Quoting Daryl Stout to NANCY BACKUS on 08-Feb-2020 23:26 <=-
The thing is, many of the smaller hamfests are "shutting down"
because they can't get attendees, vendors, or workers. Most folks order
the stuff online, and have it shipped to them. There isn't even a ham
radio store in Arkansas anymore.
That's a shame... the camraderie is such a big part of the hobby, just
as with others....
It is...but it seems that only the "really big hamfests" are the
ones where the vendors are going...including:
1) Hamvention, Xenia, Ohio (mid-May) -- originally in Dayton.
2) Hamcation, Orlando, Florida (early February).
3) Huntsville Hamfest, Huntsville, Alabama (mid-August).
You'd be surprised how many want to try to get something via
nefarious means.
No, I'm not surprised, really.... sad, though....
Many kids nowadays think they're entitled to everything. Now, while
I lived at home when I went to college 40 years ago, it was a commuter campus (no dorms back then), but I worked 40 hours a week, and put
myself through school. That was when tuition was $400 a semester, $100
a semester for books, and a $20 parking permit for a year. Now, it's in the tens of thousands of dollars, if not more.
Some people think they are above the law, or that it doesn't apply to
them.... and sadly, quite a few seem to get away with it....
I have wondered so many times "Where's a cop when you need him?".
Around here, I don't know why they have speed limit signs...no one
seems to obey them.
In emergency communications, it is. When all other regular modes
fail, we can still get out.
Indeed, that is a critical function you perform.... :)
I remember one year, we were providing communications for the Susan
G. Komen Race For The Cure for breast cancer research. They were
kidding me as Net Control, that I was going down there to oogle at all
the good looking women...and admittedly, there were a lot of good
looking women. But, any "fun" stopped, when we got a report of a woman "being trampled". I thought "How are we going to get her out of
there??". Then, a follow-up report noted "she was suffering from claustrophobia"...to which I asked "What in the world is a
claustrophobe doing in the midst of 40,000+ people??!!" We had a heck
of a time getting paramedics to her, and she had to be hospitalized for
a few days (she was in a bad way).
Higher standards before... :) But I understand that there's less of a
need for ham operators to be quite so technically proficient now...
Well, for one, the technology has changed. One letter noted in the
current issue of QST, published by the American Radio Relay League,
the National Association for Amateur Radio in the United States, that
"the 7 last words of a ham radio group are 'we never did it that way before'". For that matter, you can apply that to churches, and other organizations.
But, people are learning Morse Code now, because they WANT to, and
NOT because they HAVE to...and are discovering "it's fun"...but it can
get you in trouble.
Years ago, four old boys were sitting around a restaurant table in Annapolis, Maryland, telling each other dirty jokes in CW (Continuous Wave, another name for Morse Code). This drop dead gorgeous,
curvaceous, voluptuous female walked up to them, and sternly admonished them "You boys need to watch your language. I teach CW at the Naval Academy across the street", and walked out. They were as red as
tomatoes!! <G>
So, for Amateur Extra, it's a peer-to-peer setup... :)
Basically. My examiner team gave one ham the Extra exam, right after
the pool had changed, and had been heavily modernized for "the digital modes". He aced the darn thing, and one of my examiners growled "I
want to take him outside and beat the [daylights] out of him". <G>
It gets a rest during thunderstorms, which are forecast here Monday
night into Wednesday, with a threat of severe weather as well
(unfortunately).
Hopefully it wasn't too bad...
We are forecast to get at least 4 inches of rain here by the end of
next week, and if the heavy rain axis shifts northwest, it could be 8 inches or more. The severe weather threat, for now, appears low, but
the flash flood threat is increasing.
I guess it makes sense for the vendors to go where the larger gatherings NB>are, although I'd hope that one could get somewhat local vendors for the NB>smaller ones... And the vendors aren't really the main attraction, NB>although I'm sure they think they are... <G>
Times have changed, to be sure... but the nefarious means has been
around for a long time... predating us, even... ;)
It gives something to enforce, should the cop show up at the right NB>time....
Fortunately you did get the paramedics to her... and I trust she did NB>eventually recover....? I think I'd develop claustrophobia if I were NB>being trampled by a crowd of people in a race....
There's a certain amount of keeping up with technology changes, but NB>there's also benefit in staying compatible with older technologies...
Yes, you've told that story before... :) One shouldn't assume that NB>whatever language one is using as a "cover" won't be understood by those NB>bystanders.... whether it's a foreign language, CW, or American Sign NB>Language or the like... ;)
Basically. My examiner team gave one ham the Extra exam, right after the pool had changed, and had been heavily modernized for "the digital modes". He aced the darn thing, and one of my examiners growled "I
want to take him outside and beat the [daylights] out of him". <G>
Poor Sport... <G>
the flash flood threat is increasing.
Always something.
Quoting Daryl Stout to NANCY BACKUS on 17-Feb-2020 17:48 <=-
I guess it makes sense for the vendors to go where the larger
gatherings are, although I'd hope that one could get somewhat local
vendors for the smaller ones... And the vendors aren't really the
main attraction, although I'm sure they think they are... <G>
Well, some of the "flea market" (old surplus stuff, that likely
doesn't work anymore -- we refer to that stuff as "boat anchors")
items, seem to move from one hamfest to another.
The reasons I go to these are as follows:
1) Administering, or helping with, amateur radio license exams.
2) Attending or doing educational forums.
3) "Eyeball QSO's", where you meet folks you've talked with. More
often than not, the mental image you made of them, is NOT what they
look like!! <G>
4) Feeding my face at "the food trough" <G>. H.A.M. Stands for "Have Another Meal", and you don't call us "Late For Dinner". <G>
5) Purchasing prize tickets to support the hamfest. I won 2 door prizes...a "Tornado Radio" that detects tornadoes and lightning within
30 miles of my location, and a $50 Publications Gift Certificate from
the ARRL, the National Association Of Amateur Radio.
6) Purchasing novelty items for "the shack", an embroidered cap, etc.
Fortunately you did get the paramedics to her... and I trust she did
eventually recover....? I think I'd develop claustrophobia if I were
being trampled by a crowd of people in a race....
I still have to wonder why she was there in the first place. It's a
good cause, as breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women (although men get it as well), and heart disease is right behind it, followed by colon cancer.
There's a certain amount of keeping up with technology changes, but
there's also benefit in staying compatible with older technologies...
I wonder why we can't have the best of both worlds. While my BBS is telnet, etc., the QWK reader I use is Offline Express (OLX), which I
run in a DOS Window under Windows 10. I never could get Multi-Mail for Windows to work right.
Yes, you've told that story before... :) One shouldn't assume that
whatever language one is using as a "cover" won't be understood by
those bystanders.... whether it's a foreign language, CW, or American
Sign Language or the like... ;)
There were 2 other hams "signing dirty jokes", and to their
embarrassment, another group of people at a nearby table, were understanding everything they signed. <G>
the flash flood threat is increasing.
Always something.
The Pearl River at Jackson, Mississippi is at major flood stage
right now. At least I'm high enough where flooding isn't an issue.
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