What changed
Hamfests and conventions — edited Aug 31, 2026 by Unknown editor
This is the first recorded version, so every line is shown as added. Note: Imported from content/wiki
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A hamfest is a swap meet: tables of used equipment, a flea market in the parking lot, a few dealers,
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usually a license exam session and often a talk or two. They run from a Saturday morning in a school
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gym to Dayton's Hamvention, which fills a fairgrounds and draws tens of thousands of people.
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## Why go
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- **Used gear is cheap**, and hamfests are where the hobby's second-hand market physically happens.
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- **Test equipment, coax, connectors and hardware** — the unglamorous supplies — are far cheaper here
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than online, and you can buy one connector rather than a bag of fifty.
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- **The people.** Half the value of a hamfest is the conversation in the aisle; the other half is
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meeting the operators you have only heard.
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- **Exam sessions.** Many hamfests host a Volunteer Examiner session, so it is a common place to
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upgrade. See [exam day](/wiki/licensing/exam-day).
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## Buying used without regret
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- **Bring a handheld and a battery pack.** Powering up an unknown radio at the table tells you more
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than the seller will.
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- **Ask why it is for sale.** "It's a spare" and "it needs work" are different prices.
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- **Radios:** check that it receives on every band, that the display and encoder work, and that the
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transmit LED or meter moves. Buy transceivers you can test; be cautious with anything sold "as-is"
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and untested.
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- **Amplifiers:** tube amplifiers are cheap for a reason — tubes and transformers are expensive.
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Assume you will re-tube it.
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- **Antennas and coax:** used coax is a gamble unless you can measure loss; used aluminum is usually
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fine, but count the hardware.
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- **Batteries:** buy new. A discounted lead-acid or lithium pack of unknown age is not a bargain.
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- **Bring cash in small bills**, a tape measure, a flashlight and a bag with wheels. Prices fall
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sharply in the last hour, and so does the selection.
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## Conventions
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Larger gatherings — Hamvention, Huntsville, Orlando's HamCation, Pacificon, and the regional
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conventions — add forums, technical presentations, manufacturer booths, DX and contest dinners, and
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club meetings. If you are going to buy a new radio in the next year, an hour at a convention comparing
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front panels is worth more than a month of reviews.
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## Running one
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If your club is putting on a hamfest, the recurring lessons are: publicize it on the state and
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regional lists as early as you can fix the date, price tables so vendors come back next year, put the
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exam session in a quiet room, sign the parking, and feed people. NARA members can request
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[promotional material](https://usnara.org/clubs/resources) for a table, and listing your event with
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the state club council and on the
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[NARA club directory](https://usnara.org/find-a-club) costs nothing.