Hamvention Returns

I had no plan to travel to Ohio for first Hamvention since the pandemic. I'm busy and I had my doubts whether it was yet advisable to participate in a mass event. A few days before the Hamvention, friend and fellow contester VE3PJ asked me to fill the gap left when one of his group had to cancel. Well, what's the point of retirement if I can't make decisions on a whim. I said yes and left the pieces of my prop pitch motor strewn across the work bench.

The 3 of us (me, VE3PJ and VA3WW) left very early and arrived very early. Despite not being a morning person I have to concede this was a good plan since we missed the traffic through Toronto and at the crossing into the US that others had to deal with. We had time on Thursday to meet with others for dinner after relaxing at our accommodation.

That is, of course, one of the pleasures of a large event: meeting people. Hams are so dispersed that opportunities to meet with hams from far away are well worth the effort. It was fun bumping into contesters with familiar call signs in the flea market, fora and vendor booths.

I won't delve into a detailed telling of the weekend. That's boring, and I've done it before. I'll just include one picture: that of the head table at the contest dinner on Friday evening. You can find details of who was there elsewhere. I was one of many to win a door prize.

I had a plan for how to spend my time even though I hadn't planned to attend. We hit the flea market first thing and I ventured out there again at intervals to dicker over items spotted on my initial walkabout. Then I went to speak to the vendors.

Among the vendors I played with potential shack equipment and spoke to the reps to learn more. There are good products available, and there are many with flaws. Nothing is perfect. In particular I am investigating transceivers and amplifiers to modernize the station. That is part of my 2022 plan.

I made no major purchases. There was that I considered, which turned out to be pointless since it was unavailable. Products that are back ordered due to ongoing supply chain issues were not available at Hamvention. These included transceivers, amplifiers, antennas, rotators and a plethora of smaller products. The temptation to spend was extinguished.

At the flea market, prices for used equipment and ancient boat anchors were often inflated beyond any justifiable reason. Those products did not move quickly or at all unless the sellers saw the light and dropped their prices Saturday afternoon before the rain storm struck. Many didn't learn or didn't care. The price of a new product is a poor guide to its value, new or used.

I stuck to small items that I needed and that could be found or negotiated for a fair price, used and new:

• Used Heliax and new coax connectors
• Connectors for power and other uses
• Capacitors for antenna L-networks
• New stainless u-bolts to replace those galled by repeated loosening and tightening
  

I stopped at the 3Y0J (Bouvet DXpedition) booth to chat. I also purchased a raffle ticket to help with their expenses. One of team took a selfie of the two of us to send to my friend Cezar VE3LYC, who is a member of the DXpedition. I haven't received the picture so I couldn't include it in this article.

Perhaps it's my imagination (although others I spoke to agreed) there were more young people at Hamvention. Indeed, there were a promising number of them at the Contest Super Suite. It was great to see them there and enthused by contesting. Some are active on CW. If I'm right, radiosport is likely to be a key component of bringing youth into amateur radio.

This was my first "super spreader" event since the start of the pandemic and I have to wonder whether I'll develop symptoms. I'm fully vaccinated so I'm not worrying about it too much. Neither did most everyone else. I estimate mask wearing by attendees, vendors and booth personnel at no more than 2% to 3%. Most were thrilled at the return of large hamfests despite the risk.

Our trip home was uneventful except for one worry. A severe storm front traversed Ontario along the lake shore from the southeast and then across eastern Ontario and west Quebec. Ottawa was struck hard. There were deaths and power is still out to well over 150,000 residents. It was similar to what I experienced in 2014 with a new tower up but no antennas on it yet. The tower survived.

Reports have been trickling in. I already know of several hams who have lost towers and antennas. There are sure to be more. I was extraordinarily lucky that the storm split into two and bypassed my area. I was able to track the storm in real time from the Hamvention by using my phone.

I came home to find nothing amiss, not even a twig on the ground. Power was uninterrupted all weekend. Despite building my towers and antennas to survive this degree of abuse it only takes one miscalculation or wind gust to cause a disaster. This time I was spared.