Well, another Dayton Hamvention is gone and done. I have been to around 25 Hamventions or so over the last 40 years, dating back to the old Hara Arena in the 1980’s. Of course, I concentrate on scanners and accessories but have also acquired various ham and GMRS gear. Over the last 20 years I have been to most Hamventions as a rep for Scanner Master, working the booth selling radios and answering questions.
Hamventions at the old Hara Arena were legendary for the poor condition of the venue and ground. I was there for the famous explosion of sewage from the building into the main section of the flea market area at Hara. This was a huge, smelly mess but some have said it probably improved the smell of the joint. The new venue at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia just doesn’t have that kind of ambiance, it is much more sterile and controlled.
At my first Hamvention, back in the 1980’s I went with a bunch of friends from CARMA that were also getting into GMRS and ham radio. At the time the various Motorola radios like the MT500, Expo, and HT600 were the prime radios for us GMRS guys. Some of us also had radios like the Icom U16, Yaesu FTC1143 and cheaper ones like Maxon’s and Regency’s. My fantasy radio however was the Motorola MT1000. My police department had a couple of these; they were the newest radios in the fleet. As I was still pretty much a rookie with only a couple years on the job (and no responsibility for the radio system yet) I rarely got to use one of these, usually being stuck with a GE model PE.
I scrimped and saved my pennies and nickels and went to Dayton with guys like Ron, Ron Jr., Scott, Denny, Bob and others. Ron would book a block of rooms at a local Suites type hotel not far from Hara and we would have a caravan of cars heading to Dayton each year. We usually arrived early Thursday morning and spent the day at the Air Force Museum before meeting up at the hotel. We would then go someplace nice for dinner. There is a story about the Oyster Bar that is better left unsaid here.
While at the Hara the “inside” buildings did not open until Noon on Friday but the flea market outside opened early. I was mostly interested in the flea market anyway at the time as I was looking for my dream MT1000. That first morning on Friday I soon found the radio itself (99 channel UHF along with a decent battery and rapid charger. Later I found things like a DTMF front panel with ANI (GE-Star and MDC) as well as more batteries, a standard desktop charger and a Public Safety Mic.
Later that weekend I also found many more accessories. Scott had his laptop and was able to get the radio programmed up for me so I could use it the rest of the weekend.
While that pretty well blew my radio budget for that trip, other guys in our group also found toys. I think Ron and Ron Jr. picked up a couple MT500’s, someone got an HT600, and we all found various accessories and antennas etc.
After that most Hamvention trips seemed to have a theme for me. One year it was Icom R7000 and R71 stuff. I found a TV adapter, RC-12 remote control and a replacement glass display cover for my cracked one. Another trip it was antennas. On most trips I ended up with a new-to-me scanner, antenna or even crystals for some of my older rigs.
One trip was all about my Micor. I found a great Micor mobile radio and at the next Hamvention found all the accessories, cables and head parts. I even found a complete installation and service manual as well as crystal elements and PL reeds.
A decade later I was asked to come and work the Scanner Master Booth for the rest of the years at Hara. While I was working, I tried to spend some time wandering the other booths, but it was difficult to get out in the flea market where the real action is.
Icom used to have models running around in bikinis to drum up interest in their products. It worked. They would walk the venue carrying Icom signs and inviting the sweaty masses to visit the large Icom display in the stadium section. They certainly drew a lot of attention.
One year we had Paul Opitz and Lindsay Blanton in our booth at various times over the weekend. It was the first time I had met either of them and I really enjoyed hobnobbing with them. We all went out to dinner one night, me along with Paul, Lindsay and Rich Barnett (owner of Scanner Master). I was kind of star-struck so just kept my mouth shut and listened all evening. If you know me then you will know how hard that was.
Another year we were invited to a vendor party by the Icom guys at the Packard Museum in Dayton. This was a great time, again hobnobbing with important people in the industry and having a great time viewing all the old cars and exhibits. Other times I met the head honchos of other radio companies. It was great to have connections!
For several years I traveled to Dayton with my friend Mike, a software programmer for one of the radio manufacturers. He would work their booth, and we would then go out for dinner and hang out in the evenings. Along with the guys from the original CARMA crew we sampled the fare at many Dayton area restaurants and amenities.
There were other fun times there but decorum and that the statute of limitation has yet to expire require those stories to have to wait. Needless to say, the years at Hara were always interesting, the fact that none of us died from sepsis or some other disease still amazes me considering how bad the Hara was and how much worse it became each year.
