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buying stupid in the USA
"Mr Fed UP" wrote in message
... My last time at Dayton a few years ago it was a costly one day ticket (my health not good either) and $8 to park in a handicap parking spot that might as well been down at the mall it was so far. I believe the admission prices at Dayton are largely driven by the "going rate" for the Hara Arena; renting large spaces like that is *quite* expensive. The prices are certainly not high compared to similarly sized non-amateur conventions I've attended. The handicapped parking largely seems to be an issue because *so many* people request it these days; it's impossible to have literally 300 handcapped parking spots *all* close to the door. I agree that you're probably better off parking in a handcapped spot at the mall and riding the shuttle bus. I believe that for hamfests to continue being successful, they're going to have to concentrate more on educational seminars, demonstrations, and events (transmitter hunts, contests, etc.) rather than just a swapmeet. I think it's a often sign of trouble when any organization seems to spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about their own numbers rather than just engaging in what it is that brought them together in the first place and letting the membership numbers drive themselves. Ham radio (or at least the ARRL) seem quite preoccupied with membership levels... My wireless home phone and my computer has more MHZ than my radio now. ;-( :-) Yeah, I know what you mean. To some degree FCC regulations have held back the development of amateur radio, but on the other hand the number of amateurs out there who could successfully *design* or even *assemble* something similar in complexity to a cell phone is miniscule. Maybe it's as well though. Having started in the TUBE days and seeing SMD parts now I can't find, or use if I could find them for projects... might be appropriate that we go out together in a few years. Parts availability today is, in many cases, far better than ever before. Mouser and DigiKey are real treasure troves of inexpensive RF parts, you know in the click of a mouse what the stock status is, and they deliver quickly. ---Joel Kostad |
#2
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buying stupid in the USA
bobbbo wrote:
"mike maghakian" wrote in message . .. sometimes people complain when I point out people paying real stupid prices for something on eBay. The reason for that is Hamfests and Swap Meets in general are DEAD. Finished! Kaputski! Stick-a-fork-into-it! (etc..etc..) Dayton Included too. I went to Dayton this year after a 5 Year sabbatical. Fully 1/3'rd of the outside vendor spaces were empty. Just 5 Years ago this was a rarity and 10 years ago it was downright impossible. Why? Reasons are many....aging ham/swl population, SK's, health/travel, cost of gas food lodging etc... then again, why drive when you can order new online an it's at your door via UPS in a few days? Ham radio is changing and it is aging. more than HALF the hams I used to talk with on 75M HF just from 10 Years ago are all SK's. That alone speaks volumes folks! E-Bay did not kill hamfests. Hams themselves are dying off and most of the stuff is ending up on e-Bay where it's a feeding frenzy. This too will end in a few (10?) Years time also. In short....Wayne Green (W2NSD) had it right all along folks. Enjoy the rest of the ride. The various "free flea" ham events that pop up here ins S FL are well attended. They are short and sweet events opening at the crack of dawn and ending by noon. Stuff for sale is a mix of old radios from the 50's through the 90's (with a few WWII boat anchors here and there), lots of computer crap (who wants pre-pentium stuff these days?), and a few tube vendors. Also the usual guys just cleaning out their junk boxes. Why pay to go to a big ham fest when you can show up at a freebee? I usually don't find any real big bargains, but I do bump into old friends, chew the fat, and usually take home some needed parts for a project. Maybe the flea markets at the big shows are lean because all the sellers have dumped their stuff at the free fleas? It is a pain to have to load up, set up, hang around for two long days and then pack it all back in and go home. With the free fleas you just open your trunk throw a blanket on the floor or open up a folding table or two. 5 or 6 hours later, (not too long a drag) you pack it up and go home. You'll take less stuff to sell, and maybe have to go to a few free fleas to get rid of it all but somehow it seems like less wear and tear on the old body. I still like to go to one big hamfest a year though, just to see what the big vendors have come up with. |
#3
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buying stupid in the USA
My biggest gripe is that the SAME guys show up selling the SAME old crap
that you have seen for the last 4 or 5 years now and the all think that they have stuff made out of pure diamonds. If the rest of us don't buy their overpriced crap then prices would come in line with reality. (getting off soapbox now...;-) Chris |
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