Projects from the bottom drawer

• 2025
• Nov
• 17

The Scott Antique Market - November 29th and 30th, 2025.

While not exactly a hamfest, antique radio and electronics goes hand-in-hand with other antiques. This show is the season opener, and has a lot of vendors for that reason and because they want to move things for the holidays. It’s a good “get out of the house” after Thanksgiving, and be sure to get some chocolate-covered chips before you leave!

Scott Antique Market
Ohio Expo Center
717 East 17th Street
Columbus, Ohio 43211

Saturday November 29th: 9AM - 6PM
Sunday November 30th: 10AM - 4PM

Admission to the show is free, but the venue charges a per-car parking fee. See you there!

• Posted by bryan in 11:24:09 in Events
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• 2025
• Nov
• 17

Photos from the 2025 Fort Wayne hamfest.

This is the last hamfest of the season for me. It’s usually pretty good, and this year was no exception - there was a smaller, but still decent amount of things to see. This one is far enough away that I didn’t see the same vendors as the locals.

Here’s what I saw at the show:

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My fellow show-goer and I are probably going to put this one on a semi-regular basis. The long drive and relatively high admission fee (the venue charges you to park as well) factored into that decision. But, we’ll go if time allows and we feel like it, so there still may be photos next year.

The next show is the Scott Antique Market here in Columbus, at the state fairgrounds / expo center. This one is more of a, well…antique show, but old electrical equipment and antiques are really the same thing. It’s a chance to get out of the house after the holiday and wander around, as well as pick up some chocolate-covered things from the booth that usually appears at the front of the show.

See you there!

(I’ve adjusted the photographic quality a little…if they don’t look good, please let me know on mastodon or LinkedIn.)

• Posted by bryan in 09:09:03 in Events
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• 2025
• Nov
• 13

The Fort Wayne Hamfest - Fort Wayne, IN - November 15th and 16th.

This is a show I’ve been attending for some time, and it’s usually pretty decent. Last year was, unfortunately, a lot smaller than normal - probably 2/3 regular size if that. Not sure what was going on there, but I’m waiting to see how this year’s show goes before I make plans to attend in 2026.

This is a completely indoor show at the Allen County War Memorial, a large event center. It occupies one of the large event halls. There’s usually some arena style food on site, if you need that.

Fort Wayne Hamfest
Allen Country War Memorial Coliseum
4000 Parnell Ave
Fort Wayne, IN 46805
November 15 16
Hours vary by day, opens at 9AM
https://www.acarts.com/hfmain.htm

Admission is $10 and the venue itself charges $8 for parking. See you there!

• Posted by bryan in 12:43:59 in Events
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• 2025
• Nov
• 13

My 2026 Hamfest and Show List

With 2025 coming to a close, I find myself thinking about each show I attended this past year, and which ones I want to go back to. While the first answer is “all of them!” - I think I’m going to cut back some this year. The smaller shows are cool, but I started seeing the same vendors and the same items over and over. This will give things a chance to cycle through.

So - instead of 15 hamfests, I think I’ll probably drop back to 8 or so. There may be a few others in there - Athens, OH and Clearfield, PA, but those will depend primarily on “if I feel like it,” and perhaps Fort Wayne if 2025’s show turns out better than 2024.

As before, not all shows have updated at the time of this posting, so check back or check the Ohio ARRL section page for current event times Links to pictures will be posted as soon as I can after a show, and there will be a year-end wrap-up.

Cuyahoga Falls Amateur Radio Club Hamfest
Emidio & Sons Party Center
48 E. Bath Road
Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221
April 11
8A - 1PM
Admission $8
https://sites.google.com/cfarc.org/cfarc/hamfest
Event photos: Coming soon.

Dayton Hamvention
Greene County Fair and Expo Center - The Whole Thing
210 Fairground Road
Xenia, OH 45385
May 15 16 17
Hours vary by day, opens at 9AM
https://hamvention.org
Friday Photos: Coming soon.
Saturday Photos: Coming soon.
Sunday Photos: Coming soon.

Breezeshooters Hamfest
Butler Farm Show
625 Evans City Rd
Butler, PA 16001
Date TBA, usually June
8A - 2PM
https://breezeshooters.org/ns/
Event photos: Coming soon.

Shriner’s Hamfest
Aladdin Shrine Center
1801 Gateway Cir
Grove City, OH 43123
Date TBA, usually August
8A - 1PMish
https://aladdinshrine.org/hamfest/
Event photos: Coming soon.

Johnstown Swapper’s Day
Johnstown Community Sportsmen’s Club
7357 Sportsman Club Rd NW
Johnstown, OH 43031
Labor Day Weekend (Fri Sat Sun)
7A - 6P
https://jcscohio.org/swappers-day/
Event photos: Coming soon.

The Cleveland Hamfest and Computer Show
Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds, Eastland Entrance
160 Eastland Rd
Berea, OH 44107
Date TBA, usually September
8A - 12P
https://www.hac.org/
Event photos: Coming soon.

