Posted: 5/2/2018 9:51:28 AM EDT
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Didn't see a running thread yet.
Getting into town Thursday evening I'll be spending most of my time at the FAIRS Booth. (Where it is that they put us this year. At least it won't be tent city. 
Sessions I'm considering: Antennas for Emergencies Ham Radio & the Law (A necessary evil) ARDEN I'm not sure about Sunday's "Secure Energy Forum" |
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I will be there.
Just like I have every year since 1979. I have met several of the forum members there in the past. There are a number of forums that look interesting to me. I would like to listen to the SHARES forum, but I probably won't be there in time for it: we leave on Friday morning and get there usually about 0930 or 1000. Then we leave on Saturday evening; so Sunday is out for me. Antennas for Emergencies might be interesting. I just spent the last week or two working on antennas for emergencies on my front porch. We have a statewide event called Ohio NVIS Antenna Day, and I played with probably six or eight antennas, getting ready for that. But, it's always good to hear what other people are doing. The Homeland Security forum might be worth checking out. I might try to attend one or more of the ARES forums and maybe the SATERN net forum. I am not active on the SATERN net, but I always sort of wanted to be. However, when I have listened to it, I couldn't hear most of the people on it. There are a number of things I would like to buy. So, I do want to spend some time walking around and spending money. I used to never go to any forums, but the older I get the more I just want an excuse to sit down and give my feet a break. |
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Quoted:
Last year was a total mess, even though for some reason the forums on QRZ and eham said it was the best ever. Despite weather (the FAIRS booth was in a corner of tent city) and mud (weather) and heat (weather) and Friday's traffic (not weather!) at least we weren't facing high probabilities of fungal or mold based illness. Not a problem for those that spent all their time in the mud like Phurba perhaps. I was hoping to spend more time in the mud ^H^H^HFlea market this year looking for a deal on a Hexbeam and tower parts. But instead I bought myself a new water pump for the Excursion last week. |
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Last year was a total mess, even though for some reason the forums on QRZ and eham said it was the best ever. IMHO: Xenia won (and it should only get better as the kinks get worked out). Y'all have fun! |
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Quoted:
Last year was the best because of comparison. Despite weather (the FAIRS booth was in a corner of tent city) and mud (weather) and heat (weather) and Friday's traffic (not weather!) at least we weren't facing high probabilities of fungal or mold based illness. Not a problem for those that spent all their time in the mud like Phurba perhaps. I was hoping to spend more time in the mud ^H^H^HFlea market this year looking for a deal on a Hexbeam and tower parts. But instead I bought myself a new water pump for the Excursion last week. Quoted:
Quoted:
Last year was a total mess, even though for some reason the forums on QRZ and eham said it was the best ever. Despite weather (the FAIRS booth was in a corner of tent city) and mud (weather) and heat (weather) and Friday's traffic (not weather!) at least we weren't facing high probabilities of fungal or mold based illness. Not a problem for those that spent all their time in the mud like Phurba perhaps. I was hoping to spend more time in the mud ^H^H^HFlea market this year looking for a deal on a Hexbeam and tower parts. But instead I bought myself a new water pump for the Excursion last week. |
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When Hamvention announced that they were leaving Hara Arena, all kinds of people were up in arms about it. Like it was the end of the world. 1) Hara Arena isn't the only place that ever had Hamvention. Hamvention moved from somewhere else TO Hara Arena. 2) It isn't like Hara Area was some kind of show place. It was hot, there was mud, and the plumbing was bad. If it was raining outside, inside felt like the Amazon rain forest. The flea market was outside exposed to the elements. The last owners of Hara Arena didn't spend a dime to keep the place up. So moving from there wasn't exactly an issue (at least to me). Yes, I was there when there was raw human shit running down the middle of the flea market. And yes, I got a sandwich and a beer at a stand right next to the shit: after working for over 30 years as a paramedic, standing next to human shit is just another working day. 
