Hamvention 2017

Tim VE6SH

I will be at the Saturday night banquet. I will be at the IARU booth in the ARRL Expo during the hamvention. Drop by to say hello. Tim VE6SH

Rick Hadley - W0FG

That's a fairly young bunch compared to our local DX club.  There are a few local hams that are getting bunches of new younger hams licensed,(several hundred in the past couple of years) but they're mostly techs and at that stage are more interested in cheap HTs and VHF/UHF mobile rigs than in DX. Some of them are preppers, interested in EMCOMs, and some just see ham radio as akin to CB for local use.   I wouldn't expect a DX convention to attract many from the younger age bracket.  It takes time in the hobby, and the ability to devote serious funds, to get to really bitten by the DX bug.  My concern is that most of these new Techs will get bored and drop out before they upgrade to higher class licenses and develop real interest in HF.

Ria

I do agree about Ohio. However next year I am going to Orlando since the kids can go to Disney with grandma. Visalia, probably not. I have a general problem with going to that state.

Bill W2PKY

Orlando is a nice mini-Dayton. One day is plenty to explore most things of interest. Perhaps you can talk FRS into an evening event there once again.

Steve K9ZW

It is ONLY because Hamvention left the Hara that I am returning this year. While a county fairgrounds is not my personal druthers, these sorts of Farm Expo grounds can work. Hamcation in Orlando is pretty much a similar sort of thing. I try to catch the Orlando Hamcation when it fits with work travel. From my corner of Wisconsin getting to Visalia is a chore and pricey. There too is a personal avoidance of "hive politics" locations to deal with. --- Attending our area DX club meeting I too suddenly find myself the second youngest of the 25 folk attending. Sounds like 80% are retired, and 40% of the working are actually past retirement age. Maybe the club should add an AED to its equipment? ---- Reading between the lines Hamvention 2017 sounds likely to have several neat Flex things happening. See you all there, 73 Steve K9ZW

KY6LA_Howard

I personally recommend Freidrichshafen as perhaps the best overall show. Beautiful charming city on Lake Constance. Great **** gardens. Modern conventions center. Makers Fair. Young people. High quality technical talks. - many in English. Free wines and spirits from most national ham societies except ARRL. Attendance approaching Dayton numbers Seems that at least a dozen Dayton Hamvention Organizers get an all expense paid trip to Freidrichshafen ever year. . Too bad Hamvention organizers don't use that money to improve rhe Hamvention Tokyo is also very good and most new Japanese radios debut there. But Tokyo weather in August is not fun

Michael Coslo

Hara, for all of it's decrepitude, had some semblance of a convention. Sure, the bathroom floors were wet with Gawd knows what, and smelled, sure the place hadn't been renovated since forever. But it was a piece of Ham radio tradition and history.  The handwriting was on the wall though. The 2011 turdfest was when I new Hara was on it's last gasp.

So when HARA folded, there were two directions to go. I thought sure that they might use the convention facilities in Dayton, or possibly Cincinnati. I looked into both of those areas, and heard that Dayton CoC had made overtures. 

But they decided to go the farm building/flea market  route. I've been to hamfests/flea markets in farm buildings, and by and large they are not doing very well. 

KY6LA_Howard

Having spent many hours in the **** gardens at Freidrichshafen imbibing with the Dayton organizers while they were enjoying their all expense paid junkets to Europe, one could reasonably conclude that the decision was made by "Follow the Money." The Dayton Convention Center was more expensive than the Cowsheds so the money to fund junkets would have been less. Hence the decision to choose cowsheds. But heck, real life experience makes me cynical.

Paul Christensen, W9AC

>"I still go to the actual hamfest for part of the day but in all honesty I haven't even bought a ticket yet, and I'm debating going hanging out at the hamfest for one day then going to the after hours events which is the real attraction for me."

Same feeling here.  I always fly into Cincinnati/Covington then spend Friday in Dayton and maybe a couple hours in the AM on Saturday.  The remaining time is spent in Cincinnati, one of my favorite U.S. cities.  If it wasn't for my stay in Cincy, I would not attend Dayton.

I was hoping the venue would have changed to Cincy, but the organizers had their reasons.  Howard made a good point about the agricultural fair setting. It will be interesting to see how many folks from DX countries attend in the coming years if the venue in Xenia remains the same.

Next year, Visalia then I'll try Freidrichshafen.

Paul, W9AC

Ria

I'm going to ham com this year. Maybe hamtronic next year where they will have wrtc as well.

John - AF3K

My reason for going to a national/international hamfest is learning about the state of the art in amateur radio.

I like hearing presentations and insights from experts, Q&A sessions, and meeting the names behind the logos and the articles.  Visiting association, special interest and vendor booths is interesting as an activity between sessions - I always have a shopping list for new gear, but I'm not spending time and money for travel to save 10 cents on a connector. I especially enjoy seeing innovative new products.

Having a show organizer with a venue supporting the above, in a travel time friendly location with great restaurants, sightseeing and weather gets my vote.  

