After two long grueling hours I headed in-doors to the ScannerMaster booth to spend some time there to meet some of our regular members and administrators. I didn't buy anything, but it was fun seeing all equipment for sale.Īt the flea market, I was shocked at how many people were selling stuff, and how much junk was out in the lot. I immediately bought a ticket and decided to peruse the outdoor flea market first so I could keep and eye on the building's structural integrity before entering. It was evident that this event was easily 10 times larger than I had anticipated, and the Hara arena probably bulges at the seams when no one is there, so the place looked like it could come down in a cloud of dust at any minute. I arrived at about 9:00 AM at the Hara arena and was struck by two things - the sheer amount of people that were participating, and how much of a dump the Hara arena is. After a fantastic steak, a Martini, and two bottles of wine, it was time us hit the sack and rest for the next day festivities. Later that evening, I had dinner with Rich Barnett, President of who RadioReference has a well established relationship with, and Gommert Buysen, the author of the popular Butel line of scanner programming software.
Win500 butel full#
Since I was 12 years old, I used to gawk at their catalog and dream about owning a room full of HF radio equipment - so it was only natural for me to head out there and check out their showroom. I arrived on Thursday into Dayton at around Noon, and promptly drove out to Columbus to visit Universal Radio's facility in Reynoldsburg OH. At the last second, I decided to make plans to attend. Well, this year was different as I had some time, enough frequent flier miles, and patience to make the trip.
Each year, I've always "wanted" to attend, but never had the time or patience to sit down and plan a trip. For those that don't know, the Dayton Hamvention is the worlds largest convention for Amateur Radio Operators and Radio Communications enthusiasts.
How much more relevant could a first post to this blog be than to talk about Dayton 2008.