Around 2016. the Hara finally (and mercifully) closed its doors and Hamvention moved to the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia, 20 miles away. While there were traffic and mud issues in the flea market the first year there, subsequent years have been better administered, and the venue has proven to be a far better one than the old Hara joint. With several buildings, lots of space and parking and far better food options it is always a fun time. I missed Hamvention last year due to scheduling issues and of course we all missed the 2020 and 2021 years when Covid caused it to be cancelled.
Unfortunately, I rarely have had the opportunity to spend any time in the flea market recently. Working a booth means I cannot sneak away for too long. The few minutes I have been able to steal away were too short to really do much more than just glance at the booths. I have usually been able to quickly peruse the inside booths but rarely had time to do much more than gloss over them.
The 2018 Hamvention remains the most memorable one for me. That was the year we introduced the SDS100 to the world via The Scanner Guys. I have already written about that so look up that Tale. In short Jonathan and I had the only two SDS100’s available for public viewing and we had hundreds of people lining up to see them. The next year we had them for sale and did a land office business.
Hamvention is also famous for its weather. It is common for it to rain during the weekend, when it was still held in April it would occasionally snow. This actually helps the inside vendors as it drives the masses inside and away from the flea market. The first year at the fairgrounds there were mud issues in the flea market area, many booths were flooded and mobility carts got stuck in the mud. Add to this the poor traffic plan in place and it was a pretty miserable time for a lot of people. They figured it out however and things are a lot smoother now.
This year the weather was great. While it rained like hell Friday night, it was bright and sunny most of the daylight hours, if a little breezy. I will take that any time!
This year we had the RH200 Remote Head prototype on display in our booth. An earlier prototype was displayed last year but as I was unable to attend so did not have a chance to discuss it with booth visitors. We had a lot of interest both years and hope to have that out soon.
We had a lot of friends show up at the booth this year as always. A lot of people recognized me from “The Scanner Guys” show. I got to see Jonathan there as well. I saw people from RadioReference, CARMA and other radio forums I participate in.
Whistler’s new owners had a really nice booth this year, they told me they hope to have new designs soon but for now still have the same lineup as before the ownership change. While the Whistler designs are stale for sure, let’s hope they do come up with new radios, if only to keep Uniden on its toes. There have been too few new toys available for scanner people recently we can only hope for some more exciting things to come to future Hamventions.
Other changes this year at Hamvention is the lack of some favorite vendors. MFJ has closed up shop, so their large presence was missed for sure. R&L Electronics was also missing from their usual space. Several other long-time vendors also were not there. The buildings were all full however, some of the freed-up spaces were used to expand other vendors or allow new ones in.
While I did not end up with any new toys this year, I did seriously consider one of the Xiegu HF rigs, they are sexy looking machines! RadioOddity had them in their booth in the same building as ours. I just could not convince myself however, as I already have an IC-705 that does just about everything these radios do and more. I was also constrained by what I could fit in my carry-on as I was flying both ways.
Speaking of flying… Every time I fly thru Atlanta my flight is late. This trip was no exception. On the way in, time was tight as we had 7:30 dinner reservations at a really nice place. My flight from Atlanta was supposed to land in Dayton at 6, so I would have time to grab an Uber to the hotel, get checked in and changed and go to dinner with the crew. Of course, since I was changing planes in Atlanta the departing flight was 45 minutes late. They made up a couple minutes in the air, but it was still 7:00 before I got out of the terminal and into a cab. I decided to go straight to the restaurant instead and the cabbie broke a few speed laws to get me there on time. Google Maps had it as 35 minutes from the airport to the restaurant, he made it in 25 and earned an extremely generous tip. I made it in time for dinner, he went back to the airport with a pocketful of cash, much more than he expected.
On the way home Atlanta lived up to its reputation again. My inbound flight was on time, but the departing one was again an hour late. This was less stressful, it just meant I would be home a bit later, but it still meant a 4-hour layover vs. a 3-hour one. I had a nice dinner and a cocktail and watched a movie on my iPad to pass the time. I did wish I had put my 436 in my flight bag instead of the suitcase so I could do some listening while I waited. On all 4 flights this weekend I made use of my noise-cancelling headphones. They are a real life saver when flying in coach!
Hamvention is obviously the biggest hamfest in the country, drawing people from around the world. It is something every radio enthusiast should experience at least a few times in their lifetime. It is crowded, noisy, dirty and all the other things radio people will enjoy. While the new Fairgrounds venue is much less dirty it is still a great time. I would like to go to HamCation in Orlando one of these years, perhaps I can convince the wife that a trip to Florida to see family or Mickey Mouse with a day at the fest is in order.