The thing about Hamvention is that the members of DARA (Dayton Area Radio Association) stepped up to the plate and did what it took to put something like this on. Yes, there are a lot nicer places where something like this could be held. My first pick would be Las Vegas. They could put on a dozen shows the size of Hamvention in one building with everything inside and air conditioned. You could stay in any one of dozens of hotels within walking distance, if not in the very same place the hamfest was being held (and simply walk downstairs from your hotel room to the hamfest and when you get tired, you go back upstairs to your room and take a nap). As well as having access to world class food and bars everywhere, along with really good public transportation and an international airport right down the street. However, the only people willing to put something like this on happen to be in Dayton Ohio. And they are working with what they have. Lots of people complain, but nobody else in the US is willing to do what it takes to put something like this on elsewhere. FWIW: I attended the Orlando Hamcation this past February. It was touted to be the second biggest hamfest in the US; second only to Hamvention. While I had a great time, and really enjoyed Florida in February, it wasn't even in the same league with Hamvention. It may be the second biggest, but it is a DISTANT second biggest. We have a few hamfests that are just local hamfests that are almost as big as Orlando; however, there is one big thing about Orlando (aside from the weather). Orlando had most of the major vendors in attendance. And I fully intend to go back. |
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Quoted:
When Hamvention announced that they were leaving Hara Arena, all kinds of people were up in arms about it. Like it was the end of the world. 1) Hara Arena isn't the only place that ever had Hamvention. Hamvention moved from somewhere else TO Hara Arena. 2) It isn't like Hara Area was some kind of show place. It was hot, there was mud, and the plumbing was bad. If it was raining outside, inside felt like the Amazon rain forest. The flea market was outside exposed to the elements. The last owners of Hara Arena didn't spend a dime to keep the place up. So moving from there wasn't exactly an issue (at least to me). Yes, I was there when there was raw human shit running down the middle of the flea market. And yes, I got a sandwich and a beer at a stand right next to the shit: after working for over 30 years as a paramedic, standing next to human shit is just another working day.
The thing about Hamvention is that the members of DARA (Dayton Area Radio Association) stepped up to the plate and did what it took to put something like this on. Yes, there are a lot nicer places where something like this could be held. My first pick would be Las Vegas. They could put on a dozen shows the size of Hamvention in one building with everything inside and air conditioned. You could stay in any one of dozens of hotels within walking distance, if not in the very same place the hamfest was being held (and simply walk downstairs from your hotel room to the hamfest and when you get tired, you go back upstairs to your room and take a nap). As well as having access to world class food and bars everywhere, along with really good public transportation and an international airport right down the street. However, the only people willing to put something like this on happen to be in Dayton Ohio. And they are working with what they have. Lots of people complain, but nobody else in the US is willing to do what it takes to put something like this on elsewhere. FWIW: I attended the Orlando Hamcation this past February. It was touted to be the second biggest hamfest in the US; second only to Hamvention. While I had a great time, and really enjoyed Florida in February, it wasn't even in the same league with Hamvention. It may be the second biggest, but it is a DISTANT second biggest. We have a few hamfests that are just local hamfests that are almost as big as Orlando; however, there is one big thing about Orlando (aside from the weather). Orlando had most of the major vendors in attendance. And I fully intend to go back. I'm glad DARA puts on the show. My only point is that the Greene County fairground isn't a good place for it either. It's already basically at capacity and they had to put up a bunch of tents. I know there's going to be an additional building available this year. I understand their desire to keep it local to Dayton-ish but there are much better locations in Columbus and Cincinnati. |
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I'm not mad that they left Hara. Hara was a shit hole (often literally!). It was falling down when I attended my first hamvention around 90 or 91 and it only got worse. I remember when the 5 second rule got suspended due to the poop flood. I'm glad DARA puts on the show. My only point is that the Greene County fairground isn't a good place for it either. It's already basically at capacity and they had to put up a bunch of tents. I know there's going to be an additional building available this year. I understand their desire to keep it local to Dayton-ish but there are much better locations in Columbus and Cincinnati. It is what it is until somebody else steps up and puts on a hamfest of this magnitude somewhere else. Which hasn't happened yet...........over a period of like 40 years. |
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Back on Track:
Hamvention is in Xenia. The old arena is gone. Moving forward. Anybody going to do the Four Days in May event? QRP FDIM I went to the vendor night last year and enjoyed myself. Spent some money, thanked Dan Romanchik, KB6NU, for helping my wife & I pass our tests over the years. |
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Sorry for the derail. First round of beers is on me. Now we're getting to the important information. Any Dayton area (Irish) pubs to recommend for food & music? Whether the music is classic Irish, Wolfe Tones inspired rebel music or rowdy Flogging Molly inspired. |
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Done! Porter or Stout? Now we're getting to the important information. Any Dayton area (Irish) pubs to recommend for food & music? Whether the music is classic Irish, Wolfe Tones inspired rebel music or rowdy Flogging Molly inspired. Quoted:
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Sorry for the derail. First round of beers is on me. Now we're getting to the important information. Any Dayton area (Irish) pubs to recommend for food & music? Whether the music is classic Irish, Wolfe Tones inspired rebel music or rowdy Flogging Molly inspired. 