Early Television Museum Fall Swap Meet
The Early Television Museum
5396 Franklin St
Hilliard, OH 43026
Date TBA, usually October
10A - 2P
https://www.earlytelevision.org/swapmeet.html
Event photos: Coming soon

Scott Antique Market November
Ohio Expo Center (State Fairgrounds)
717 E 17th Ave
Columbus, OH 43211
Usually Thanksgiving weekend
Hours vary by day, check before you go.
https://www.scottantiquemarket.com/
Event photos: Coming soon

Johnstown Swappers Day and the Scott Antique Market aren’t really hamfests, but enough electrical and other goodies show up that it’s worth going if you’re in to general flea market type items. The Early Television Museum is a swap meet that happens during one of the venue’s open work days, so who knows what will show up there.

Always check dates and times before you go, and I’ll see you there!

• Posted by bryan in 08:57:18 in Events
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• 2025
• Nov
• 12

Photos from the 2025 MARC Hamfest

This show, held at the MAPS facility in North Canton, Ohio, seems to have “the stuff we want” - piles of radios, tables of things, and generally a good selection set up the way you remember shows being. This year was no different, and - while the show itself is of moderate size, they sold out every table. The museum exhibits that you can view while at the show are kind of cool, too.

I didn’t pick up much at this show, some parts and a book, but there were a lot of things I would have liked to have. They have to stay where they are, however - I have enough projects for now!

This is what I saw at the show:

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This is the second-to-last show I’ll attend this year, not counting the local antique shows. Next and last is Fort Wayne, which happens the weekend of the 15th and 16th of November. See you there!

• Posted by bryan in 04:58:09 in Events
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• 2025
• Oct
• 27

The 2025 MARC Hamfest - 11/02/2025

There’s a hamfest happening at the Military Air Preservation Museum hanger in North Canton, Ohio this weekend. This was good local show last year, and the included museum admission was quite the bonus. If you’re in the area, it’s well worth the time to visit.

MARC Hamfest
Military Air Preservation Society Hanger (MAPS)
2620 International Parkway
Green, OH 44232
November 2
8A - 1P
http://w8np.net
https://mapsairmuseum.org/events/hamfest-2025/

See you there!

• Posted by bryan in 06:37:59 in Events
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• 2025
• Oct
• 19

Photos from The Early Television Museum 2025 Fall Swap Meet

This was the first time I’d gone to this show, and - while small - it offered quite a bit of television focused vendors. The usual flea market tat that shows up at hamfests these days was absent, even though the show was free to set up and enter.

I did end up spending about $45 and taking home a few project items which may show up later, depending on what I have scheduled. Regardless, here are the photos I took. I don’t have much to say about them, so there’s no description, just enjoy the glory of old television.

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We did a museum tour as well, and that is well worth the admission price. I highly recommend that if you’re in the area. We didn’t stick around for the auction, while there were a few lunchboxes I’d like to take home I already have examples of them and do not need more.

I’ll be heading back to this one again.

• Posted by bryan in 08:49:12 in General, Events
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• 2025
• Sep
• 30

Some pictures from the 2018 Dayton Hamvention

I wasn’t really taking a lot of photos at this time, the camera on my phone was an absolute potato and could barely focus in full sun - let alone in overcast conditions like it was on the Friday of the event. However, I did get a few and found them again when searching my photo archives.

This was the third year at the Xenia Expo Center, and it was still pretty packed even though rain threatened all day. The day was very cloudy and vendors opened and closed their booths depending on the whims of Mother Nature.

There were a few vendors there that had nothing but (or mostly) console radios. These vendors have faded away as this old stuff sells and stocks dwindle. There’s simply no more out there like there was 25 years ago.

At the time, I was working for a rather toxic flow meter company. I liked the tech, but not the job. This was taken mostly because of my interest in different kinds of flow measurement equipment - and because it amused me that someone just bolted a calculator on to the face.

Last photo is of an interesting military switchboard. It was just an interesting looking piece.

That’s all…there were a few more but they were blurry to the point of uselessness due to the aforementioned poor quality camera.

See you at Dayton in 2026!

• Posted by bryan in 06:36:27 in Events
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• 2025
• Sep
• 29

Pictures from the 2025 Cleveland Hamfest

This was the second year I attended this show, and it was just as good as last year. While the stuff I like is generally going away (there’s just no more of it,) and some of the same vendors show up everywhere - there was still plenty of good things to see. I managed to make it out of there with only $40 missing from my wallet, so I did good.

Here’s what I saw at the show:

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Next up is the Early Television Museum fall swap meet in October (no idea on this one, I’ve never been there,) followed by MARC@MAPS and finishing the year with the (disappointing last year) Fort Wayne show.

I’ll probably use this year to make some determinations about which shows I want to attend next year. Some of this years’ shows have been smaller than usual, and seeing the same stuff over and over isn’t interesting. Who knows, but stay tuned for more photos from events and next year’s list. Perhaps it will give me a chance to explore some other, smaller shows that happen on the same dates.

• Posted by bryan in 07:57:37 in Events, Junk
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• 2025
• Sep
• 24

The Cleveland Hamfest - Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Berea, OH - Sunday September 28th

There’s a hamfest happening in Cleveland this weekend. I went to this one for the first time last year, and came away impressed with the size and number of vendors. It’s certainly worth your time if you’re in the area, so check it out!

The Cleveland Hamfest and Computer Show
Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds, Eastland Entrance
160 Eastland Rd
Berea, OH 44107
September 28
8A - 12P
https://www.hac.org/

See you there!

• Posted by bryan in 10:53:00 in Events
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