Hamventions at the old Hara Arena were legendary for the poor condition of the venue and ground. I was there for the famous explosion of sewage from the building into the main section of the flea market area at Hara. This was a huge, smelly mess but some have said it probably improved the smell of the joint. The new venue at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia just doesn’t have that kind of ambiance, it is much more sterile and controlled.
At my first Hamvention, back in the 1980’s I went with a bunch of friends from CARMA that were also getting into GMRS and ham radio. At the time the various Motorola radios like the MT500, Expo, and HT600 were the prime radios for us GMRS guys. Some of us also had radios like the Icom U16, Yaesu FTC1143 and cheaper ones like Maxon’s and Regency’s. My fantasy radio however was the Motorola MT1000. My police department had a couple of these; they were the newest radios in the fleet. As I was still pretty much a rookie with only a couple years on the job (and no responsibility for the radio system yet) I rarely got to use one of these, usually being stuck with a GE model PE.
I scrimped and saved my pennies and nickels and went to Dayton with guys like Ron, Ron Jr., Scott, Denny, Bob and others. Ron would book a block of rooms at a local Suites type hotel not far from Hara and we would have a caravan of cars heading to Dayton each year. We usually arrived early Thursday morning and spent the day at the Air Force Museum before meeting up at the hotel. We would then go someplace nice for dinner. There is a story about the Oyster Bar that is better left unsaid here.
While at the Hara the “inside” buildings did not open until Noon on Friday but the flea market outside opened early. I was mostly interested in the flea market anyway at the time as I was looking for my dream MT1000. That first morning on Friday I soon found the radio itself (99 channel UHF along with a decent battery and rapid charger. Later I found things like a DTMF front panel with ANI (GE-Star and MDC) as well as more batteries, a standard desktop charger and a Public Safety Mic.
Later that weekend I also found many more accessories. Scott had his laptop and was able to get the radio programmed up for me so I could use it the rest of the weekend.
While that pretty well blew my radio budget for that trip, other guys in our group also found toys. I think Ron and Ron Jr. picked up a couple MT500’s, someone got an HT600, and we all found various accessories and antennas etc.
After that most Hamvention trips seemed to have a theme for me. One year it was Icom R7000 and R71 stuff. I found a TV adapter, RC-12 remote control and a replacement glass display cover for my cracked one. Another trip it was antennas. On most trips I ended up with a new-to-me scanner, antenna or even crystals for some of my older rigs.
One trip was all about my Micor. I found a great Micor mobile radio and at the next Hamvention found all the accessories, cables and head parts. I even found a complete installation and service manual as well as crystal elements and PL reeds.
A decade later I was asked to come and work the Scanner Master Booth for the rest of the years at Hara. While I was working, I tried to spend some time wandering the other booths, but it was difficult to get out in the flea market where the real action is.
Icom used to have models running around in bikinis to drum up interest in their products. It worked. They would walk the venue carrying Icom signs and inviting the sweaty masses to visit the large Icom display in the stadium section. They certainly drew a lot of attention.
One year we had Paul Opitz and Lindsay Blanton in our booth at various times over the weekend. It was the first time I had met either of them and I really enjoyed hobnobbing with them. We all went out to dinner one night, me along with Paul, Lindsay and Rich Barnett (owner of Scanner Master). I was kind of star-struck so just kept my mouth shut and listened all evening. If you know me then you will know how hard that was.
Another year we were invited to a vendor party by the Icom guys at the Packard Museum in Dayton. This was a great time, again hobnobbing with important people in the industry and having a great time viewing all the old cars and exhibits. Other times I met the head honchos of other radio companies. It was great to have connections!
For several years I traveled to Dayton with my friend Mike, a software programmer for one of the radio manufacturers. He would work their booth, and we would then go out for dinner and hang out in the evenings. Along with the guys from the original CARMA crew we sampled the fare at many Dayton area restaurants and amenities.
There were other fun times there but decorum and that the statute of limitation has yet to expire require those stories to have to wait. Needless to say, the years at Hara were always interesting, the fact that none of us died from sepsis or some other disease still amazes me considering how bad the Hara was and how much worse it became each year.
Around 2016. the Hara finally (and mercifully) closed its doors and Hamvention moved to the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia, 20 miles away. While there were traffic and mud issues in the flea market the first year there, subsequent years have been better administered, and the venue has proven to be a far better one than the old Hara joint. With several buildings, lots of space and parking and far better food options it is always a fun time. I missed Hamvention last year due to scheduling issues and of course we all missed the 2020 and 2021 years when Covid caused it to be cancelled.
