HAMFESTS: ARE THEY A DYING EVENT?

[KB2SFH]

In recent years I have noticed such a drop in attendance and enjoyment at the hamfests I once loved and looked forward to every year. are they dying in the surge of internet swapmeets and auctions? What happened to going to hamfests to just browse even if you didn't need anything but just wanted to rub elbows with other hams and make new friends and see old friends? I truly think that hamfest planners for their clubs need to look at some new attention getters to bring people back and to attract new people to the hobby. One way might to be to just drop the admission price at the door and replace with 50-50 drawings to increase funds and after all, who doesn't like the idea of winning money? keep the door prize drawings, have live speakers and demonstrations and contests, maybe turn the hamfests more into a carnival setting instead of the drab tables just thrown into a room with very few vendors even showing up anymore to sell, let's face it, it is kind of discouraging to show up to a once hopping hamfest to see so many unsold tables void of the majority of commercial vendors and just a few diehard private citizens with the same equipment in tow from 8 years ago trying to sell. let's support the ham clubs and keep our hobby alive by patronizing hamfests, not the internet. I would like to see responses to this post, maybe others have good suggestions I have overlooked to bring the hamfest back to life.

[WG7X]

Hoo Boy!

Good topic, Susan!

Speaking only for myself, I stopped attending "hamfests" when they became mostly "swapmeets". I am not really interested in pawing through some other fellows junk... and I do mean junk, looking for that ever elusive gem.

Some folks enjoy that aspect of the hobby, and thats great, just does not appeal to me. The sponsors of these things have also watered down the radio aspect of the meet with computers, ceramic knick-knacks, and other junk.

I used to attend our local big hamfest every year. This was put on by the Radio Club of Tacoma, Washington. I'm not sure why that hamfest declined, but they really used to put on a great show! Many symposiums, great vendor attendance, radio activities in the parking lot, and of course VE testing. Now it is just a junk-swapping meet held every year.

I'm really at a loss to explain why a hamfest that had so much going for it went astray, although I have my opinions. The RCT itself was going through some tight times in the early-mid nineties. That probably helped push the hamfest to the back burner. I moved out of town in that time frame and have not yet renewed my membership, so I guess that I'm a part of the problem!

For me, a hamfest needs to have some activities beside junk-swapping. I like a symposium or two, usually some talks by local hams on items of interest to the hobby. Then, there should be a couple of vendors represented, hopefully one of the big three.

I know that's asking for a lot, but that is what it would take to get me back to another hamfest.

Having said all that, I do realize that the Amateur market is small, and getting smaller. Until there is a renewed interest in the hobby and more people getting involved at all levels, a swapmeet is probably all that we can reasonably expect.

73 Gary, WG7X

[KB2SFH]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (wg7x @ May 12 2002,12:58)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Hoo Boy&#33;

Good topic, Susan&#33;

Speaking only for myself, I stopped attending &quot;hamfests&quot; when they became mostly &quot;swapmeets&quot;. I am not really interested in pawing through some other fellows junk... and I do mean junk, looking for that ever elusive gem.

Some folks enjoy that aspect of the hobby, and thats great, just does not appeal to me. The sponsors of these things have also watered down the radio aspect of the meet with computers, ceramic knick-knacks, and other junk.

I used to attend our local big hamfest every year. This was put on by the Radio Club of Tacoma, Washington. I&#39;m not sure why that hamfest declined, but they really used to put on a great show&#33; Many symposiums, great vendor attendance, radio activities in the parking lot, and of course VE testing. Now it is just a junk-swapping meet held every year.

I&#39;m really at a loss to explain why a hamfest that had so much going for it went astray, although I have my opinions. The RCT itself was going through some tight times in the early-mid nineties. That probably helped push the hamfest to the back burner. I moved out of town in that time frame and have not yet renewed my membership, so I guess that I&#39;m a part of the problem&#33;

For me, a hamfest needs to have some activities beside junk-swapping. I like a symposium or two, usually some talks by local hams on items of interest to the hobby. Then, there should be a couple of vendors represented, hopefully one of the big three.

I know that&#39;s asking for a lot, but that is what it would take to get me back to another hamfest.