I'm local-ish but not local enough to know the bars in Dayton. I do know that there's not much of anything near the fair grounds. |
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[b]Quoted:[/b
FWIW: I attended the Orlando Hamcation this past February. It was touted to be the second biggest hamfest in the US; second only to Hamvention. While I had a great time, and really enjoyed Florida in February, it wasn't even in the same league with Hamvention. It may be the second biggest, but it is a DISTANT second biggest. We have a few hamfests that are just local hamfests that are almost as big as Orlando; however, there is one big thing about Orlando (aside from the weather). Orlando had most of the major vendors in attendance. And I fully intend to go back. I would definitely go back if I had a chance. |
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What’s the arfcom freq? Preferably 70cm, maybe even some DMR? Based on previous year's experience: We should use freq + tone. And have an alternate freq. Also having a less sensitive antenna for your HT is not necessarily a bad thing in the radio-active environment of Hamvention. |
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I'm still old school. No DMR yet. Based on previous year's experience: We should use freq + tone. And have an alternate freq. Also having a less sensitive antenna for your HT is not necessarily a bad thing in the radio-active environment of Hamvention. Quoted:
Quoted:
What’s the arfcom freq? Preferably 70cm, maybe even some DMR? Based on previous year's experience: We should use freq + tone. And have an alternate freq. Also having a less sensitive antenna for your HT is not necessarily a bad thing in the radio-active environment of Hamvention.
Club will probably be FM on 440 and I'll be on 927.5 simplex. If I get some spare time before then (which I almost certainly won't) we'll have a 900 MHz repeater in the booth. |
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I never carry an HT at "Dayton" but I always wonder, if you went there and put your radio on 146.52 if anybody would be on there ? Because everyone spends a lot of time trying to figure out some obscure, hard to find band/frequency/mode where nobody else would be.........that nobody is on 52 and you could have your own private frequency. I say this only partially in jest. |
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I never carry an HT at "Dayton" but I always wonder, if you went there and put your radio on 146.52 if anybody would be on there ? Because everyone spends a lot of time trying to figure out some obscure, hard to find band/frequency/mode where nobody else would be.........that nobody is on 52 and you could have your own private frequency. I say this only partially in jest. 
Also all the intermod makes 2m really difficult to use unless you have an exceptionally good radio. |
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Can't make it this year, dammit. I have a work conflict.
My current plan is to visit my folks in Florida in August and then go to the Hamfest in Huntsville. After that I'll probably take a few days to catch a few stops on my way home. Leaning towards New Orleans to visit the WWII museum and then a stop in AZ. |
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Tentative:
Arrive Friday night, leave Saturday evening/Sun AM depending. Now, any a youse guys either A. recommend a good fleabag in the area or B. You have a piece of driveway whatever where I can park my pickup/camper. Either way the first pizza and 12 pack or 2 is on me if anyone wants to meet up. Again, tentative. |
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As a reminder from the arfcom freq list:
70cm 440.975 445.560FM 2m 145.560 147.445FM I've just read the final program. *Assuming* no changes, which is like assuming the other guy's gun is unloaded, I'll be in booth 6412, Foundation for Amateur Intl Radio Service (FAIRS). We'll be raffling off a MFJ 962D Come by, drop a couple of dollars on some chances for a good cause and you might end up with a 1.5 KW, 1.8-30 MHZ tuner 
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Quoted:
As a reminder from the arfcom freq list: 70cm 440.975 445.560FM 2m 145.560 147.445FM I've just read the final program. *Assuming* no changes, which is like assuming the other guy's gun is unloaded, I'll be in booth 6412, Foundation for Amateur Intl Radio Service (FAIRS). We'll be raffling off a MFJ 962D Come by, drop a couple of dollars on some chances for a good cause and you might end up with a 1.5 KW, 1.8-30 MHZ tuner http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Downloads/MFJ-962D/MFJ-962D.jpg
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Went early Friday morning and stayed most of the day. Nice crowd! Weather cooler than last year, so it felt more comfortable. Some rain showers, but no down pours while we were there.
