- 2024
- Aug
- 7
My haul from the 2024 Columbus Hamfest
I brought home some things that I didn’t need, but isn’t that the point of this kind of show?
A Vishay decade box and a frequency counter / generator. They both seem to work well enough for the age. There’s also some high-voltage mica capacitors sitting on top of the decade box. Those were a buck, and I said why not?
I can’t go to a show without bringing home at least one meter. Unfortunately, this one seems to have some issues, it will zero but not read. I need to open it up and make sure that any batteries left in it aren’t corrodeedoodled all over the place.
This PACO generator is the same as one I have in better condition. This one is a $5 parts unit.
This is a PACO power supply that came from the same vendor as the generator, also $5. It’s an interesting piece, being an early bench supply for audio work, but in reality it’s a glorified battery charger. Stay tuned for a teardown on this guy.
No idea what this is, my fellow show-goer suggested it was some sort of early electronic switch for process industry. He’s probably right, but I got it simply for the cheapness of a 250VAC transformer that could be reused.
That’s it for this year. I’ll be posting show pictures, and some other, recent engine shows as soon as I can get the images cleaned up.
- 2024
- Aug
- 4
It’s time to clean out some stuff - maybe to Dayton 2025?
One of my fellow show-goers was talking about taking some of the audio gear he collected to Dayton in 2025, and we’ll set up a table on the flea market. This sounds like a cool idea to me, I’ve attended shows but never had a sales table.
In the spirit of things, I took a look at what I’ve collected over the years that’s never going to go anywhere, and there’s a bunch. It’s time to start cleaning out, and I have a bunch of things that could go. Where does it all come from?
See you there, and maybe you can take something home! It’s cheap cheap cheap!
(If you see something you like, drop me a line on LinkedIn and we’ll see about a deal!)
- 2024
- Aug
- 4
Pictures from recent shows are on the way!
Pictures from the Columbus Hamfest, Cool Spring Power Museum, and Miami Valley Steam Thresher Association shows are all in the works. There’s simply a lot of them and I have been a lazy little pig. Check back in the next few weeks and I promise that you’ll have some cool stuff to browse!
They’ve all been posted! Sorry it took so long on some of those…
- 2024
- Jul
- 23
The Columbus Ohio hamfest - Saturday August 3rd 2024
I’ve been attending this show for several years, it’s always got a good deal or two to be had. It’s one of those “get there when they open” shows.
There’s usually a food vendor on site, but you’re right in the middle of a lot of other options should you want something off-site.
2024 COLUMBUS HAMFEST
Saturday, August 3, 2024
8:00 am – 1:00 pm
Located at:
ALADDIN SHRINE CENTER
1801 Gateway Circle
Grove City, Ohio 43123
https://aladdinshrine.org/hamfest/
This is right off I-71, south of Columbus proper.
- 2024
- Jun
- 23
Pictures from Coolspring Power Museum’s Spring Expo on the way.
I took a lot of pictures at the show this year. The individual exhibitors had mostly pulled out by the time I arrived, but the museum’s displays were all up and running in their greasy glory. I haven’t had time to fully process the images for display here, but they’re on the way.
Stay tuned!
- 2024
- Jun
- 9
Breezeshooters 2024 - What I brought home.
I tried to limit myself to things I could possibly use, and I (mostly) did so. We’ll see if all these things actually work, or if some of them need some work.
This HP AC Transistor Voltmeter Model 403A seems to be in good condition, and has a Westinghouse tag on the back. I can’t really test it because it has some odd battery requirements. It looks to need 5 mercury cell batteries - 2 4V batteries, and 3 1.35V batteries in a configuration that provides bias and + / - voltages. These are unobtainable, so a small supply may be in order if I actually want to use this thing.
This came from a vendor that had boxes of parts. One part was $2, if you took the whole box it was $1. So…I took a box of mica capacitors and some other parts. High voltage mica caps can always come in handy.
This DigiMax Instruments D-1200 counter claims to go to 1.2GHz, and has lamps for an ovenized reference on it. It’s awfully light, but it does light up. I need to get a signal in it to see if it’s actually counting, or if it’s just spitting out garbage.
The Harris-Dracon butt sett was picked up becaue it was cool looking. I don’t know what I’ll use it for, but whatever. The Waage All-Purpose Tester Model 066 test box was a dollar - it’s mostly just an ammeter you can switch out, with a fuse and a lamp for testing the AC line. It’s pretty rusty, but looks clean inside. Who knows where this will end up.