Having said all that, I do realize that the Amateur market is small, and getting smaller. Until there is a renewed interest in the hobby and more people getting involved at all levels, a swapmeet is probably all that we can reasonably expect.

73 Gary, WG7X[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
I don&#39;t mind what you call &quot;junk&quot; at hamfests, after all what is junk to one is another&#39;s treasure and there are still a lot of people that love to tinker and homebrew and buy a junk radio for parts to replace in another radio of the like. but my point is the lack of interest that has crept over the once thriving hamfest that now looks like a ghost town. I could have sworn I saw a tumbleweed go by at the last hamfest I went to and even the tumbleweed looked bored. As far as the renewed interest, it won&#39;t happen by itself, we as the existing hams have to take the reins and really promote the hobby to the public. So many people don&#39;t have a clue what ham radio is and never even heard of it. I find it really insulting when the misinformed that ask me if I am a cber, to them, ham radio and cb is the same. as far as promoting ham radio and hamfests, I feel that public ads in newspapers and on local cable channels inviting the public to come to hamfests, field days, and races and ares demonstrations to see the ham in action so they know what it is all about and encourage them to get a test manual and get their ticket. To date, I have noticed only ham related events only advertised among ourselves so it&#39;s really no wonder that we aren&#39;t getting newcomers.

[KG4IVT]

While I still like going to hamfests, I find myself getting more and more annoyed at the JUNK that shows up. Way back before I was a ham I used to go to a few annual fests and get pissed at all the computer stuff. Now there seems to be a relatively good sized amount of that stuff at hamfests so it doesn&#39;t really bother me all that much. However, there seems to be more and more straight-up CRAP (there&#39;s a better word for it, you know what it is ) showing up at a lot of the fests. I saw an old mono tube amp that was dusty, rusted, and ready for the parts bin on a table that was selling for &#036;50. I brought a friend to a hamfest once and while he was looking over a junk pile, he picked up a small pen light that was old as the hills and was probably given for free to the seller. The guy tried to trick him into buying it saying that the batteries still had some life and the bulb was good while laughing with his goony friends behind the table thinking that they had landed themselves a sucker. Needless to say, we moved on.

Then there are those folks that use the old line &quot;I can get XXX for it on eBay&quot;. If you can get XXX for it on eBay then SELL IT ON EBAY and don&#39;t bring it to the hamfest&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; I almost bought a nice older Icom 70cm rig from a seller who was trying to sell a beat up Yaesu Memorizer for &#036;175 to a guy and that said the same ol&#39; eBay thing.

Now that I am into ham radio and not an unlicensed participant in hamfests I find myself going to them to meet people I converse with on the air. While all hamfest are not bad, there are some that just have ridiculous crap at them. More and more it seems that it&#39;s better to go to the hamfests that are usually the bigger ones than the little tiny fests.

Yeah...

[NN6EE]

Hiya Susan&#33;&#33;&#33;

Great Topic&#33;

I say that your observation is very astute&#33;&#33;&#33;

But my own thought on why this is happening is the overall cost to the ATTENDEE&#33;&#33;&#33; One recent HAMFEST here locally charged &#036;10 pre-registration or at the door &#036;15&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; While last year as I recall it was &#036;5 pre. and &#036;10 at the door&#33;&#33;&#33;

Now obviously that particular club or any other for that matter has to charge higher prices to re-coop their loses and that&#39;s self-evident, but the vast majority of HAMS are not rich by any means and in today&#39;s world all our &#036;&#036;&#036;&#036;&#036;&#036;&#036; are stretched to the limit as it is&#33;&#33;&#33;

Just an observation Susan&#33;

88,

Jim/nn6ee

[KB2SFH]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (w6ibd @ May 12 2002,17:03)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Hiya Susan&#33;&#33;&#33;

Great Topic&#33;

I say that your observation is very astute&#33;&#33;&#33;

But my own thought on why this is happening is the overall cost to the ATTENDEE&#33;&#33;&#33; #One recent HAMFEST here locally charged &#036;10 pre-registration or at the door &#036;15&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; While last year as I recall it was &#036;5 pre. and &#036;10 at the door&#33;&#33;&#33;

Now obviously that particular club or any other for that matter has to charge higher prices to re-coop their loses and that&#39;s self-evident, but the vast majority of HAMS are not rich by any means and in today&#39;s world all our &#036;&#036;&#036;&#036;&#036;&#036;&#036; are stretched to the limit as it is&#33;&#33;&#33;

Just an observation Susan&#33;

88,

Jim/nn6ee[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Well things better change for the better soon, or the clubs will only have the tumbleweeds rolling around and have to charge for that.

