I enjoyed the new Ham-Com venue in Irving. Having everything indoors is especially nice for a June hamfest in Texas. I didn't have a lot of experience with Plano Centre, having only been there twice. Before that I visited Ham-Com back when it was in Arlington. I think the $5 cash for parking was very reasonable. Some people complained. They will probably complain about more things but parking was certainly a big one because it meant they had to take out their wallets. Food concessions seemed reasonable. It's typical convention center food: pizza, cold sandwiches, hamburgers, salads. I thought the pizza was quite decent and the hamburgers tolerable. The cookies were good. The bathrooms were plentiful and maintained/cleaned throughout the event. No real issues with scooters and pedestrians using the facilities as in some more "famous" venues. The prizes were good. One of my satellite friends one a Yaesu FTM-400 mobile. Interestingly enough, he was there with the intent to buy one! I snagged a couple of deeply-discounted new items during the last few hours of Ham-Com. Remember, vendors don't want to carry home merchandise they DIDN'T SELL. I saved $100 total between the two items I purchased. I think the Ham-Com committee and volunteers did a great job. I'm looking forward to 2016.
I had a blast and found a complete HF setup with everything I needed from various vendors. I will definitely be back next year.