This VIZ Senior VoltOhmist WV-98C meter seems to be operational, and has a case you could kill a poodle with. It’s a two-tube unit, using a 6AL5 Dual Diode and a 12AU7 amplifier. It’s small enough to go on the bench instead of the giant EICO VTVM currently there.
This Weller solder gun has all of the tools with it, and is one of the units made in the USA. I have a couple of these, they come in handy soldering chassis items.
That’s this year’s haul. I tried to limit myself to smaller items I could use, and I mostly succeeded. There were a lot of larger items that I wanted, but left there since I don’t have room for them. In all, I didn’t spend a lot and brought home some neat things.
Next show is either the Van Wert, OH show - that’s a long drive and may not be in the cards - and/or the Columbus, OH show which is a lot closer to me and much easier to attend. Either way, stay tuned for pictures from those shows, and I’ll see you there!
- 2024
- Jun
- 9
Pictures from Breezeshooters 2024 Hamfest.
It was raining where I was, and threatened rain all the way to the show - but when we arrived, the sky had cleared and it was a sunny, slightly breezey 71F. Essentially, perfect conditions for wandering the aisles. While I didn’t see some of the things I hoped would show up this year, there was still quite a bit to look at. I spent a couple hours wandering the show before heading out for some lunch.
The usual mix of equipment showed up here, and a few things managed to wander home with me. This is what I saw at this year’s show:
.
Next show will probably be the Columbus, OH hamfest, although there are some happening before that. Regardless, I’ll (maybe) see you there!
- 2024
- May
- 30
The Breezeshooter’s Hamfest is next weekend - June 9th 2024.
This is a great local show, and has always offered a few hours of wandering aisles and some “Dayton items without the Dayton prices.” I really need to lay off buying more boatanchors this time, but I’m sure a couple will come home with me. The club had some things they were selling last year, one piece in particular should have gone home with be - if it’s still there, it will!
(The forecast is calling for possible showers. We’ll see.)
See you there!
Breezeshooter’s Hamfest
Butler, PA
Butler Farm Show (Kind of a fairgrounds thing)
625 Evans City Rd
Butler, PA 16001
June 9 2024
8A - 2PM
https://breezeshooters.org/ns/
- 2024
- May
- 20
Hamvention 2024 - Sunday’s Pictures.
The last day of the show was hot and dry.
Sunday was a slim day - many of the vendors pack up Saturday evening, but maybe 1/5 were still on the grounds, not counting the exhibit buildings. Lots of reduced price deals and some free stuff were around today, and I still managed to bring home too much. Today’s lunch was Bourbon Chicken and a milkshake - a bottle of sauce managed to make it home as well. In all, this was a good show even if Friday was a bit messy. It’s also the first year I didn’t go through the exhibit halls, but there’ s nothing in there I needed this year.
Here’s what I saw this year on Sunday:
.
All three days of pictures:
Friday https://wereboar.com … 24-fridays-pictures/
Saturday https://wereboar.com … -saturdays-pictures/
Sunday https://wereboar.com … 24-sundays-pictures/
Links to all the things I drug home this year:
Friday https://wereboar.com … d-in-my-car-i-swear/
Saturday https://wereboar.com … it-followed-me-home/
Sunday https://wereboar.com … t-because-its-cheap/
- 2024
- May
- 20
Hamvention 2024 - Saturday’s Pictures.
Saturday was perfect. It was about 80F, partly cloudy, and the grounds had started to dry out enough you could walk and reasonably expect to stay on the surface.
And the weird stuff came out as well…
All the vendors that toughed out the previous day were open displaying all kinds of electronic wonders. A steak tip dinner was had for lunch, and it was awesome as always - much better than the burnt burgers and nasty nachos offered by the other venue. We spent about half the day going through the flea market looking for things to take home.
Here’s what I saw this year on Saturday:
.
All three days of pictures:
Friday https://wereboar.com … 24-fridays-pictures/
Saturday https://wereboar.com … -saturdays-pictures/
Sunday https://wereboar.com … 24-sundays-pictures/
Links to all the things I drug home this year:
Friday https://wereboar.com … d-in-my-car-i-swear/
Saturday https://wereboar.com … it-followed-me-home/
Sunday https://wereboar.com … t-because-its-cheap/