[NN6EE]

GOOD POINT&#33;&#33;&#33;

Say I&#39;ve got a great idea though, why not PETITION the FCC to have them SUBSIDIZE all HAMFESTS???

A lot of other concerns here in our country get GOVERNMENT LARGESS why not us???

nn6ee

[N0FPE]

Very good topic&#33;

I for one do not attend as many hamfests as I used to. I always seem to find a reason not to. Too far to travel, work to do at home, costs too much, ect.

The local club used to at one time have a GREAT hamfest, huge turnout, at one time it was 2 days&#33;&#33; At that time the club had 60-70 memebers. Now it can claim maybe 30 on a good day. Most of the movers and shakers that did all the work on the hamfests for years have just burned out. 10-15 years of always doing the work gets to a person after a while. And a lot of the newer folks just have NO interest in taking the time to do the work.
The club here used to send out a 4-6 page newsletter just before the fest with all the run down on events and items at the fest. This was a lot of work and cost to do and was sent to ALL hams that had ever attended a fest before and bought a ticket. Now a flyer at other hamfests and a line in QST is all there is. Door prizes have declined as have the Main prizes, A top of the line HF rig used to be the main prize, now its lucky to be a low end 2 meter mobile. All this is due, in my opinion, to the lack of interest by club members. It is just too easy to bid on eBay or wherever and not have to put any work into it.

I am just as guilty as others at this. I use the internet to buy and sell most of my radio equipment these days.
Also there is a lot less of the eyeball contacts at hamfests today. I like to go to fests to eat the bad food and ragchew with folks I havent seen in a year. But as there is less and less reasons to go to a fest there is less and less eyeball time.
I agree that fest planners need to spice it up more or they are going to go the way of the doo doo bird.

I dont have all the answers but I do have ideas,
And since a lot of clubs rely on the monies from the fest to operate, its time to kick out the jams and get back on track. More agressive is needed. Stop trying to be everything to everyone and get back to ham radio. And yes computers are part of ham radio. But cheap jewelry and pocket knives are not...
IMHO YMMV

Dan/NØFPE

[N8EMR]

Interesting topic considering the Dayton Hamvention is just 4 days away.

I think one of the biggest contributing factors to the downfall of hamfest has been cost
to rent a building. Once upon a time you could rent a county fairgrounds building for next to nothing. Now
the rent is through the roof and add in the insurance requirements. The Small club cant afford to hold a show. Even if you dont need a building and do it outside your at risk to the elements.

I think needs have changed, I loved scrounging for parts to fix an old radio. Now the SMT radio&#39;s parts are just not available and even if they are, service manuals and skills to work on the micro radio circuits just are not around.

I know I have changed. I use loved going to a hamfest and crawling around on the ground looking for those needed part. Now my knees are sore and I would just prefer to call jameco and have them ship it out if I need it.

[KA7RRA]

I also think part of the promblem is the high prices I have seen for items that are for sale&#33;

I went to to a ham-fest this Saturday on Camano Island I saw a bunch of single band radios going for the same price has the new ones. I saw a HF rig going for 750.00
a new one was going for about 770.00
I saw some scanners that where going for 250.00 dollars and for 179.00 I could getr a new one wich includes trunking

I went to Dayton Last year and some guy was selling a 25 yr old all mode 6 mt rig for 300.00&#33;&#33;&#33; I could have bought a new one for 300.00
You also cant test the radio out so you are taking the guys word for it that it works how many times have heard the person say it works I bought a used 2mt rig for 25.00 dollars the guy that I bought it from told me it works just fine when I got it home It did not work and I bought it from a club
DAve....