Hamvention 2019 Building Update

We should be shocked by accusations that DARA has not done the very best that is possible for handicapped hams. SO untrue.

FAKE NEWS.

Notice no one in that category has complained here. Only a contrived complaint by someone ASSUMING the problem of others.

Shame!

Thanks DARA for running a party for 25,000--the STURGIS of ham radio!

 

I had heard that they talked to some of the cell phone providers about temporary towers, and the cost was going to be somewhere in the six figure range.

This was the first year my brother and I had a booth in the flea market, and overall, we thought it was a great time. Plenty of folks rode by our booth on the handicap scooters, and they didn't seem to be having any trouble. Our only request was that they keep track of the vendors that stayed all weekend, and give them the better spots next year. We were in the southeast part of the infield, and things were getting a little sparse on Sunday morning. Not a big issue, it just would have been nice to be closer to the entrance. Already making plans for next year!

 

Henry,

Your update was excellent. The ARRL could learn a little from you guys.

 

Your complaints are out-dated. This year, the bus DID drop off and pick up at the front gate, and on-site parking was vastly improved.
The food lines were much shorter this year, because they brought in more food trucks and stands.
And, no, it doesn't smell like the County Fair. I was at the County Fair this summer, and THAT smells like the County Fair.

 

The Dayton Amateur Radio Association will never hold Hamvention anywhere except in the Dayton area, because that's where we are. The logistics of holding it in some other city, even in Ohio, would be impossible. And there isn't a big enough indoor air conditioned arena with a paved outdoor lot in the area. Anyone with convenient access to such a venue is welcome to rent it and hold their own hamfest, and call it anything they want except "Hamvention"; that's trademarked. The very best of luck to them.

 

Is Hamvention a local or national convention?

 

I've heard good things about both Orlando and Huntsville. And, maybe, one day one of them will grow up to be the "new Dayton". Hamvention is the biggest because it was the first to market world-wide, and grew to be the biggest. It attracts the most vendors because it attracts the most hams. And it attracts the most hams, because it attracts the most vendors and hams. Anybody else can do the same. But be prepared to spend a decade or three getting there.

 

Short answer, "Yes".
Long answer: Hamvention (a trademark of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association, DARA) is sponsored solely by DARA, not a national or international organization. Over the decades, it has grown to be a de-facto national/international convention of radio amateurs. And the committee certainly takes the desires of the participants into consideration when it plans each year's event. But DARA owns the event, and the Hamvention Committee makes the final decisions.

 

The way I see it, it that Hamvention OWES me for 2 pair of perfectly good shoes and sneakers totally ruined in the MUD!

 

I suggest you never venture outside in the RAIN.

After all, Hamvention 'obligates' you to get wet and 'destroy' those shoes....

You might MELT.

Here's a case in point:

;->

 

TRIED AND TRUE SOLUTION TO THE RAIN AT HAMVENTION:

 

I just got back from APCO where the bash was at the Sands Expo in Vegas, with $40 breakfasts; $400+ registration; hookers soliciting you in the street; drunks everywhere; and- icing on the cake--CARROT TOP (who actually IS the highlight of Vegas! F-U-N-N-Y! )

I ruined two pairs of shoes walking a gazillion miles; 20 minute walk INSIDE from the hotel room to the venue. And they are CONNECTED. I saw no Vegas accommodation for scooter dudes.

But, even though it was 115 degrees, I saw no RAIN and my foot-puppies saw no inkling of mud.

TAKE AWAY: Xenia and hamvention, with its friendly atmosphere, pittance of a registration, cheap and good food, and, apparently, predilection for destroying shoes, is a welcome and cost effective retreat from 'conference-America'.

I saw no hookers but, instead, a helluva lot of genuinely friendly people. 25,000 of them in fact.

And I had a great time. I knew I would.

Hamvention works because its cheap and very well run. If you want a venue that's expensive and where you wear a jacket and wing tips, then go somewhere else, and plan for a $2000+ all-in cost.

 

RAIN is SUCH a DANGEROUS thing! I mean, at Xenia, you may end up with...

THI$ !

 

I find the complaints of those who hate to get rained on each year, at Hamvention, yet still refuse to adapt, humorous.

I saw a guy in the flea market with a black cowboy hat to drain the rain from the rest of his body. He also wore a western type slicker. High top western boots which appeared to have seen rain and mud many times before. In other words, he came prepared for whatever was thrown at him. And I would be willing to bet a long tall soda, that guy has been caught in far worse weather out on the range.