I started to post my thoughts in the thread I created announcing the Hamfest, but figured so would make a Hamfest report thread. It was good to be there. As I said in the other thread it had been a very long time since I have gone. When I started thinking about it I realized it was probably spring of 2012 that I was last there, it was the year I won the TS-480SAT door prize that I used a bit but later sold since it wasn't getting much use. Belton always reminds me of my dad, since I grew up just 30 minutes north of Belton I recall going with my dad many many times. He would often point out interesting pieces of equipment and share with me what it was used for. He was much more knowledgeable with electronics than I will ever be and spent much of the time going through parts bins and such. He liked to build more than operate. He rarely made contacts and I don't think he kept a log but he was always fixing something or building something. I digress, back to Belton. The crowds were lighter than I recall in past years most likely due to the COVID-19 concerns. As mentioned there weren't really many vendors. Just WB0W and a vendor that makes Callsign hats (I still have my old KD5OWO hat somewhere). I picked up a few connectors from WB0W to show my support and hope they keep coming. ARRL had a booth staffed by our West Gulf director and vice director and two others who I do not know. Their support is always great. The tailgating was thin but I imagine that would have been the case anyways because of the concerns about the weather. It was humid but the rain stayed away. There was a good mix of used gear. I ended up picking up a Realistic DX-160, I just really like the look of they late 70's receivers. This one was clean and sounds good even with just my indoor antenna. Highlight for me was meeting K2EZ, Andrea. There is a whole world above 50Mhz just waiting to be worked and Andrea as buillt a very impressive mobile Rover. I should have taken more pictures at the event but the pictures I did take were of the Rover. Another really wonderful thing was seeing those who I haven't spoken to in years. Some of the old crowd on the 147.18 repeater in Bosque county are silent key but I ran into Bud AD5SK, I was sad to hear the Bosque County group was down to about 6 these days. Ran into AA5RT, I didn't know him when I lived in Waco but knew of him, he had one of the best 2M repeaters around at the time the 146.66. I believe he may have known my dad when my dad was member of HOTARC when he was first licensed. Really hoping that things are back to normal for the fall event.
I emailed my employer a photo I took of Andrea,'s antennas. I told her I was thinking of doing that in the 2004 Peterbilt I drive,and I wanted to know what she ( the owner of the trucking company I work for is a women) thought about this particular setup. She emailed me back and said" maybe too much drag and loss of fuel efficiency. Try and use something a bit smaller!" She's a good sport and takes jokes well. I was setup next to the hat guy. Sold exactly one item. But, I bought an Icom 7100 to go in my truck. Have a Little Tarheel II that is boss lady approved! James WD5GWY
AHH yes. Met her at Dayton a couple of years ago. Still rocking the "Snake Holders" on he roof. I think there's more coax in her rover than in my station! Guy KC2PMM
