HR2.0: Episode 82 - 'The Future of Dayton' forum from Hamcation 2017

People work... for free... all year... for a trade show?

 

Yep. You should go.

The trade show aspect of Hamvention is only a part of the total experience, and indeed for many only a small part. Huge flea market; 2.5 days of forums, sometimes 5 at the same time; related events, classes, license exams, food, all sorts of logistics. Many informal social events, getting together with friends, requiring moving and locating people. This is a BIG operation, a big event, and many volunteers donate a great deal of time and effort as a labor of love. DARA is a club, a not-for-profit that moves a lot of money but enriches no one. They are VERY dedicated folks.

Comparing Hamvention to most other ham radio events is analogous to comparing a junior-high football game to homecoming weekend at a BigTen or SEC college. So many things going on. Go to Tuscaloosa or Ann Arbor and see what I mean. Or go to Hamvention.

 

That's a good point -- I forgot about the seminars and the testing sessions and such. Whenever I think of "Dayton," I tend to think "trade show." But I have seen several Contest University videos on YT, and they are very interesting. I forgot that those came from Dayton.

A local ham is trying to get me to caravan with him to Dayton some year. I'm trying to convince him to let me fly him there, rather than drive. We're still negotiating the terms of the pilgrimage.

 

Good luck. Some years we have had QRZ get-togethers, usually at or around the ARRL area in the exhibits. It's great to meet everyone.

I guess I am a Hamvention junkie. My first one was in 1974, when I was in school in Michigan. It just blew my mind- that many people like me and that much stuff related to my thing. I have missed one since, 2005, when my son's school in another state had the temerity to hold graduation the same weekend . Since 1976 I have lived in Cincinnati and since 1991 I have worked in Dayton, so it has been quite feasible for me to attend. Always a blast.