Dayton 2011 – Friday
Well.. you knew this was coming.
Here is the detail.. the smells were not all that bad this year, I ignored the so-called food, the crowd was thinner than I remember — there were less outdoor vendors than I remember — but more indoor ones. Chinese HT’s were dirt cheap, and I did have a lot of fun. I was sad that Max-Gain doesn’t come with fiberglass anymore.
The weather was as beautiful as possible, Yaesu seriously cheaped out on hats… And except for one old bag who ran over me, from behind where I couldn’t have possible seen her or heard her, with her “hover round” right when I got into the inside exhibits and then yelled at me for stopping to take a picture..(don’t worry.. I responded even more rudely) everyone.. well seemed nicer than in previous years. (Maybe losing 160 lbs helped with that?!?)
But what can I say. Except for a SERIOUS lust for a Kenwood TS-590 and an impulse buy of a Peet Bros weather station (which I’ve been considering doing for years).. I didn’t do that much or buy that much. Probably the neatest thing is the Argent USB Data APRS Tracker and the cable for my TYT .. I’ll be geeking on the way back.. track me on:
My 1st gen TYT is now going for $89+tax now instead of the $99+tax I paid for it at Des Moines.. thanks Radio City.. no.. I still love you guys but you owe me a small deal in the future! Wouxuns dual banders from wouxun.us were selling for $90 with tax…. If I didn’t live in Cedar Rapids with only one 222 MHz repeater I would have bought the 144/220 version just to have 220.. (I almost did anyway) but it’s pointless at my QTH…
But here it is.. commentary aside:
More Fun and probably lame coverage tomorrow night.. same Bat Channel
Hi, Folks –
About the Yaesu hats. I don’t think that their lack was necessarily due to cheapness – remember that not so long ago Japan suffered a devastating blow, and supply chains were disrupted all over the islands. I was glad to see them here at all.
Other observations – the flea market vendors were a bit fewer in number, but the crowds seemed as large as ever. It was quite well populated inside. There was much more nice-looking vintage gear for sale. Maybe the economic times coaxed it out of storage.
Weather so far is excellent. My opinion: another really good hamfest, likely better than could be expected with high gas prices, etc. I’m having my fun.
73 de Rich, WB9LPU
The Yaesu comment was said somewhat sarcastically — but then again I doubt, highly doubt, that the hats are sourced from Japan. China probably.
I almost jokingly said that because of the hats, I decided to buy the Kenwood TS-590S instead of a FT-950.. but I didn’t because I wasn’t 100% sure on the TS-590S last night, and the FT-950 never was in the running! 🙂
I’m about to post a whole bunch of pictures with little commentary tonight for Saturday.. I won’t be going Sunday.. I’m outta here… I need to post fast.. I need to get to bed before I drive 530 miles again tomorrow.
It was probably overall (even with the $%itstorm in the flea market in the afternoon) the best Hamvention I’ve been to.. and I think in 25 years.. that’s about 10.
73, Fred
Hi Jimmy,I have to say I like your gear and blog.I was wondering about two thgins. Have you converted the Nacre Quietpro to a yaesu 8DR?Also I was wondering do you make those TEA PTTs I see on your blog? If so what would cost be for a yaesu 8DR? Thank you for your time, I hope to hear from you,Clint
Brenton, I would just follow the secrvie manual.You are unlikely to be able to adjust the AGC threshold and that creates the abrupt non-linearity at bottom of scale.Re your S meter project, you could convert the meter output voltage to digital, use an algorithm or just a 256 cell lookup table and produce either a digital output of log voltage (ie proportional to dBs or S points), but have you considered the accuracy and stability.Another issue, that voltage output from the radio might not be a continuous variable, it might be from a DAC with limited steps.Receivers are interesting subjects, and you are starting to explore them enjoy.Owen