Random stuff related to the 2022 Huntsville Hamfest.
K5RFL, Caleb Rich, manned a booth recording conversations with cancer survivors. I think he said this is for an ARRL project. He was at the booth all day, got to see little of the hamfest, but he stuck with it.
All 400 of the flea market tables sold out. Someone said it was within hours, but I doubt it was that fast. Still, that's a lot of stuff in one room.
Scooters. A good many folks who need mobility assistance attended on some sort of electric scooter. Glad they were there, but a couple of them need a governor on their scooter. Maybe a speed limit (or speed bumps) would help?
One young lady stopped at our booth. She was wearing a BSA Venture Crew t shirt. We chatted about Scouting, and she told me she was SPL in her troop. She had a handful of odd parts in her hands, and she planned to strip one board for resistors so she could build a voltage tester. Seems her dad was always getting her to stick out her tongue so he could check 9V batteries. Great kid. Hope she has a good life.
Best hamfest audio ever. We could hear the announcements. Not just hear, but understand. Bravo, Huntsville.
Clean restrooms. Large, well lighted, clean restrooms.
Gray hair is a fashion thing these days, and that means a whole lot of the hamfest was in high fashion. Maybe unintentionally so, but unintentionally still counts.
Big hamfest. One of the three biggest.
One young man was talking to Lynn, and in response to something she said his reply was "Yes ma'am". Thank goodness the South and it's ways still live in some of our young people.
Overall this is a really well run hamfest. Kudos to the Huntsville club for doing this the right way.
Parking in the garage is $10/day. Not a bad deal.
Lots of vintage gear. Maybe it works. Maybe it doesn't. But it's industrial artwork unlike anything that will ever be built again. Green Heathkit gear. Gray and silver Drake sets. Collins in short supply, but present. Beautiful radios that need to be preserved and maintained, mostly going unsold. Entire stations for $300. Forget eBay, this is the real world, and eBay prices are mere fiction at a hamfest. No receipts, no warranties, and no return. You spends yo money. You takes yo chances. But when it all works out, and the gear works, the magic happens.
Lynn reminded me that the test table was a huge help, and very gracious.
Welcome to the hamfest.