” Gay Rodeo, it was really popular with the morning crew.
The Frost fest in Richmond ran consecutive with a gun show that was right next door for a couple years, I bought a NOS Mosin-Nagant with all the accessories there for $50 one year. At that time, you had to pass a background check and the dealers ran that off a laptop computer that they all had before they would sell you a gun, assault rifles and hand guns required two- or three-day waiting period or something like that, don’t remember exactly but was surprised that after I got back home that night saw a news story on ABC Network News that showed the same show and claimed that they were just basically handing out guns to anyone who came thru the door. So much for truth in journalism.
Both Frost Fest and Gaithersburg are now done. Frost fest was always the first show of the year and I bought and sold tons of stuff there and remember back a thousand years ago when Gaithersburg marked the time that I would have to return to school. Don’t get me started about Timonium and how near the end they ended up with hack Russian dealers hawking broken TVs and stereos or the multiple sock dealers. An let me apologies right now for straying so far off topic and threatening to affect the web sites DEI scoring, but it is a slow day at work.

I remember both of those fests Ray. I was never so glad to be on the highway home after walking the 'miles' at Gaithersburg. Frostfest was a very nice indoor venue. Like you said, first of the year and always good. Timonium used to be a 2 day affair. Some of those buildings that when you went into them you were there until you made the 'circuit' because it was pretty much 'nut-to-butt' inside! It started going down hill when they invited people to sell junk crafts or just straight out garbage! Sussex made me very happy and hopeful!

[Pete, WA2CWA]

I remember both of those fests Ray. I was never so glad to be on the highway home after walking the 'miles' at Gaithersburg. Frostfest was a very nice indoor venue. Like you said, first of the year and always good. Timonium used to be a 2 day affair. Some of those buildings that when you went into them you were there until you made the 'circuit' because it was pretty much 'nut-to-butt' inside! It started going down hill when they invited people to sell junk crafts or just straight out garbage! Sussex made me very happy and hopeful!

I don't remember ever staying for the 2nd day at Timonium. I would leave the house in NJ some time around midnight or 1AM Saturday morning, get a flea market spot, maybe "Z out" for an hour or two, or stand around and BS with Huey, KD3UI (and have a cigar or two) or Danny, WA4SDE, Jimmy, W2YBP, or Larry, WA2PZI and a few other notables. Drive back to NJ late in the afternoon.

I seem to remember one small building there where vendors could sell non-electronic type stuff.

From Internet Archive 2001:
NOTE ABOUT Hours:  The gates to outdoor tailgating area will be opened for shopping at 6 AM this year.  The buildings will open for shopping at 8 AM.   As always, tailgaters can get in anytime after 5 PM Friday to set up.

https://web.archive.org/web/20010202054300/http://gbhc.org/