Hamfest

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section deals primarily with the United States and does not represent a worldwide view of the subject.
Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page.

2003 Dayton Hamvention

A Hamfest is an event organized by amateur radio enthusiasts, for social gathering and comparison and sales of radio equipment. Most hamfests feature a flea market, where the attendees buy and sell equipment, generally from and for their personal stations. Some of the larger hamfests have another section, separate from the flea market, where vendors and manufacturers of new equipment demonstrate and sell their products at trade show-like booths.

One form of hamfest, known as a Convention, in addition to the primary social aspect, offers seminars on technical, operational, and legal aspects of amateur radio.

Hamfests are usually annual or semiannual events lasting from several hours to several days, usually over a weekend, with longer meetings generally including license examination sessions. In some larger metropolitan areas, regular monthly "swap meets" occur, which do not focus exclusively on Amateur radio but nonetheless draw many local amateur radio operators and are comparable to hamfests.

Regular attendees often visit their first hamfest in search of some piece of equipment, but end up returning due to the social aspect (see, for example "Dayton: The Epicenter of Amateur Radio" by Tom Holmes N8ZM, May 2007 QST Magazine).

A popular tradition at many regularly-scheduled hamfests is to begin with an event such as a pancake breakfast, with proceeds going to the sponsoring organization or a worthy charity. Larger hamfests almost always include one or more food vendors, staffed by volunteers, with the proceeds going to a local high school or other charity.

Clubs, amateur radio resellers, manufacturers, and individuals may rent space from the sponsoring organization to show and sell their equipment. The equipment offered at the sales section of a hamfest can vary significantly from the newest high-tech gear to used, refurbished, or even antique equipment, and haggling or bargaining is the most common means of sale. Equipment that originally sold for thousands of dollars to commercial users (such as public safety agencies) can often be found at a fraction of the price, just a few years later. Likewise, accessories which are no longer available from their manufacturers may be found, and many sales of complete systems are made to buyers who only need one or two components. Junk boxes abound, filled with often-unidentifiable parts, which are frequently left over from projects or equipment long-since gone. It is not unknown for a seller to ask more for a single part from the box than for the entire box, the intent being to have less stuff when it's time to go home than the seller arrived with.

Larger old items are often referred to as boat anchors with the suggestion that they are obsolete and of such low value that this is the only use left for them. Numerous jokes are based on this concept, and some sellers will tie ropes to handles, or post signs on especially large and heavy items seeking customers who own aircraft carriers.

"Boatanchors" is a popular sub-set of the hobby that focuses on the restoration, repair and operation of vintage radio equipment that uses vacuum tubes and transmission modes. This includes Amplitude Modulation (AM) and Morse Code (CW) derived from the technical term "Continuous Wave". Hamfests and Flea Markets are very popular with "Boatanchors" devotees because this is the principle marketplace for these kinds of equipment and parts.

There are some who consider AM, CW and vacuum tubes to be obsolete technology, not worthy of attention. However the attraction enjoying equipment that goes back to an earlier time when the amateur radio culture was stronger is drawing many newcomers to the sub-set.

The AM FONE Website and Forum is the most popular AM and "Boatanchor" enthusiast online gathering place and resource center.

[edit] Major hamfests in North America

The Dayton Hamvention is generally considered to be the largest hamfest in North America. It is held each May at the Hara Arena in Trotwood, Ohio near Dayton, Ohio. The Hamvention offers forums, exhibit space and a flea market and usually claims to have over 20,000 visitors, although this figure has never been validated. Many Amateur Radio enthusiasts go out of their way to attend the Hamvention, travelling from all over the United States, Canada, Mexico and various parts of the world and even as far as Australia, Japan and Russia. The Dayton Hamvention, the International DX Convention and the Friedrichschafen hamfest in Germany, are the three most common trade show-like events where manufacturers choose to introduce new products to the amateur radio marketplace.

The Shelby Hamfest [1], claiming to host 8,000 to 12,000 visitors per year (per website, June 2008), lays claim to being the second largest hamfest in the Unitied States, and certainly the largest in the Southeast. Although the history reported on the website does not clearly indicate its age being older than the Dayton Hamvention, they nonetheless call themselves "The Granddaddy of them all". As with other large events, people come from around the world, and many will schedule their family camping vacations around this Labor Day event.

The largest hamfest in New England is the New England Amateur Radio Festival, commonly known as NEAR-Fest which is held twice a year at the Deerfield Fairgrounds, in Deerfield New Hampshire. Deerfield is located approximately 15 miles east of Manchester on Route 43.

[edit] Major hamfests worldwide

In Western Australia, the biggest Hamfest is run by the Northern Corridor Radio Group. They held their first few at the former Carine TAFE College site. Following its closure their hamfests have been held in Bassendean, a suburb of Perth. 2007 saw a demonstration of military radio equipment and a demonstration of a tesla coil. These were in addition to the "bring and buy" tables and stands for various retailers and groups.