I'm going to Dayton again this year, but the move to Xenia makes its seem it is more focused on the cheap-o flea market aspect than the stuff that interests me.

John AF3K

Ken - NM9P

Wayne Green (W2NSD - editor of 73 Magazine and many others in the 60's - 90's) posted decades ago that one of the reasons most Amateur Radio Clubs are so devoid of activity and young people is that so many ham club meetings are so BORING!  

The typical ham club spends the first hour debating what color the guest name tags should be, what courtesy tones to program into the repeater, whether to go to I-HOP or Waffle House for the meeting after, how much money is in the raffle fund, and whether to have 2 or 3 radios at the next field day.  Then they may take a measly 5-15 minutes at the end for some type of program, when everyone is already tired and wants to go home.

Wayne's suggestion was that the club first spend the majority of each month's club meeting (45-60 minutes) on have an exciting program detailing one of many cutting edge facets of the hobby -- new modes, new operating opportunities, DXing, Repeater Linking, Digital Modes, How to build stuff like antennas, receivers, accessories, RDF, etc.  Then have and  executive committee that makes the major plans and decisions that brings the plans to the membership for ratification.  

The problem is that many local hams are control freaks and feel the need to have input on even the smallest details of every decision.  This wastes valuable club time, and runs off newcomers and potential hams who came because someone told them that ham radio was a fun and exciting hobby.  What they find instead is a bunch of old farts who can't agree on whether to have fried chicken or bologna at the next field day picnic.

Young people want to go where the action is.  They DON'T get excited about listening to an hour of mundane committee business masquerading as ham radio.

If we want young people to be excited about our hobby, we need to be exciting ourselves.

Michael Coslo

Cincinnati does indeed have the resources to put on a very good convention.

Ria

Wayne was a true visionary. I enjoyed every single 73! I read. It was the first ham mag I had ever read, and it helped draw me in. 

What he described is essentially why I stopped going to my club's meetings. When I do go, I drop off and pick up my bureau bags and that's about it. There is endless back and forth by a few members who have to put in so much of their 2c that many times the discussion exceeds the national debt.  

I prefer networking with hams on social media, and also doing stuff with hams in person. Even in YLRL I've taken on the personal mission of getting YLs involved in "exciting" aspects of ham radio such as radiosport and making/homebrew rather than just nets and rag chew. My door is always open for people to ask for help and advice and I try to write for the newsletter often. There are YL youth who like things like making satellite contacts, special events, contests, DX and homebrew. My daughters and my son are often working on software and hardware projects with me and they ask about things too. I let them type and explain stuff and ask questions. I even have them help me solder stuff. That's what you gotta do. 

Ken - NM9P

I will be attending this year to see for they do with their first effort in the new venue.

I have been going fairly regularly for the past 30 years or so.  
Progressive changes in my age, finances, interests, and health have caused a steady evolution of my "Hamvention habits."

When I was younger and MUCH poorer, I loved to spend time walking through the entire outdoor flea market, working on my farmer-tan and trying to find some used equipment/accessory bargain that wasn't already snatched in the "pre-flea market" wanderings of vendors on Thursday evening.  Lodging was primarily camping in my van at the Dayton Tall Timbers KOA, before they started price gouging and requiring 4 night minimums, etc.  (My spouse used to go with me, and enjoyed attending many of the "alternate activities" they held at the local school buildings.  Anyone remember those?)   

As I grew older I spent more time wandering the main floors and commercial exhibits, looking for a good deal on my ONE major purchase of the year.  (usually under $500, which may by my whole radio budget for the year.)  So home came a new HT or Mobile rig.  My best deal, about 12 years ago, was a brand new IC-706MK2G (with a mail-in certificate for a remote kit) for $699 when the Dollar-to-Yen rate was extremely favorable.  The next year it was back up to almost $950.

As I continued to age, and already had about all the junk I needed, I began spending more time in a few of the better forums - Contesting, Antennas, Dxing, Packet Radio, AMSAT, QRP and Home Construction, SDR, etc.  And spent MUCH less time wandering the flea markets and vendors.  Physical & health limitations also helped dictate this trend. Ebay, Amazon, and other online retailers have now become my main parts and equipment suppliers.

I never had the budget or time for the various Hamvention dinners, but often would drop in on some hospitality gatherings of QRP clubs, etc.

Lately, since I have gotten into SDR and the Flex Community and Alpha Testing team, and have been able to do more DXing and Contesting, I have begun to make more radio friendships with people with like minds and interests.  These guide my time at the Hamvention.  The Flex Banquet and gatherings have become my main motivator for attending the Hamvention.

Dayton is still close enough to drive 4-4 1/2 hours.  Last year I spent more money on motel bills and food than I spent on any equipment purchases.  But the opportunity to spend time with friends, and make some new ones, and the new information gathered by a few special presentations, FRS among them, made the trip worthwhile.

If I had to make airline and hotel reservations every year to attend a hamfest, I would't be able to afford it every year.