Filled out the side of the ticket stub on the way in and tossed it in the gate prize box. Wound up having my number drawn and won a prize bag containing an MFJ-1778 G5RV. One of the other guys I went with won an Icom ID-4001A VHF/UHF Dual Band D-STAR Transceiver from the ICOM Booth prize drawing. It happened to be his birthday, so it must have been meant to be! The grilled pork chops were there again, and they were just as awesome this year as last year! Highly recommended! Saw another Arfcom Ham Forum Patch on a hat walk by, and it was @Planemaker and his XYL from VA. Had a nice face-to-face QSO with both of them. 
ETA: Picked up a small Bioenno Power LiFePO4 battery for my KX3 portable kit. |
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I got back about an hour ago. I spent some fairly serious money 
Some of the highlights: I bought a 12v DC AZ/EL rotator for satellite work as well as a 1.2 gig and a 6 meter beam from M2. I also bought an Airspy SDR receiver. A small 30 amp power supply, and one of those compressed air antenna launchers....................................................... I didn't even buy a lot of the stuff on my list because I spent the money on this other stuff. |
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Well, I'm Hamvention'd out.
Two days of slowly strolling around, most time in the rain, and my feet are killing me. Did have a very pleasant FTF QSO with @BigDaddy0004 - he was clever enough to wear his ham forum patch like I was.
There were a couple of others that mentioned they recognized the patch but were mainly lurkers on the ham forum. 
I bought a few things and saw a bunch more that I wanted. Still wanting an amplifier and was looking at the ALS-1306. Was listed at MSRP at the show. 
There were not as many really good show deals as I was expecting. It was nice to be able to see all the different things from all the different vendors and all the different aspects of the hobby. I also went to 3 of the forum talks. I went to the SHARES talk yesterday and the guy leading that had me stand up to be recognized as one of the 10 SHARES folks that got sent to Puerto Rico. Went to the ARRL talk this morning and said hi to some of the panelists that I knew. This afternoon's talk on "stories from the 2017 hurricane season" was particularly interesting to me since I knew all but one of the speakers. I got called up to the front with them for picture taking even though I was SHARES, not ARRL. When I talked to the head of SHARES afterwards, he thought it was great since SHARES and amateur radio are supposed to be complimentary to each other not competitive. If, God forbid, we have another season like the last one, I suspect there will be another big call for volunteers both in the ham community as well as SHARES and MARS. Was disappointed in the Bioenno Power folks whose prices at the show were significantly higher than I paid last fall. Like, 25% higher. They also basically said that the wal-wart charger for my PowerPack 400 is a switching supply and does indeed generate a lot of noise in the VHF frequency band. They did not have a suggestion for a fix, which seems pretty stupid to be selling their stuff to hams who don't need the noise. All in all, I enjoyed going, crappy weather not withstanding. The fairgrounds need to get their act together on picnic tables and such that are sheltered from the rain. That and actually having A/C in the buildings. |
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Man I can’t believe I missed bigdaddy. Guess we’ll have to just stick to the airwaves. I upgraded to extra while there which was my highlight. I bought eznec+ and a tiny arcade kit, didn’t really see much else I needed. I too looked at the biono batteries and was impressed but didn’t spring for anything. I’m a little jealous of that 12v az/el rotor. As I was leaving yesterday I saw the alex mic which was the one thing that made me saw “I want that now” but of course it was the end of the show and they were gone
BTW you all need more mag loop in your life Attached File |
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I talked to those guys with those mag loops pretty extensively and that is a very impressive piece of equipment. I had seen them last year and was impressed by the size and the construction of them but I didn't realize that they are auto-tuning. In other words, there is a control box that uses CAT control of your radio which follows your VFO frequency and auto-tunes the loop. I have an LNR Precision mag loop (that is limited to 15 watts of RF power). Mine is motorized, but you still have to sit there and tune the loop to resonance; I use an analyzer. Whereas with this thing, you just sit back and operate as if it is a broadbanded antenna. And they will take fairly substantial power: the big one is rated at 800 watts. I know to a lot of people the whole idea of having a giant mag loop antenna is ridiculous, but I have lived in places where I had very little real estate (small city lot) and it's entirely possible that I might have bought something like these loops. I have no real reason to own something like that now: I have 12 acres, but I can see the point of it. Speaking of loops, how about that homebrew loop that was sitting near the communications vehicles ? It was a square loop, made of pipe, about 10 feet on a side and tuned at the middle of the lower part of the loop with an Icom AH-4 antenna tuner. I am not sure what to make of that. I wonder how well it works ? The weather was typical Ohio spring weather. Overcast with occasional showers. It got a little muddy but not terrible mud. FWIW: I have been at Dayton when the weather was "nice" and it was pretty hot walking around the flea market. That year I was wearing a small day pack to put all my loot into, and everytime I stopped and sat down, I took the pack off and my back was soaked with sweat. I think I would prefer weather like we had this year. When we had showers, I just looked at the stuff inside and I never really got wet. I only had to wipe rain off my glasses once the whole time. |
