We bought Dayton Hamfest tickets at R&L Electronics today, they cost $20 a piece if you get them now. Looks like it will be a Saturday only trip for us. It is a little over a hour's drive from here.
2010 Dayton Hamvention?
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Good time and day. Thanks for suggesting bidaw.
You are all welcome at that time. Sadoun will provide the soft drinks, and snacks for the gathering. We will have door prizes as well for the party.
I've also been attending Dayton since 1992 only missing a couple years. It used to be held in April but the weather was so hit and miss. One year it would be great, the next it could be 100 degrees, the next non-stop rain with the flea market submerged in a foot of water, the next with snow, wind and icicles sideways off the Mendelson's tent. The weather in May has been a lot better in general.
Hamvention completely dwarfs any other hamfest in the hemisphere. Even amidst the recession, hamvention attracted 22,000 people last year. This is down from a few years ago when they've topped 30,000 but is still encouraging that even with the economy, eBay and the internet in general, and people saying ham radio is a dying hobby that 22,000 people come to Hamvention. There's something there for anyone with an inclination towards computers or electronics, not just radio. 15 years ago or so they tried separating the computer stuff from the electronics by setting up a "computer show" across the street at an old car dealership. That idea didn't last long. Inside there are many exhibitors showing off new equipment letting you try it hands on, something that many of us don't get the opportunity to do as we often buy things sight unseen online. Every manufacturer has a display and every store has a booth you can buy from with hamvention exclusive discounts. The flea market takes up a giant portion of Hara Arena's parking lot. You often beat any price you find online, even on eBay, and you are free to negotiate. I've seen truck loads full of surplus electronics, pallets and boxes full of stuff marked $1 each with people digging through them like crazy. Circus tents filled with everything imaginable. Computer parts, electronics parts, tubes, law enforcement equipment, lock pick sets, you name it. You could walk through it all 3 days and see something different every time.
Some people go Saturday only but there's good things about all 3 days. Friday at open it's good to hit the flea market first thing. The ridiculously low priced stuff will still be there. Don't think about it, just get it before someone else does. Sunday people are getting ready to leave and will mark down things just to get rid of them. The wife said they couldn't bring anything back so they'll be priced to move. In fact, a lot of things get left in the lot marked as free, please take. You'll see the roving scavengers taking trailers full of free stuff. Plus all the hourly prizes that aren't claimed get redrawn inside the arena and they keep drawing until someone present wins so your odds are pretty good if you stay for this. A lot of these hourly door prizes are worth hundreds of dollars. The main prizes you don't have to be present to win. Most require a 1099 tax form because of their value. The grand prize has been worth $12,000 in the past.
There are a ton of forums that are veiry informative. There's always a couple that interest me and I attend each year. I might check out the high altitude balloon launch forum. They're going to attempt to launch one on Friday. There's also many off-site activities and dinners. I think the biggest are Contest University and the Contest Dinner. The Crowne Plaza in general has a lot of after hamvention hours activities, pizza and beverages.
FTA and ham radio are two hobbies that often appeal to similar type individuals. It's been great to see Sadoun at hamvention the last few years. I love seeing long time hams drop by the FTA displays having no clue about what FTA is and end up picking up a system. Hopefully hamvention can similarly draw in people from other hobbies to enjoy the show and maybe see what ham radio is about in the process. I'll be stopping by Sadoun's booth again this year and probably buy something like I always end up doing!
Don't forget there are other things to do in the Dayton area like the Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum which is free and well worth the visit.
Tickets are $20 and you can get them on Dayton Hamvention 2010 - Amateur Radio Clubs Worldwide: The Lifeline in advance. Years ago they had shuttle buses go to the area hotels. Some hotels still offer this (Holiday Inn Fairborn). What Hamvention has been doing officially the last few years is allow free parking at the nearby Salem Mall and then you buy a bus ticket ($8 for all weekend this year) and the bus will take you down the road to the arena. They run very frequently. Many also park here overnight with RVs and the sort. As others have mentioned you can park in the fields across the street from the arena for about $8 a day, but these can be a disaster if the fields are muddy. I've seen towing companies make a killing in years past! The $8 weekend bus ticket works on the entire Dayton RTA system. Their Northwest Hub is right next to the Salem Mall. I've never tried it but it looks like the hotels at I-70 and US-48 have free airport shuttles and there's an RTA bus (Bus 24) that goes from the Meijer at that exit to the NW Hub in 7 minutes so it's possible perhaps with some walking to get from the airport to your hotel and hamvention the whole weekend for $8.