Freidrichshafen sounds very appealing, but is way out of my budget and vacation time.  Visalia sounds very interesting and may be a possibility some day.  Orlando might be combined with a family vacation some day, but we probably get to Disney about every eight or ten years.

So for now, as long as the major players still introduce their new stuff there, and I can stand the venue, (can a cow shed or a tent be any worse than Hara Arena?) Hamvention will still be my usual "ham radio mini-vacation."    

But, I plan to retire in 5-8 years.  Who knows what the future holds?

Ken - NM9P

BTW - I will be there Thursday for the Flex Gathering/Banquet and will take in a few forums on Friday and on Saturday Morning.  But I need to leave Saturday early afternoon to get back for Sunday.

Ken - NM9P

 ..."I'm not spending time and money for travel to save 10 cents on a connector...."  LOL

 I agree, John.  Hamfests, like Club meetings, need to focus upon building relationships/networking between hams, and promoting the advancement of the "state of the art" and the cutting edge of the hobby....not promoting the trading of largely useless junk that can be found on ebay.

However....I have gotten many a useful idea by browsing through the vendors and "junque" (high class junk) sellers booths.  My father taught me -- "if you can't figure out a solution to a project...go walk through the garage, (which never had a car in it, but was filled with parts, junk, and old hardware) and see what items speak to you."

Paul Christensen, W9AC

What's the best way to arrive in Freidrichshafen?  Looks to me like an initial connection into Paris, then to Zurich?  Munich is a bit far although I would like to tour Bavaria by rail on the way to Freidrichshafen.

Paul, W9AC

Tim VE6SH

Zurich and train from flughafen to Romanshorn and ferry across the lake to FHN. Tim VE6SH

KY6LA_Howard

I 'm usually in Provence in June so I just hop a Train from Avignon. But Zurich or Frankfurt or Munich are,all quick train rides This year is in July so hotels may be hard to find at this late date. Suggest u try the Swiss side of Lake Constance and take the ferry every day. Next year it looks like early June

John - AF3K

Ken - Hope to see you at the Flex banquet on Thurs!

Mike W8MM

Where/what is a nice, convenient hotel.   More stars is better ;~}

KY6LA_Howard

Its pretty late to find something close

I have stayed at several 3/4 star hotels in Friedrichshafen... hard to find 4 stars or better but I suspect the better ones may be sold out by now.

German 3 star hotels are smallish rooms by US Standards but usually include superb breakfasts

Suggest you start with the tourist bureau

http://ibe.incomingsoft.de/publicsoft/ibe.jsp?manref=FRIEDHFN&profile=FNS&type=uk_s&deta... 

http://www.hamradio-friedrichshafen.de/ham-en/travel-accommodation/accommodation.php

Alternatively stay across Lake Constance in Switzerland.. 30 minute by Ferry

Or try www.Hotels.com

The trains are very convenient so you don't necessarily need to stay in Town as there is a FREE Shuttle bus from the railway station to the Convention Center which is located out by the Airport.

The town itself is rather pretty with lots of bars and action on the seafront.

Tim VE6SH

The See Hotel is the DARC HQ. Tim VE6SH

Michael Coslo

Our club has adopted the strong board of directors concept. The nitty gritty of running the club goes to the ****, and in general, there are time limits to discussions even there. Club meetings are the minimum legal requirements of meetings, then moving on to the meeting presentation. We have one Emcomm meeting a year, one Olde timer's meeting, a Spring banquet, Summer Picnic and Christmas party, and lot's of new technology presentation. 

Biggest issue with the new folks is keeping them away from a few of the "Toxic folks" until they get addicted to Ham radio.

I've been to a few of the meetings of clubs that Ken has described. Horror shows, and they will soon cease to exist, with the remnants wondering why "Ham Radio is Dying". Only for them it is dying. 

mikeatthebeach .

Well, with Visalia, Dayton and Friedrichshafen, decided to
save the money and not go, enough money saved for a Power Genius Amp !!

Tim VE6SH

As Howard says the "action" in the evenings is either in campground by the Messa or along the waterfront in F'hafen. There is a very good shuttle from the square in front of the train station (and See Hotel) to and from the Messa.

Tim VE6SH

Steve K9ZW

@ Friedrichshafen folks - might be worth reposting the information you have put together to a dedicated "Friedrichshafen Hamfest" thread, as it is pretty well buried here.  I think the "festival grounds" is "Messe" (mess-ah) BTW.

Once a searchable thread is started I have some questions to ask.

73

Steve K9ZW

Tim VE6SH

Steve. Good point! Yes, Messe is the Exhibition Halls.

Tim VE6SH

Ria

Smart man! I am not spending much though, using miles to fly and splitting hotel costs with a friend.

Ria

Do you have problems with American credit cards buying rail tickets? I have one card that is supposedly PIN capable (I verified using cardpeek) but I haven't had the chance to test it. I did have a UNFCU visa card that I took out when I worked at the UN but I've been meaning to cancel it.