N4KVE
Member
??? Whenever I fly, I always take a sandwich to eat on the plane during the flight.
Hamvention - May 18 - 20, 2018 - Who is going?
- Thread starter EricCottrell
- Start date
- Status
Hello,
Are you going to work a booth this year? I remember the All Ohio Scanner Club having a booth at past Hamventions, but I do not see them listed in the listings.
73 Eric
Hello,
When Hamvention was at Hara, the common wisdom was to do inside vendors on Friday and the outside flea market on Saturday/Sunday. This held true in 2007 when the inside spaces were more packed Saturday/Sunday. Weather also has an effect with rain driving people inside.
73 Eric
GTO_04
Member
Gary, the Hoosier Roadshow repeater will be there: 441.2125/446.2125
Supports DMR, DSTAR, P25, System Fusion, NXDN
DMR Color Code 1
More details on TG's here: https://brandmeister.network/?page=repeater&id=311806
I will be arriving at Xenia on Thursday afternoon around 2pm for 'training' as I've volunteered to drive one of the 8 pax golf carts for the duration. I will be ferrying folks from the shuttle bus drop off point all the way to the entrance gate (about 1 mile!).
N4KVE
Member
Thanks. It just occurred to me that since that repeater is on site, there will be 10,000 people trying to use it at the same time. 900 P25, or 900 DMR should not be very busy.
Maybe not so busy, Gary. It certainly wasn't all that busy the last two years. Also, there are at least two UHF DMR repeaters in the area that should handle a lot of the traffic.
I'm taking my jumboSPOT with me and will likely use it most of the time.
Hello,
My friend Roger, WA1NVC, also brings his GEMOTO portable 900 MHz repeater, although I do not know how close it gets setup to the fairgrounds. I use it all the time up at NEAR-Fest in NH. (OUT: 927.5875 IN: 902.5875 PL 131.8).
I use a XPR6580 and XPR4580 for 900, so I am interesting in 900 DMR as well.
Columbus W8TRB: 927.0125 -25 CC1 (CODIG)
The closest DMR repeater appears to be this one:
Kettering W8AK: 443.750+ CC1 (DMR-MARC)
Ohio DMR Info:
Digital Information
I will likely bring my XPR6580, UHF XPR6550, Yaesu FT-1DR, and Kenwood TH-74A plus chargers, programming cables, etc...,
73 Eric
My friend Roger, WA1NVC, also brings his GEMOTO portable 900 MHz repeater, although I do not know how close it gets setup to the fairgrounds. I use it all the time up at NEAR-Fest in NH. (OUT: 927.5875 IN: 902.5875 PL 131.8).
I use a XPR6580 and XPR4580 for 900, so I am interesting in 900 DMR as well.
Columbus W8TRB: 927.0125 -25 CC1 (CODIG)
The closest DMR repeater appears to be this one:
Kettering W8AK: 443.750+ CC1 (DMR-MARC)
Ohio DMR Info:
Digital Information
I will likely bring my XPR6580, UHF XPR6550, Yaesu FT-1DR, and Kenwood TH-74A plus chargers, programming cables, etc...,
73 Eric
N4KVE
Member
I’m sitting here in the Dayton Marriot. It’s raining, & they say 90% chance of rain tomorrow. Went to the site before to make a practice run for tomorrow. What looks to be a 20 minute drive promises to be a 90 minute traffic jam. 2 lane road the last 5 miles, unless the cops make both lanes going there one way. The site is nice, but the roads cN not deal with the traffic. Hope it stays dry.
dwayne0564
Member
Hopefully next year the Hampton Inn will be open, Wish I could tell you a Quicker way to get in there, Some say ST RT 68 is the best and fastest
Hello,
There will be a low power AM radio station on 1620 kHz for traffic information.
Hamvention® to Use AM Information Radio Station to Communicate with Inbound Traffic
73 Eric
There will be a low power AM radio station on 1620 kHz for traffic information.