Also, if you live within 200 miles or so, check with your local amateur radio club. Clubs often get a bunch of people together for a one day bus trip to Dayton on that Saturday. I know there's ones from Terre Haute, Akron, Kalamazoo and more. These clubs will welcome anyone, amateur operator or not and will be happy to fill another seat on these buses they charter. This is great for those who don't care to drive and worry about hotels and parking.
The tip about bringing cash is a very good one! There is an ATM at the arena but it ALWAYS runs out very early on. The commercial vendors do take cards though. There is handicapped parking available. Scooter rental is available. Check out the hamvention page for more info Dayton Hamvention 2010 - Amateur Radio Clubs Worldwide: The Lifeline
Hope to see some satelliteguys there!
73!
Hamvention completely dwarfs any other hamfest in the hemisphere. Even amidst the recession, hamvention attracted 22,000 people last year. This is down from a few years ago when they've topped 30,000 but is still encouraging that even with the economy, eBay and the internet in general, and people saying ham radio is a dying hobby that 22,000 people come to Hamvention. There's something there for anyone with an inclination towards computers or electronics, not just radio. 15 years ago or so they tried separating the computer stuff from the electronics by setting up a "computer show" across the street at an old car dealership. That idea didn't last long. Inside there are many exhibitors showing off new equipment letting you try it hands on, something that many of us don't get the opportunity to do as we often buy things sight unseen online. Every manufacturer has a display and every store has a booth you can buy from with hamvention exclusive discounts. The flea market takes up a giant portion of Hara Arena's parking lot. You often beat any price you find online, even on eBay, and you are free to negotiate. I've seen truck loads full of surplus electronics, pallets and boxes full of stuff marked $1 each with people digging through them like crazy. Circus tents filled with everything imaginable. Computer parts, electronics parts, tubes, law enforcement equipment, lock pick sets, you name it. You could walk through it all 3 days and see something different every time.
Some people go Saturday only but there's good things about all 3 days. Friday at open it's good to hit the flea market first thing. The ridiculously low priced stuff will still be there. Don't think about it, just get it before someone else does. Sunday people are getting ready to leave and will mark down things just to get rid of them. The wife said they couldn't bring anything back so they'll be priced to move. In fact, a lot of things get left in the lot marked as free, please take. You'll see the roving scavengers taking trailers full of free stuff. Plus all the hourly prizes that aren't claimed get redrawn inside the arena and they keep drawing until someone present wins so your odds are pretty good if you stay for this. A lot of these hourly door prizes are worth hundreds of dollars. The main prizes you don't have to be present to win. Most require a 1099 tax form because of their value. The grand prize has been worth $12,000 in the past.
There are a ton of forums that are veiry informative. There's always a couple that interest me and I attend each year. I might check out the high altitude balloon launch forum. They're going to attempt to launch one on Friday. There's also many off-site activities and dinners. I think the biggest are Contest University and the Contest Dinner. The Crowne Plaza in general has a lot of after hamvention hours activities, pizza and beverages.
FTA and ham radio are two hobbies that often appeal to similar type individuals. It's been great to see Sadoun at hamvention the last few years. I love seeing long time hams drop by the FTA displays having no clue about what FTA is and end up picking up a system. Hopefully hamvention can similarly draw in people from other hobbies to enjoy the show and maybe see what ham radio is about in the process. I'll be stopping by Sadoun's booth again this year and probably buy something like I always end up doing!
Don't forget there are other things to do in the Dayton area like the Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum which is free and well worth the visit.
Tickets are $20 and you can get them on Dayton Hamvention 2010 - Amateur Radio Clubs Worldwide: The Lifeline in advance. Years ago they had shuttle buses go to the area hotels. Some hotels still offer this (Holiday Inn Fairborn). What Hamvention has been doing officially the last few years is allow free parking at the nearby Salem Mall and then you buy a bus ticket ($8 for all weekend this year) and the bus will take you down the road to the arena. They run very frequently. Many also park here overnight with RVs and the sort. As others have mentioned you can park in the fields across the street from the arena for about $8 a day, but these can be a disaster if the fields are muddy. I've seen towing companies make a killing in years past! The $8 weekend bus ticket works on the entire Dayton RTA system. Their Northwest Hub is right next to the Salem Mall. I've never tried it but it looks like the hotels at I-70 and US-48 have free airport shuttles and there's an RTA bus (Bus 24) that goes from the Meijer at that exit to the NW Hub in 7 minutes so it's possible perhaps with some walking to get from the airport to your hotel and hamvention the whole weekend for $8.