Unfortunately, I rarely have had the opportunity to spend any time in the flea market recently. Working a booth means I cannot sneak away for too long. The few minutes I have been able to steal away were too short to really do much more than just glance at the booths. I have usually been able to quickly peruse the inside booths but rarely had time to do much more than gloss over them.
The 2018 Hamvention remains the most memorable one for me. That was the year we introduced the SDS100 to the world via The Scanner Guys. I have already written about that so look up that Tale. In short Jonathan and I had the only two SDS100’s available for public viewing and we had hundreds of people lining up to see them. The next year we had them for sale and did a land office business.
Hamvention is also famous for its weather. It is common for it to rain during the weekend, when it was still held in April it would occasionally snow. This actually helps the inside vendors as it drives the masses inside and away from the flea market. The first year at the fairgrounds there were mud issues in the flea market area, many booths were flooded and mobility carts got stuck in the mud. Add to this the poor traffic plan in place and it was a pretty miserable time for a lot of people. They figured it out however and things are a lot smoother now.
This year the weather was great. While it rained like hell Friday night, it was bright and sunny most of the daylight hours, if a little breezy. I will take that any time!
This year we had the RH200 Remote Head prototype on display in our booth. An earlier prototype was displayed last year but as I was unable to attend so did not have a chance to discuss it with booth visitors. We had a lot of interest both years and hope to have that out soon.
We had a lot of friends show up at the booth this year as always. A lot of people recognized me from “The Scanner Guys” show. I got to see Jonathan there as well. I saw people from RadioReference, CARMA and other radio forums I participate in.
Whistler’s new owners had a really nice booth this year, they told me they hope to have new designs soon but for now still have the same lineup as before the ownership change. While the Whistler designs are stale for sure, let’s hope they do come up with new radios, if only to keep Uniden on its toes. There have been too few new toys available for scanner people recently we can only hope for some more exciting things to come to future Hamventions.
Other changes this year at Hamvention is the lack of some favorite vendors. MFJ has closed up shop, so their large presence was missed for sure. R&L Electronics was also missing from their usual space. Several other long-time vendors also were not there. The buildings were all full however, some of the freed-up spaces were used to expand other vendors or allow new ones in.
While I did not end up with any new toys this year, I did seriously consider one of the Xiegu HF rigs, they are sexy looking machines! RadioOddity had them in their booth in the same building as ours. I just could not convince myself however, as I already have an IC-705 that does just about everything these radios do and more. I was also constrained by what I could fit in my carry-on as I was flying both ways.
Speaking of flying… Every time I fly thru Atlanta my flight is late. This trip was no exception. On the way in, time was tight as we had 7:30 dinner reservations at a really nice place. My flight from Atlanta was supposed to land in Dayton at 6, so I would have time to grab an Uber to the hotel, get checked in and changed and go to dinner with the crew. Of course, since I was changing planes in Atlanta the departing flight was 45 minutes late. They made up a couple minutes in the air, but it was still 7:00 before I got out of the terminal and into a cab. I decided to go straight to the restaurant instead and the cabbie broke a few speed laws to get me there on time. Google Maps had it as 35 minutes from the airport to the restaurant, he made it in 25 and earned an extremely generous tip. I made it in time for dinner, he went back to the airport with a pocketful of cash, much more than he expected.
On the way home Atlanta lived up to its reputation again. My inbound flight was on time, but the departing one was again an hour late. This was less stressful, it just meant I would be home a bit later, but it still meant a 4-hour layover vs. a 3-hour one. I had a nice dinner and a cocktail and watched a movie on my iPad to pass the time. I did wish I had put my 436 in my flight bag instead of the suitcase so I could do some listening while I waited. On all 4 flights this weekend I made use of my noise-cancelling headphones. They are a real life saver when flying in coach!
Hamvention is obviously the biggest hamfest in the country, drawing people from around the world. It is something every radio enthusiast should experience at least a few times in their lifetime. It is crowded, noisy, dirty and all the other things radio people will enjoy. While the new Fairgrounds venue is much less dirty it is still a great time. I would like to go to HamCation in Orlando one of these years, perhaps I can convince the wife that a trip to Florida to see family or Mickey Mouse with a day at the fest is in order.
-cano. It didn't have a great appeal to me. I need to visit fairgrounds someday.