Hamvention® to Use AM Information Radio Station to Communicate with Inbound Traffic
73 Eric
prcguy
Member
I marched through the rain all day today finding goodies at the outdoor swap meet, then went inside the buildings and mingled with all the other wet and sweaty hams. The place kinda smells like a wet dog....
Otherwise I dropped by the Whistler booth and got a picture posing with Whistler Wendy, it was the highlight of my day.
Otherwise I dropped by the Whistler booth and got a picture posing with Whistler Wendy, it was the highlight of my day.
It is, after all, a county fairgrounds. Remember, at Hara you had similar odors and you got to breathe asbestos and mold.
Your post makes me glad I stayed home, again, this year.
Last edited:
Hello,
Even though there were some brief heavier rain showers today, it was a better day than yesterday as the sun actually came out for awhile. A couple of people commented that it was better than last year. The ground up asphalt they put down did a lot to prevent another mud bowl. I was able to scan through the fleamarket with little trouble.
73 Eric
Even though there were some brief heavier rain showers today, it was a better day than yesterday as the sun actually came out for awhile. A couple of people commented that it was better than last year. The ground up asphalt they put down did a lot to prevent another mud bowl. I was able to scan through the fleamarket with little trouble.
73 Eric
prcguy
Member
Everything was much improved the year. As mentioned the asphalt along the flea market paths avoided walking in mud and the traffic in and out of the event went as smooth as any I've attended. This was my 25th year going to Dayton.
N4KVE
Member
Sunday was gorgeous. Not a cloud in the sky. Maybe 80% of the crowds went home, so it was much easier walking around the commercial areas. Sunday was the best day.
My first DHV was 1985. A flea marketeer from 1985-1996, on/off attendee 1997-2016, and then back as a flea marketeer in 2017 and this year. I believe the current location at Greene County Fairgrounds (GCF) is a remarkable improvement from Hara Arena.
Hara Arena was in disrepair in 1985 and in the subsequent years the arena degraded. I never understood how the arena passed code considering elements of the NEC (e.g. Mains power wires not in conduit stapled down the walls to outlets that where within the reach of the public). The parking lot where the flea market was hosted really deteriorated over the years and in some areas one needed to watch every step else a twisted ankle could be the result. Parking was another issue - free shuttle from the defunct Salem Mall (parking lot so-so) or paid parking at local businesses and residences. And the food from the arena left a lot to be desired to put in kindly. The pit area inside where the main vendors were located was quite tight quarters, challenging to see the displays and interact with the vendors, and ventilation at times felt non-existent.
DHV at GCF is spread out with a lot more room than Hara. Yes, there were issues in the first year (2017) especially on Friday with the traffic and parking issues. The rains also wreaked havoc with a mainly grass infield that is home to the flea market. Traffic had remarkably improved on Saturday. The grounds though did became a mud bath. I felt for the patrons using electric scooters - constantly getting stuck (as well as a variety of cars).
This year no visible issues with traffic or parking. As others said, grounded asphalt mixture was placed in the 'roads/walkways' within the infield. My understanding in talking with Steve in the Flea Market Vendor Trailer is that the Fairgrounds placed this mixture down on Wednesday - a day before setup. Perhaps if this was performed earlier the mixture may have had time to settle better. On Saturday (after Friday rains, foot and vehicle traffic) ruts and mud was present in many areas on Saturday. Straw was added to assist in controlling the soggy grounds. Saturday saw several rain storms interspersed with several periods of sunshine and increased temperatures. As Eric stated, it was manageable to navigate most areas.
I personally like the vendors spread across multiple buildings. The buildings are relatively close together. The larger buildings house the major vendors like ICOM, JVC Kenwood, etc. along with vendors like Universal Radio, HRO, and DX Engineering. Wide aisle-ways (except still quite tight when the heavier rains hit on Friday). Smaller buildings housed clubs, smaller vendors, etc. Te buildings are nice, well kept and maintained.