Also, if you live within 200 miles or so, check with your local amateur radio club. Clubs often get a bunch of people together for a one day bus trip to Dayton on that Saturday. I know there's ones from Terre Haute, Akron, Kalamazoo and more. These clubs will welcome anyone, amateur operator or not and will be happy to fill another seat on these buses they charter. This is great for those who don't care to drive and worry about hotels and parking.
The tip about bringing cash is a very good one! There is an ATM at the arena but it ALWAYS runs out very early on. The commercial vendors do take cards though. There is handicapped parking available. Scooter rental is available. Check out the hamvention page for more info Dayton Hamvention 2010 - Amateur Radio Clubs Worldwide: The Lifeline
Hope to see some satelliteguys there!
73!
So I went in 1990. Large sale.
Back then I did not mind driving 10 hours.
Now I just ending going to Rochester Ham Fest.
It was getting small BUT I must say last year was good.
Have fun there guys and good luck getting all you want.
Back then I did not mind driving 10 hours.
Now I just ending going to Rochester Ham Fest.
It was getting small BUT I must say last year was good.
Have fun there guys and good luck getting all you want.
For anyone going to Dayton next weekend, the following web site has an excellent, easy to read listing of the indoor and outdoor exhibitor booth assignments:
Hamvention 2010 Booth Assignments
They also have the booth assignment lists in a user friendly PDA / mobile phone format.
I am heading down on Friday and looking forward to it! I haven't been there since 2001.
Upgraded to General last September and am currently studying for my Extra using the Gordon West CDs and book. Gordo is great! I recommend his study guide.
Hamvention 2010 Booth Assignments
They also have the booth assignment lists in a user friendly PDA / mobile phone format.
I am heading down on Friday and looking forward to it! I haven't been there since 2001.
Upgraded to General last September and am currently studying for my Extra using the Gordon West CDs and book. Gordo is great! I recommend his study guide.
For those that can't make it but would like to see Dayton on the web, W5KUB will again be streaming live from the Hamvention beginning on Wednesday. He published the following in an email I received this morning:
This is a reminder that http://w5kub.com will be going live at 0800 central
(1300 UTC) on Wednesday May 12th. We will start broadcasting video and audio of
our 550 mile drive to Hamvention. Then on Thursday we will be broadcasting the
set up of our fleamarket space, then the actual show on Friday, Sat, and Sunday.
This is a reminder that http://w5kub.com will be going live at 0800 central
(1300 UTC) on Wednesday May 12th. We will start broadcasting video and audio of
our 550 mile drive to Hamvention. Then on Thursday we will be broadcasting the
set up of our fleamarket space, then the actual show on Friday, Sat, and Sunday.
I wil be heading out early Thursday morning, hope to see some of you sat-guys at Sadoun on Saturday afternoon.
mikelib
mikelib
I'll be arriving Thursday night sometime. Going all 3 days! I'll be QRV on 146.52 haha! Oh and for general info, talk-in is 146.94-. Talk-in has died down in recent years with everyone using GPSs but local info really is the best. They'll help out with anything from directions to restaurant recommendations to delivering TP to some guy on the can at Hara who was inconveniently stuck there with none!
A few of the guys I talk to over amateur satellites will be at the NODXA hospitality suite so I'll probably drop by there and the Kansas City DX suite to catch their 30th annual CW pileup competition. Kansas City DX Club It's going to be a great weekend! Hope the weather holds up. So far they're calling for lower 70s, 40% chance of rain on Friday and mostly cloudy Saturday and Sunday, not too bad!
A few of the guys I talk to over amateur satellites will be at the NODXA hospitality suite so I'll probably drop by there and the Kansas City DX suite to catch their 30th annual CW pileup competition. Kansas City DX Club It's going to be a great weekend! Hope the weather holds up. So far they're calling for lower 70s, 40% chance of rain on Friday and mostly cloudy Saturday and Sunday, not too bad!
It's great seeing so many ham posts! I've always wanted to go to Dayton because it's the largest ham convention in the world. Kind of like the NAB show (National Association of Broadcasters) for hams. For you West Coast Hams who can't attend Dayton, why not attend the second best ham convention? I highly recommend attending PACIFICON in San Ramon October, 15-17. Here's the link...
http://www.pacificon.org
http://www.pacificon.org
The weather was good today in Dayton, the Hamvention is awesome. I stopped by Sadoun and meet Jamal. Hope to see other Satelliteguys tomorrow at Sadoud’s in the flea market area.
