Hamfests, Clubs & Meetups Latest Topics

anyone going to the tri-county hamfest this weekend?

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 21:09:57 +0000

so the tri-county fest is coming up saturday and im debating whether its worth the drive. last year they had a pretty decent swap meet but half the tables were just old CB radios and random coax connectors nobody wanted. hoping its better this year. anyone else planning on going? also does anyone know if the club is doing a license testing session there, my buddy wants to get his tech and it would be cool if he could just knock it out at the fest

anyone going to the Tri-County hamfest next month?

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 01:09:55 +0000

so my buddy dave mentioned the tri-county hamfest is coming up again and i havent been in a few years, used to go every year back when i was hunting for a decent HF rig but kind of fell off. thinking about making the drive out there, its about 90 minutes for me which isnt too bad. anybody been recently, is it still worth going or has it gotten smaller like so many of these things seem to do? last time i went there was a pretty solid swap meet going on outside and i picked up a nice MFJ tuner for like 20 bucks. wondering if thats still the vibe or if its mostly just vendors now

anybody going to the hamfest in Columbus next month?

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 19:07:55 +0000

so i heard the Columbus hamfest is back this year after they skipped it or scaled it back or whatever happened the last couple years. thinking about making the drive, its maybe 2.5 hours for me. last time i went i picked up a really clean 706 for way less than i expected so im kind of hoping lightning strikes twice. anybody else planning on going or been to that one before and know if its worth it

anyone going to the Tri-County hamfest next month?

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 01:08:34 +0000

so the Tri-County hamfest is coming up and i havent been to one in like two years, last time i went i picked up a decent MFJ antenna tuner for like 20 bucks so im hoping for similar luck this time. does anyone know if theyre still doing the tailgate swap meet portion outside or did they move it all inside after that rain situation they had a few years back. also wondering if the club is doing a license exam session at this one, i think i saw something about it on their website but the page looked like it hadnt been updated since 2019

anybody going to the hamfest in dayton area this spring

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 19:09:37 +0000

so ive been trying to figure out if its worth making the drive out for the big swap meet they do every year, last time i went was like 2019 and it was a good time but i couldnt find parking for like 45 minutes which was annoying. anyway just wondering if any of the locals here are planning on going or if theres anything else happening around the same weekend that might be worth checking out. our club is also doing a thing in march but i forgot if its open to non members or not, ill have to check with the net control guy

anyone going to the dayton hamvention this year or know of local hamfests coming up

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 08:23:18 +0000

so im trying to plan out my summer and wondering if anyone here is heading to dayton this year. ive never been and keep hearing its worth the trip at least once. also our local club (SARA) has been kinda quiet lately and i dont think theyve posted anything about the annual swap meet yet. last year it was sometime in june i think. anybody know if thats still happening or did they cancel it like they did in 22.

anyone going to the dayton area hamfest next month?

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 01:09:12 +0000

so ive been trying to figure out if its worth the drive this year, last time i went was maybe 3 years ago and i scored a pretty decent HF rig for way under market price but also spent like 4 hours walking around in the sun and came home with a sunburn and a bag full of random coax connectors i probably didnt need. my buddy KC8 something is going but he lives closer so its easier for him. anyone else planning on making the trip? also does the club still do that breakfast thing saturday morning before the gates open

anyone going to the dayton hamvention swap area this year

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 21:07:45 +0000

so im finally making the trip out to xenia this year after talking about it for like 4 years. mostly going for the flea market tables honestly, not really interested in the indoor stuff that much. my buddy says to get there early saturday or all the good stuff is already gone by like 9am. anybody been recently and have tips? also not sure if we should bother with a hotel near the venue or just stay further out and drive in, heard parking is kind of a mess

anyone going to the hamfest in Dayton area next month or is it just me

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 05:24:09 +0000

so ive been trying to figure out if its worth the drive this year, last time i went was like 2019 and it was pretty great but i dunno if the swap meet is still as good or if its mostly just vendors now. my buddy said the flea market part has shrunk a lot but he tends to exaggerate. thinking about making a weekend of it if enough people are heading that way, maybe carpool or something. also our local club is doing a thing the same weekend which is kinda annoying timing wise

anyone going to the dayton hamvention this year or nah

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 23:26:27 +0000

so im trying to figure out if its worth making the drive out to xenia again this year. went two years ago and had a blast but last year i skipped it and honestly kind of regretted it. the flea market alone makes it worth it imo even if you dont buy anything its just fun to walk around and see whats out there. my buddy WB8 something is trying to get a group together from our club but half of them are flaking already lol

anybody else planning to go? and if you went recently was the vendor hall still as packed as it used to be or has it thinned out? feels like every year i hear people say its not as good as it used to be but then they still go so

anyone going to the Tri-County hamfest next month?

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 14:26:20 +0000

so ive been trying to decide if its worth the drive, last time i went to that one was like 3 years ago and the swap tables were kind of thin but a buddy told me they moved it to a bigger venue this year. anybody been recently or planning to go? i need a decent HF antenna tuner and figured the swap meet might be my best shot at finding one cheap before i just give up and order something online

anyone going to the Tri-County hamfest next month?

