This weekend was the annual
Melbourne Hamfest and ARRL State Convention
and as you can see by that link, the 58th such get together (not every year is
the state convention). I've mentioned attending this hamfest many times, and it's
one of two shows we pretty much go to every year, this one and the
Orlando Hamcation. Back when I first got my ham license, living in Ft. Lauderdale on the
SE coast of Florida, the 1976 Melbourne Hamfest was the first hamfest I ever
went to. That's so long ago that I-95 wasn't completed and it was a
tedious drive. We've missed the last two of these. Three years ago, we didn't go to the Covid year hamfest and last year we planned to go but had an emergency veterinarian visit for our cat we lost about two months later.
This subject should really be broken in two parts. First off, there are a lot of new hams that frequent the same blogs I do and I don't know if other bloggers have talked about local hamfests. Should you go? Well, yeah. Why should you go? That's marginally harder to answer because it kind of depends on your local show and you won't know unless you go. The local hamfest is likely to have lots of used equipment for sale, quite possibly a lot of new equipment and lots of opportunities to learn. The exact mix of used vs. new depends, again, on your particular show.
Melbourne used to have more new gear than it has had for the last couple of
years as the big manufacturers and dealers seem to have gone elsewhere one by one.
It's a good place to make meatspace connections with local hams.
Melbourne has shifted from being all day Saturday, 9 to 5, and 9 to 3PM on Sunday, over to being Friday afternoon (1 to 7PM) and 9AM to 3PM on
Saturday. The addition of Friday seems to be pretty common in the big
hamfests like Orlando and Dayton, since the big ones get a significant number
of out of state visitors and adding a day when you're on vacation and go many
miles or several states plays better than for smaller shows that play to the
locals who may be just coming a less than a couple of hours drive and at work on
Friday. The big shows seem to be all three days.
A lot of shows will feature talks by local groups of some sort, contest groups, public service, experimenters, or technical talks by individual hams. Since all amateur license exams are given by Volunteer Examiners, many will have chances to take exams, and they had that this morning.
For us this year, it was strictly a social day, visiting with friends we've
known for decades. It didn't really start out intended that way, it just
worked out that way. The only big dealer present was one I didn't know
of yesterday,
Chatt Radio from
Chattanooga, Tennessee. As I've said for several years, I've been happy with
my radio situation and haven't really added much to my station. I've
replaced my 6m antenna, done a lot of
"construction" level work
on my antenna installation, and added some
miscellaneous accessories. All that said, it was still a pleasant way to spend a few hours.
Did you know Homer spent some time as a ham? At least one episode, long ago. Image credit to whoever the production company says. You didn't think I did this, did you?
Poor Homer, speaking into the top of a side-address mic. Looks to be operating out of South Pacific location too. DXpedition?
ReplyDeleteIn my area, hamfests are dying out. 10 years ago, the local fests were packed. Now they're sparse. The thinning out started before covid. One club president told me that the fest is the main source of revenue, so I wonder about having that resource cut in half. With 5 of them a year, some hams have suggested the clubs should band together and hold only 1 or 2 major fests, but I suspect some would balk at that. With 5 of them a year, some hams have suggested the clubs should band together and hold only 1 or 2 major fests, but I suspect some would balk at that. I'd rather see fewer of them, with broader appeal.
I too find the main reason I go is to socialize. I also run a club table sometimes. But other than that, I'm finding little appeal these days.
Apparently, it's too early in the AM for me to properly cut/paste. :)
DeletePeople have been predicting the end of hamfests for almost as long as I can remember. There was talk about eBay becoming a hamfest that's there 24/7/365, but that changed over time. I think now it's more distributed, with Facebook, online discussion groups, QRZ.com sales and more "social media" stuff, as the little smartphone extends control over our lives. Back when I was in the club that runs this hamfest, it was their main source of revenue over the year, too. Might still be.
DeleteThings like this either evolve and change or go obsolete. The last one seems hard to imagine, but change seems inevitable.
I used to go to the "World Famous" TRW Swap Meet in Redondo Beach. 50% of the stuff for sale really didn't belong at a "Hamfest", but it brought in "table revenue" for the club. It was like stepping back into the 1960's when I went to the Hamfest here for the first time! I saw some killer deals on older Boat Anchors, as I'm told they're not very popular here. A mint Hallicrafters SX-115, with manual, for $500, and I'll bet he would have let it go for $375 if you waved it at him.
ReplyDelete