Having carefully got my schedule arranged so I can can go to the Hamvention -- a huge amateur radio swapmeet in Dayton, Ohio this coming weekend -- now I'm not sure if I'll be able to go. Still hoping, but it depends on what my health does over the next 24-some hours.
Either way, this may be my last year for driving to and from the day of. It's been just barely possible for me but it's becoming more difficult. For years, I have taken along just enough to be able to overnight at the closest available motel (probably Richmond, IN -- there's nothing in Dayton that weekend. Hams reserve rooms a year or more in advance!). Having a room and doing most of the driving the day before and the day after is looking better and better.
Otto's art director (who lives in a northern suburb of Cincinnati) drives up day of. FWIW, about a 90 minute drive.
ReplyDeleteDayton is fun, and less than an hour for me. But I still have to make myself take the trip.
ReplyDeleteIf the weather is hot, the inside of the building can be stifling, and if there are any burning resistors or whatever, the smell of burn plastic can be a bit overwhelming.
I know you are more active than I am - I took the 2M out of the old car but haven't put it back in the newer one. (I'm enjoying the 6-disk CD changer too much right now.) But I find the flea-market to be either overpriced or junk or overpriced junk.
Hope you can make it. I won't be out there until Saturday, but if you want to meet in real life, give me a shout. I'll be the fat old white guy with an HT. Should be easy to find! ;-)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, since your e-mail here has been redacted, I'll drop a line to Tam and ask it to be forwarded with my contact information.
Either way, hope you feel better.
73
It's tempting; Dayton is not far compared to most drives I take east on 70. But there is too much to do around the house and not much ready cash available, so this year it's a "nope."
ReplyDeleteMaybe "next year in Dayton" :-)
Exactly the same as last year. The TAPR forum was at 9Am (or so) so of course I wasn't there.
ReplyDeleteThe YLRL talk was lame. I stayed about 15 minutes. (Too bad really because a lot of school girls were in attendance. Girl Scouts? Who knows. I find the YL thing annoying anyway. No one over the age of 16 should be called YL and thin only by her parents. When she is in trouble.
A talk on PRB-1 and working to get antennas and towers approved by zoning boards was good. (Ohio has a new law)
A bit more SDR on all fronts. Aside from the kits from TAPR it is still crazy expensive. I didn't see HackRF anywhere, though I wasn't looking for them.
The alternatives to D-Star seem to be forming up nicely.
After a rain shower blew through the humidity sky-rocketed, and I took off. That building is tough when there are too many people in it.