Spent over an hour talking to Dave from AMSAT about ham radio satellites. Checked out their satellite tracking software. More tomorrow
mikelib
Spent over an hour talking to Dave from AMSAT about ham radio satellites. Checked out their satellite tracking software. More tomorrow
mikelib
Dayton was great, the weather was great...and there were some good deals to be had. I found a good amount of RG8 50 ohm coax. I met Mikelib at the Sadoun spot. I got a free VCR, the owner was packing up and threw it in the trash...he said it worked but didn't have the remote.
There was one spot selling a 25 foot used tower for as low as $60 ! Working CB radios were going 3 for $10 at another spot. I checked prices on some popular rigs, The Icom 718 was selling for $574 and that includes the DSP. The newer Icom 7200 was selling for $999 .
I noticed that they had a TIS on 1610 AM specifically for the Dayton hamfest. It had directions to the the parking areas and even a even a welcome from the mayor of Dayton. One of the best deals was the price of gas, $2.61 a gallon...about 20 cents cheaper then here in Kentucky.
There was one spot selling a 25 foot used tower for as low as $60 ! Working CB radios were going 3 for $10 at another spot. I checked prices on some popular rigs, The Icom 718 was selling for $574 and that includes the DSP. The newer Icom 7200 was selling for $999 .
I noticed that they had a TIS on 1610 AM specifically for the Dayton hamfest. It had directions to the the parking areas and even a even a welcome from the mayor of Dayton. One of the best deals was the price of gas, $2.61 a gallon...about 20 cents cheaper then here in Kentucky.
After refreashing my memory, it was about 18 years ago that I was at the Hamvention.
Made it down yesterday. I'd heard it had been shrinking in past years but this year was
every bit as big as years past when I was there. Good meeting Mikelib. Sorry we had to
run when we did Mike but the wife is fair skinned and can only take so much sun at a time.
We headed for the shade. Spent 8 hours there. Good time!
Made it down yesterday. I'd heard it had been shrinking in past years but this year was
every bit as big as years past when I was there. Good meeting Mikelib. Sorry we had to
run when we did Mike but the wife is fair skinned and can only take so much sun at a time.
We headed for the shade. Spent 8 hours there. Good time!
Excellent weather! Couldn't have asked for better. Rumours were going around afternoon Saturday that a storm was eminent before the end of the day and all day Sunday. Being that this rumour originated from a large outdoor vendor it spread quite quickly. I don't think we had any more than 10 raindrops on us Saturday or Sunday. Left more good deals out there for me on Sunday Price of gas was great too at $2.55 Sunday!
Gigaparts claims a best price guarantee sale Dayton weekend but checking around the various vendors of new equipment many were beating the Gigaparts prices by close to 10%. Not to mention Gigaparts charges shipping when their Dayton price special is going on, and their price "guarantee" is that if you find it cheaper at Dayton, you can ship what you bought back to Gigaparts for a refund. It's not a price match guarantee. Only caveat is that the vendors have to charge 7% Ohio sales tax, but most were willing to ship it to your home for free thus eliminating sales tax if shipped to a state where they don't have a store. All in all for new gear prices the dealers were all very competitive and flexible in price ("secret" manufacturer wildcard coupons!) and the savings made up for ticket and travel expenses for many, I'm sure.
The flea market was great! Picked up/saw a lot of good deals. Kenwood mobile 2m/70cm dual bander for $50, Alinco all mode handheld receiver 0.1 MHz to 2 GHz $50, servers with 4x1.9GHz Xeons 8Gb of ram and 80Gb SATA for $75, all kinds of commercial gear capable of being easily modded/programmed for amateur use with mobiles as low as $1, and all kinds of free stuff Sunday left in the flea market. I managed to pick up several lengths of LMR-400 with N connectors on them for $5 for the armfull. Only thing that wasn't a good price was the food and drinks! $4 for a beer! At least some of the proceeds went to local non-profit organizations. Stopped by Sadoun's booth and got a hands on look at the Solomend. It was great to see the amount of amateurs interested in FTA. Saw one ride away on a scooter with a 100cm dish attached to the back of it! It was a Kodak moment.
Overall, it was bigger this year than it had been in a dozen years or so. Before the prize redraws they had announced that while they didn't have a full attendance count yet that the presale of tickets had exceeded that of recent time, that they were only 6 booths indoors from a sell out, and that the flea market was over 10% (don't remember the exact figure, maybe 18%?) larger than last year making it the largest it's been in recent time. All very good news. Hopefully next year will be an even bigger success.