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 13:45:28 +0000

so ive been trying to figure out if its worth making the drive out to the Tri-County fest this year. last time i went was maybe 3 years ago and the swap tables were actually decent, picked up an old Kenwood HF rig for like nothing. heard this year they got a bigger venue which hopefully means more parking because that was a nightmare last time. anybody else planning on going or know if the club is doing a special event station there again?

anybody going to the hamfest in Dayton area this spring

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 03:06:28 +0000

so ive been trying to figure out if its worth making the drive this year, last time i went was like 3 years ago and honestly it was a blast found some great deals on old Kenwood gear and ran into a couple guys from my old club. wondering if anyone here is planning to go or if theres other events coming up in the midwest worth checking out. my local club is also doing a swap meet in the parking lot of the fire station next month which is always a good time but obviously not the same scale

anyone going to the dayton area hamfest next month

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:35:22 +0000

so ive been trying to figure out if its worth the drive this year, last time i went was maybe 4 years ago and it was great but also kind of overwhelming. thinking about carpooling with a couple guys from the club but we havent nailed down dates yet. anyone planning to go or know if the swap meet area is as big as it used to be? i remember there being a ton of vendors but heard they scaled back a bit

anyone going to the Tri-County hamfest next month?

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 14:58:25 +0000

so ive been going to this one for like 4 years running and last year it was honestly kind of a letdown, vendor tables were half empty and the flea market side was pretty sparse. heard they moved it to a bigger venue this time though so maybe itll be worth the drive. anybody else planning on heading out? i usually get there early to pick through the swap meet stuff before the good gear disappears

anyone going to the dayton hamvention this year or is it too far for most of you

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 14:08:05 +0000

so ive been kicking around the idea of making the drive out to dayton this may, never been before and a buddy of mine keeps telling me its worth it at least once. problem is its like 9 hours from where i am and i dont really know if ill have anyone to ride with. wondering if anyone here has been recently and if the flea market is still worth the trip or if its gotten kind of watered down over the years. also our local club is doing a swap meet next month which is way more realistic for me honestly but its pretty small, maybe 30 or 40 vendors tops

anyone going to the dayton area hamfest next month?

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 12:46:32 +0000

so ive been trying to figure out if its worth making the drive this year, last time i went was like 3 years ago and i had a blast but also spent way too much money on stuff i didnt need lol. anybody else planning on heading out that way? would be cool to maybe meet up if theres enough of us going from this area

also not sure if our local club is doing a group carpool thing again, havent seen anything on the email list about it yet

anyone going to the Tri-County hamfest next month?

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 11:30:01 +0000

so i heard the Tri-County hamfest is back this year, last time i went was like 2019 before everything got cancelled and i remember they had a decent swap meet section out back. wondering if its worth the drive this time, its about 2 hours for me. anybody know if the tailgate area is still free to set up or did they start charging for that?

anybody know whats happening with the springfield hamfest

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 02:04:00 +0000

heard rumors it might be canceled this year but cant find anything official on their website. last year was pretty decent but the flea market area was kinda sparse. wondering if anyone has inside info or knows who to contact

anyone going to the dayton swapfest this year or is it just me

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:12:24 +0000

so ive been going to hamvention on and off for like 12 years and im finally dragging my buddy along who just got his tech license last month. hes never been to anything like it and honestly i dont even know how to explain what its like, its kind of overwhelming the first time with the flea market and all the vendor halls and people just wandering around with random gear under their arms. anyway we're driving up from columbus friday morning to get a spot in the outdoor flea market, got a table reserved already. mostly dumping some old HF stuff i dont use anymore, a couple of handhelds, maybe a drake i've been sitting on for a while. if anybody else is gonna be there and wants to meet up or whatever just reply here, always good to put faces to callsigns

anyone going to the Tri-County hamfest next month

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 16:29:47 +0000

so ive been going to this one for like 4 or 5 years now and its usually pretty decent, good swap meet tables and the club always does a pretty solid antenna forum in the morning. last year i grabbed a barely used 706 for way less than i expected so im hoping to find something similar this time around. anybody else planning to show up? might try to carpool if someone is coming from the north side of town

anyone going to the Tri-County hamfest this weekend

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 13:01:55 +0000

so the Tri-County fest is saturday and im debating whether its worth the drive, last year the swap meet tables were kinda picked over by the time i got there around 10am. thinking of going earlier this time. anybody been in recent years and know if the vendor turnout is decent? also heard the local club is doing some kind of fox hunt in the afternoon but i cant find info on it anywhere on their site

Club meeting attendance dropping - ideas to boost participation?

Sat, 27 Jun 2026 23:55:36 +0000

Our club's been struggling with meeting attendance lately. We're down to maybe 8-10 regulars from what used to be 20+ just a few years ago. The old-timers show up religiously, but we're not attracting new faces or even keeping some of the newer hams engaged.

We tried moving to hybrid Zoom meetings during COVID, but honestly the in-person energy just isn't the same. What's your club doing to keep meetings interesting and draw people in? Need some fresh ideas before our next board meeting.

anyone going to the Tri-County hamfest next month?

Sat, 27 Jun 2026 19:38:02 +0000

so ive been going to this one for like 4 years now and its usually pretty decent, not huge but the swap tables are worth showing up early for. last year i grabbed a pretty clean TS-430 for basically nothing from some older guy cleaning out his shack. wondering if anyone else from around here is planning on making the trip, maybe we could carpool or at least grab lunch after or something. also does anyone know if the ARRL forum thing they were doing last time is happening again? i kind of want to ask someone about my General upgrade situation in person

anyone going to the Tri-County hamfest next month

Sat, 27 Jun 2026 17:06:37 +0000

so our club is doing a table at the Tri-County fest on the 14th and i was wondering if anyone else from around here is planning to show up. last year was pretty decent, got a barely used MFJ tuner for like 20 bucks and talked to a few guys i hadnt seen since the one in 2019. the swap meet tables have been getting smaller every year though which is kind of a bummer. still worth the drive i think if you need random coax adapters or want to dig through a bin of mystery knobs