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Quoted:
I talked to those guys with those mag loops pretty extensively and that is a very impressive piece of equipment. I had seen them last year and was impressed by the size and the construction of them but I didn't realize that they are auto-tuning. In other words, there is a control box that uses CAT control of your radio which follows your VFO frequency and auto-tunes the loop. I have an LNR Precision mag loop (that is limited to 15 watts of RF power). Mine is motorized, but you still have to sit there and tune the loop to resonance; I use an analyzer. Whereas with this thing, you just sit back and operate as if it is a broadbanded antenna. And they will take fairly substantial power: the big one is rated at 800 watts. I know to a lot of people the whole idea of having a giant mag loop antenna is ridiculous, but I have lived in places where I had very little real estate (small city lot) and it's entirely possible that I might have bought something like these loops. I have no real reason to own something like that now: I have 12 acres, but I can see the point of it. Speaking of loops, how about that homebrew loop that was sitting near the communications vehicles ? It was a square loop, made of pipe, about 10 feet on a side and tuned at the middle of the lower part of the loop with an Icom AH-4 antenna tuner. I am not sure what to make of that. I wonder how well it works ? The weather was typical Ohio spring weather. Overcast with occasional showers. It got a little muddy but not terrible mud. FWIW: I have been at Dayton when the weather was "nice" and it was pretty hot walking around the flea market. That year I was wearing a small day pack to put all my loot into, and everytime I stopped and sat down, I took the pack off and my back was soaked with sweat. I think I would prefer weather like we had this year. When we had showers, I just looked at the stuff inside and I never really got wet. I only had to wipe rain off my glasses once the whole time. The rover suv that was over there was pretty cool. Sure it wasn’t a million dollar polished rig, but was effective and had lots of antennas. |
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How was the weather compared to last year? not bad. Of course it was somewhat wet. It's Hamvention. FAIRS was in the tent area again but it was a nice tent as QRPme put it. Only the floor was wet this year. Neither the rains nor the winds were as bad as last year and the temps did seem more moderate. I didn't get out of our booth much and caught no forums and very little sun this year. But I did come back with an Alpha Antenna HD-FMJ. Hard to resist a Full Metal Jacket antenna. :) My logic was that I couldn't afford the Hexbeam and tower setup I wanted, the 43 foot verticals were compromises to want I wanted and the Alpha was the best portable choice for the price I saw. And just maybe we'll build a relationship with them for the Island of Dominica. The Gods know they need more options. Early on Friday I made a bee line to Bioenno and was also disappointed with the lack of show specials. On the other hand maybe that means fewer QC issues with panels? I also saw that big metal mag loop. Is that for someone who has already bought every large expensive metal antenna DX Engineering sells and needs more? 
Also saw the new FT DX 101D. Didn't ask the price. While at the Yaesu booth I spent more time looking at the ft-991A and ftdx-3000 screens to see if, 8 months post cataract surgery I could read them better and I can. I didn't find Anan in my travels so I missed a chance to find out about a replacement for the Anan-10. I did harass Davis about the lack of Linux/Rasp-Pi support. It's becoming an annual part of the pilgrimage. From an inside vendor point of view (which is how charitable orgs are treated) this year was much better than last. Even in a tent (but a much nicer tent) it was better. One of the great things was that each vendor had one assigned parking place that was somewhere within a reasonable distance of their booth area. In our case the CAP kids directed us to the parking place that was written on our mirror tag. I only made it to the edge of the flea market area on Friday afternoon and it was already muddy. Other folks told me that the asphalt grindings did help. Saturday night we went to the Dublin Pub for drinks, food & music. That will be a repeat next year but I'm going to hope for a better music experience. The crowd was not interacting with the band and it seemed as if the band didn't care. We left by 10pm. I don't think I have ever left a pub that early in my life. I also think that I'll be reserving a hotel much sooner for next year. I reserved in at the end of January and the best I was able to do (of Hilton Suite type properties) was the Homewood Suites on the south side of Dayton. We expect to be there again next year. |
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D'Artagnan called, and wants his mustache back... just kidding! Quoted:
Quoted: Or was it the 'stache that gave me away?  
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