Dayton HamVention, May 20,2006

The day dawned crystal clear and beautiful, although it remained cool throughout.

Yours truly made his way to Hara Arena by 9 AM and took care of a few items on the shopping list. The exact nature of these purchases must remain classified against the possibility that my spouse reads this posting. I will have a little bit of smuggling into the house to accomplish upon my return home tomorrow.

Some interesting acquaintances were made during the morning's wanderings. I met Piero Begali, I2RTF, the gentle artist who creates breathtakingly gorgeous CW paddles. His charming daughter, Bruna, was taking care of business at their booth. I also ran into Steve, VK2TSB, who may have traveled the furthest to attend the convention. He came all the way from Austraia's east coast to have a chat with me! I also had the chance to meet the crew from K1CRA, based in Orchard Park, NY, about 20 miles from my home. I was also able to put faces to a few of the participants on various email lists to which I belong.

Although attendance appeared to be down from years past, I spoke with a flea market exhibitor and a representative from Timewave, Inc., both of whom indicated that sales had been quite good. Apparently, the serious buyers made the trip to Dayton, while the browsers stayed home.


One vendor noticeable for its growth was DX Engineering. They offer an expanding catalog of clever antenna-related products. Kenwood was showing an APRS/mapping application that looked interesting. Timewave has a bluetooth adaptor allowing you to remote your digital terminal functions from your radio

Lastly, I swung through the impressive ARRL area and exchanged greetings with a few old friends like Ed Hare, W1RFI. The ARRL presence was similar to last year's show, and in my opinion they are doing a great job at Dayton.

With sore feet and a depleted wallet, I spent the rest of the day at MARCO's booth, relaxing, greeting current and former members, and helping WB6OJB and N5RTF in their efforts to gain new recruits. They were highly successful, I might add. We welcome our new members - I would list them, but I don't currently have the information.

In the evening, 32 of us gathered for dinner at the Holiday Inn North. Lou, WA1HGE led a remembrance for those members who have become silent keys in the past two years. We then enjoyed either chicken or prime rib. Following the banquet, Chip, N5RTF, presented a most compelling narrative of his experiences in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina. Suffice it to say that not everything developed the way it was portrayed. Several excellent questions were generated by Chip's comments.

Following his talk, Chip handed the gavel to incoming President Arnold, WB6OJB. He, in turn, invited the membership to attend the 2007 Annual Meeting, to be held in the Los Angeles area.

Most of us lingered a while longer, talking with friends new and old. With travel plans looming for the next day, we slowly dispersed to pack and to rest.

See you next year...

-KM2L