Price of gas was great too at $2.55 Sunday! Gigaparts claims a best price guarantee sale Dayton weekend but checking around the various vendors of new equipment many were beating the Gigaparts prices by close to 10%. Not to mention Gigaparts charges shipping when their Dayton price special is going on, and their price "guarantee" is that if you find it cheaper at Dayton, you can ship what you bought back to Gigaparts for a refund. It's not a price match guarantee. Only caveat is that the vendors have to charge 7% Ohio sales tax, but most were willing to ship it to your home for free thus eliminating sales tax if shipped to a state where they don't have a store. All in all for new gear prices the dealers were all very competitive and flexible in price ("secret" manufacturer wildcard coupons!) and the savings made up for ticket and travel expenses for many, I'm sure.
The flea market was great! Picked up/saw a lot of good deals. Kenwood mobile 2m/70cm dual bander for $50, Alinco all mode handheld receiver 0.1 MHz to 2 GHz $50, servers with 4x1.9GHz Xeons 8Gb of ram and 80Gb SATA for $75, all kinds of commercial gear capable of being easily modded/programmed for amateur use with mobiles as low as $1, and all kinds of free stuff Sunday left in the flea market. I managed to pick up several lengths of LMR-400 with N connectors on them for $5 for the armfull. Only thing that wasn't a good price was the food and drinks! $4 for a beer! At least some of the proceeds went to local non-profit organizations. Stopped by Sadoun's booth and got a hands on look at the Solomend. It was great to see the amount of amateurs interested in FTA. Saw one ride away on a scooter with a 100cm dish attached to the back of it! It was a Kodak moment.
Overall, it was bigger this year than it had been in a dozen years or so. Before the prize redraws they had announced that while they didn't have a full attendance count yet that the presale of tickets had exceeded that of recent time, that they were only 6 booths indoors from a sell out, and that the flea market was over 10% (don't remember the exact figure, maybe 18%?) larger than last year making it the largest it's been in recent time. All very good news. Hopefully next year will be an even bigger success.
It was good to see some of you guys stop by and say hi. The weather was very nice in the 70s and sunny all days. We wrapped up Saturday evening as Sunday is usually slow and not worth our time.
Business was much slower than previous years due to the economy. A lot of lookers, but very few buyers. This year, there were more vendors and visitors than 2009.
I am glad to see some of you found some good deals.
Business was much slower than previous years due to the economy. A lot of lookers, but very few buyers. This year, there were more vendors and visitors than 2009.
I am glad to see some of you found some good deals.
Had a great time at Dayton and was very happy to talk to Jamal Sadoun and his brother, Hindu55 and Bill_KY. I was overwhelmed by the seer size of the Hamvention both inside and outside. It took me two days to cover 90% of all the booths. There was something for every facet of radio and TV communications including FTA. I came across a booth stacked high with all kinds of old satellite receivers from Dish to Videociphers and Motorola’s, all in the $5 to $15 range, I wished I had Icebergs’ phone number so I could call him to give me the “skinny” on the different receivers, there must have been some buys in the bunch. I will post some pictures that I took that should be of interest to Satelliteguys in another thread.
Sorry I missed you VO1ONE, would have like to exchange FTA and Ham radio talk with you.
Mike Lib
Sorry I missed you VO1ONE, would have like to exchange FTA and Ham radio talk with you.
Mike Lib
Attachments
There is a news video of it from WHIO Channel 7 in Dayton
Last Day For Hamvention - News Story - WHIO Dayton
Last Day For Hamvention - News Story - WHIO Dayton
Sorry I missed you too! We were unable to make it to the Sadoun get together time. Time flies when you're having fun! We made it to the W5KUB booth for the QRP kit drawing but missed the Gigaparts Yaesu HF rig and HT draw too. Would have liked to have caught the bicycle mobile forum for a little bit too. Next year let's specify a frequency for eyeball QSO arrangements (other than 146.52 or 146.94
)Hopefully one of the FTA vendors at Dayton next year will have a live setup. I think a lot of people walk by and don't know what it is. Imagine a little HDTV, an HD FTA receiver picking up PBS or something through a motorized 30" dish live and a sign FTA TV & Radio - Free To Air, No Subscription Fees! I think that'd help. We hams like to see how things work as is evident by all the people playing with the live radios inside Hara.
Our setup this year was not done well. We usually have a working motorized dish and LCD TV, etc.
I am glad a few stopped by and introduced themselves. :up
I am glad a few stopped by and introduced themselves. :up
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