Tank Radio goes to Dayton Hamvention 2022. We will walking though all the venders, looking ahead the next coming ham fest, and finally. We will be talking to all of you. Please let me know if i missed anything, or what my next ham fest question to ask all of you? Frank L.
She's b-a-a-a-ck! 02:31 Purt' cool. Hamvention was very well attended; really crowded Friday, and Saturday morning. More traffic than the video shows. And he's right: the ice cream was amazing once again. Got some special goodies without breaking bank. Favorite is a mini soldering station....what's your new find?
I picked up a 10Watt dummy load soldering kit i am looking forward on building and putting up on the channel. IT was awesome hangout with and talking to everyone there. I need another question to ask next at Huntsville.
Ahhh! I wasn't the only one to see the coveted 'mini' The IC-705 is awesome; got mine a year ago and love it. Enjoy!
The American ham rally is pretty much the same as a uk rally. The growing age is starting to show & the newcomers that do go seem pretty geeky. Every time i go to a rally i think "What a pile of junk!" As I look among the stalls. Usually i come away with something else i don't need for WAY over scrap value. Basically the hobby is for the elderly & Disabled, Perhaps most of the younger hams don't go to the shows anymore!
WoW! The attendance was at record levels So much for the 'Assistant Director' that asserted the "word on the street" was that attendance WOULD be way down;-) Saw 4Z1UG ( founder of the zoom ham convention)--who WAS in attendance at Hamvention;-) I would say I saw a LOT fewer scooters and 'aging out'. Lots of Techs well below 50. Thousands of 'em.
Official count: 31,367 according to WS8G (DX Engineering video blog). Within 3 percent of 2019--pre-COVID! Now onto 2023!
Thats awesome to hear, The event organizers didn't miss a beat on anything. Dayton was amazing and can't wait to do it again next year.
I DO NOT wanna talk about what I bought but...Mr. CHIP. The bank was indeed BROKEN! I think I'll just hang out in Ohio until this time next year. XYL is gonna be TICKED!
I saw an MLS video from Dayton and it looked likes God's waiting room. We can't change the demographic overnight but it really was lots of badly dressed old men with gofer chariots everywhere.
"Old amateurs never die, They just smell that way!" Was a quote from an old amateur at a radio club. The skill, Knowlege & craftsmanship of some of the old timers, Was & still is enviable. We would have a construction award each year & Gordon Hall G3LZT would often win. He was a skilled clock maker & his machining skills produced some of the best ATU projects I have ever seen, The knowledge of the likes of Eric G8BKL is lost now. Both gone but not forgotten.
Regarding the golf carts about at Hamvention. Most of the parking is a good 10-15 minute walk to the entry gate. Those carts were nice for getting heavier equipment back to the car. I dragged the FT-221 back btw. It has a handle at least... As far as older folks in the scooters, well let's hope you never have issues getting around! I'm not seeing exactly what is wrong with the demographic though? Why is that the most important thing here? How does the demographic need fixing... As for God's waiting room? We're all in line, friend. Young and old alike.
I was discussing this with an IRC buddy who I saw at Dayton. First thing we both wondered is what data this was based off of. If you do it solely based off ticket sales then you don't account for the no-shows or the people who weren't returning handing their tickets off to other people. If I were to make a very rough guess...the official count is maybe 10% off of the actual numbers. There were still a lot of people for what was essentially a hamfest. I had no intentions of going until mid-April when something told me I should probably go. I had nothing else to do and figured the first year after the break would something to talk about either way. Most of it was a good excuse to meet a lot of people I talk to face to face for a change; and when I go back next year it will be primarily to hang out with them. I mean don't get me wrong...I was quite impressed with the setup and sheer scale of it; it's still largely just a hamfest. I'd be less inclined to go next year if it wasn't for the after-fest events with friends. I spent a good chunk of time hanging out at my friend's tailgate spot with the rest of our online guys that showed up. The only prices at flea I paid attention to were station monitors; which I picked up a Heathkit SB-610 to take home with me. Pairs well with the SB-201 I bought from a friend that I picked up at Dayton. Does it count as buying it at Hamvention if the deal was arranged months in advance? But...now having done a year; next year's trip should be better.