Food offerings are typical fairground types of food vendors. I found the vendors to be reasonably priced, decent quality in taste and portion offerings, very pleasant serving staff, and prompt service. In my opinion, an order of magnitude improvement from the captured Hara food offering.
One change - the pedestrian entrance was changed. According to Steve this was a directive from the Fire Marshall regarding not mixing vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Confusion on Friday as posted signs were directing people to this entrance - only to be turned away by hamvention staff and security. Personally my flea market location was along the fence near this entrance - when they closed the entrance to foot traffic it essentially stopped the flow to the several of us along the fence. I had to remind the hamvention staff and security that there were three of us along the fence - and they were stopping foot traffic. After that, they did their best to let people know there was a 'hidden row' but still little joy in sales (we all have different spaces for next year after meeting w/staff).
My recommendation - if you are at all interested and able to attend next year, do not hesitate.
Hara Arena was in disrepair in 1985 and in the subsequent years the arena degraded. I never understood how the arena passed code considering elements of the NEC (e.g. Mains power wires not in conduit stapled down the walls to outlets that where within the reach of the public). The parking lot where the flea market was hosted really deteriorated over the years and in some areas one needed to watch every step else a twisted ankle could be the result. Parking was another issue - free shuttle from the defunct Salem Mall (parking lot so-so) or paid parking at local businesses and residences. And the food from the arena left a lot to be desired to put in kindly. The pit area inside where the main vendors were located was quite tight quarters, challenging to see the displays and interact with the vendors, and ventilation at times felt non-existent.
DHV at GCF is spread out with a lot more room than Hara. Yes, there were issues in the first year (2017) especially on Friday with the traffic and parking issues. The rains also wreaked havoc with a mainly grass infield that is home to the flea market. Traffic had remarkably improved on Saturday. The grounds though did became a mud bath. I felt for the patrons using electric scooters - constantly getting stuck (as well as a variety of cars).
This year no visible issues with traffic or parking. As others said, grounded asphalt mixture was placed in the 'roads/walkways' within the infield. My understanding in talking with Steve in the Flea Market Vendor Trailer is that the Fairgrounds placed this mixture down on Wednesday - a day before setup. Perhaps if this was performed earlier the mixture may have had time to settle better. On Saturday (after Friday rains, foot and vehicle traffic) ruts and mud was present in many areas on Saturday. Straw was added to assist in controlling the soggy grounds. Saturday saw several rain storms interspersed with several periods of sunshine and increased temperatures. As Eric stated, it was manageable to navigate most areas.
I personally like the vendors spread across multiple buildings. The buildings are relatively close together. The larger buildings house the major vendors like ICOM, JVC Kenwood, etc. along with vendors like Universal Radio, HRO, and DX Engineering. Wide aisle-ways (except still quite tight when the heavier rains hit on Friday). Smaller buildings housed clubs, smaller vendors, etc. Te buildings are nice, well kept and maintained.
Food offerings are typical fairground types of food vendors. I found the vendors to be reasonably priced, decent quality in taste and portion offerings, very pleasant serving staff, and prompt service. In my opinion, an order of magnitude improvement from the captured Hara food offering.
One change - the pedestrian entrance was changed. According to Steve this was a directive from the Fire Marshall regarding not mixing vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Confusion on Friday as posted signs were directing people to this entrance - only to be turned away by hamvention staff and security. Personally my flea market location was along the fence near this entrance - when they closed the entrance to foot traffic it essentially stopped the flow to the several of us along the fence. I had to remind the hamvention staff and security that there were three of us along the fence - and they were stopping foot traffic. After that, they did their best to let people know there was a 'hidden row' but still little joy in sales (we all have different spaces for next year after meeting w/staff).
My recommendation - if you are at all interested and able to attend next year, do not hesitate.
Hello,
I did find the hidden row, mainly from looking at the fleamarket map. I doubted spaces were there at first.
73 Eric
I did find the hidden row, mainly from looking at the fleamarket map. I doubted spaces were there at first.
73 Eric
Hi Eric - thanks for stopping by the hidden row and chatting with me on Friday morning.
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