Ham-Com is coming in Dallas JUN 18-20.
http://www.hamcom.org/
There are always both kinds of sellers in Dallas:
1. those who think their used equipment is like gold and try to
get top dollar for it, and end up selling it to the rubes or
taking it home afterwards.
2. those who know their hacked or broken equipment would best be
someone else's problem, and try to get top dollar for it. Whether
they take it home afterwards depends on how many hicks show up
from out of town.
Dallas is special that way. I know because I live here. All
pessimism aside, I have developed a few rules for buying at hamfests:
1. try before you buy. If the guy says it works, then you should
ask to test it. he should be willing to allow it or help you do
it. you should bring your own simple test items (If I am buying,
I bring a 12V gel cel, dummy load, wattmeter, and scanning
receiver like an alinco DJ-X2)
2. watch out for gear that has been modified to go outside the
ham bands. ask to see the mod, to make sure it was done
professionally. "Oh yeah man, I crushed these two diodes with
some pliers to open up the transmit.." -bad bad bad.. We desolder
and remove SMT devices, not rip them out.
3. if it's not able to be tested but the fellow swears it works,
get it in writing along with his ID. Everyone who ever gave me
their card or ID, I never had a problem with the equipment. OTOH,
A guy once swore to me on his granmother's grave that a Sunair
GSB-900DX worked perfectly. For $600 I now have a heavy green box
with lots of pretty knobs and a meter on it. Maybe I can use the
knobs for something.
4. watch the prices of the ham linear amps at such a fest. In
Texas, they are sometimes offered at inflated "CB operator"
prices. yes we have lots of big base stations in Texas. It's
humorous to see 'export' CB radios and obvious CB linears right
next to ham gear on the same seller's table.
5. Friendliness and a good attitude during negotiation will get
you everywhere. Cash gets you even farther.
oops, I said all pessimism aside. oh well. See yall there!
I'll be on 51.6 MHz FM with a PRC-77.
Sounds like what Dayton was like back in the early 80's and before. The
last couple of times I attended the Hamvention, all the stuff I came back
with would have fit into one Wal-Mart shopping bag. I think some of the
small outdoor hamfests are the best place to look for old stuff. Regardless
of the season, the indoor ones are nearly always disappointing.
Don k4kyv
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End of AMRadio Digest, Vol 5, Issue 5
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