> Here's a quick summary of some of the hamfests in > this > area lately. First, I'll cover the ones I heard > about > but did not go to--Warren, Ohio and Uniontown, PA. I > was told that both hamfests had few sellers. > Uniontown > apparently had just 5 people selling. Warren was > supposed to be "2 short rows of cars in the flea > market". Uniontown which usually attracts 25-35 > sellers may have been a fluke because the weather > was > bad (it poured down rain all morning), and > construction in that area required bizarre detours > to > get to the W3PIE club site. I don't know much else > to > say about Warren--was anyone there who can tell us > more? > > Two hamfests that I did attend were Skyview on 8/27 > and yesterday's Butler hamfest at the Butler County > Farm Show Grounds. Skyview is always small and no > less > so this time. I sold and bought almost nothing. It > rained and I left early. Skyview has the prettiest > site for a hamfest that I have ever been to--on a > secluded PA hilltop that is actually easy to get to. > Better yet, the club has had an infusion of new > blood > and they have remodeled the club house and ground > out > the 18 stumps that used to make flea marketing > hazardous to your oil pan. The place looked better > than ever--and it always looked pretty good. > > The Butler Hamfest is one of the 2 largest in this > area and also the ARRL WPA Section Convention. They > have a great location and have kept prices > reasonable--$5 per person to get in and $5 for a > flea > market space. Excellent, real food is provided by > the > Ellwood City ARA--a rarity for hamfests in my > experience. > > Seller attendance seemed low to me. Only one third > of > the flea market area was occupied and about two > thirds > of the large farm buildings was occupied. It was > almost cold in the morning and low clouds hovered > overhead early. But the threatening weather > dissipated > and by 11AM I had to use my sun screen. > > Lots of boatanchors: > > Ranger 1: $350 > Drake C line, gorgeous and all tricked out--$650 > Johnson matchboxes, didn't ask > Hammarlund HXL-One $450 > Hammarlund HQ-140, didn't ask > National HRO-50, rackmount with 2 coils, $175 > Homebrew linear with single 250TH, no PS or rack: > $80 > NC-300's--several, all fair to poor, One had the > speaker, $125 each > Hallicrafters HT-41 amp, didn't ask > Multi-Elmac AF-68/PMR-8/PS set. $250 sold. The buyer > walked away without the receiver and never came > back. > I saw him later and told him they were looking for > him > to give him the receiver so they finally connected. > DX-100, nice, $150 > Tek 1Ghz scopes, $400 each > HP counters, didn't ask > Hallicrafters S-122 with matching > speaker--beautiful, > $160 > 20A Variacs, in pairs in racks, $50 a pair--looked > worth it > Heathkit 1680/81 set, didn't ask > Various Lafayette and Allied receivers and > transceivers, 190, 350, etc., didn't ask > Globe Scout with bad aluminum oxide on front panel, > $65 > Much more that I am forgetting. > > I bought a cool 1930's 3-rack panel transmitter that > at first I thought was homebrew. But now looking at > it > closely, it must be commercial or a kit. The PS > section is missing and it has a second RF deck that > doesn't belong. I will get some pictures and ask for > your help later in identifying the beast. > > I also bought a beautifully restored RBH-2 receiver. > I > am a sucker for these NC-100A type radios and > couldn't > pass it up. I am replacing my RAO with it. > > An HP 8640B signal generator with manuals also > followed me home. I've wanted one for a long time. > It > will replace my trusty HP 606A which is for sale if > anyone wants a really big, really good signal > generator. I hope the 8640B is as reliable as the > 606A > has been. > > Finally, I also bought a Tek 7603 scope with 5 > working > plug-ins, one parts plug-in and manuals for $100. I > have bought stuff from this guy before and I trust > him, otherwise I would not have bought it. > Unfortunately, on the way home, something must have > bumped into it and the power switch was smashed to > pieces. So now I'm looking for a replacement. How > stupid is that?? > > Local Ohioan AMer Mark Foltarz was there with his VW > bus mounting a Corvair engine, full of cables, coils > and small stuff, plus the aforementioned HRO-50 and > homebrew 250TH amp. Local sometime-Collins net host > Rich Sperling showed up and took some ribbing for > his > 15 minutes of fame in Electric Radio recently. Bob > and > Bob, Pittsburgh's long-time father and son tube > buying > team, were relentlessly stalking the flea market as > usual. They started out in the jukebox business > years > ago, but I think their business is selling tubes to > the audiophool crowd these days. Brian Roberts was > there selling parts and tubes from Ed Mantick's > collection. Ed, N3GWE, is a top-flight AM > homebrewer--two of my homebrew rack transmitters > were > built by Ed. He used to be at all these hamfests but > very sadly, he has severe macular degeneration and > is > going blind. I saw several other old reliable AMer's > roaming the flea market including Bob Sova. But I > also > noticed quite a few missing--at Gaithersburg, > perhaps? > > > All in all it was a nice day and good hamfest. I > just > wish I hadn't busted that switch on the 7603. > > 73, Don Merz, N3RHT > > > >
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