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Has any one else noticed what seems to be a lack of used parts at hamfests the last couple of years? I went to the RARS fest in Raleigh yesterday and only saw a couple of oil caps and a few chokes and trannies; all priced way too high.
I am really regretting selling off my stash (for a song by comparison) when I thought we were moving to the wwest coast. Turns out we are not right now. I had a ten year accumulation of oil caps, tranies and chokes from hamfests all over the country.
What are us budget scratch builders going to do for parts now? Anyone still finding good stuff fairly regularly?
Edits: 04/20/14Follow Ups:
It's not only a Hamfests but try to buy anything tube related on Craigslists and Garage sales . Everybody is convinced that if it got tubes, than it is somehow related to McIntosh and in effect must be extremely valuable.
Noticed , how many adds "I buy vintage equipment" appeared on the selling sites? Quite a bit of them comes from people who have no idea about the gear. The unique thing about old Hi-Fi is that it still has an utility advantage over pretty much every other collectible junk. Old Camera's market is dead, nobody shoots on film anymore. Watches are still OK but it is a mine with so many fakes around. Bikes and automobiles are extremely costly to restore and maintain just to have an occasional ride.
Edits: 04/23/14
that still has it all..Anyone that goes,don't bother paying the 20 or 25 dollar entry fee because that is only for new ham gear,the latest and greatest because everything audiophiles and vintage ham guys like myself want is outside and it's free of charge to look and buy.
Honest amplification is better than excessive 2nd order distortion anytime.
I too thought it was free and got away with it the first time I went. The second time I got in, then couldn't re-enter because I didn't have a ticket. They police it pretty heavily now.
The biggest issue I have is the vendors snap up the good deals before the public even get there. That said, I rarely leave with nothing.
Worth the 20 bucks for the freak show alone!!; ) And then there is Lemon James....
: )
Ya' gotta get up to get down!
The outdoor was always free and the one you pay for is if you go inside the building where they have the new TenTec,Icom,Yaesu,and Kenwood,and Ameritron.MFJ,and if you want to see that stuff,it was housed inside..Are they housing the used stuff in a building now?
Honest amplification is better than excessive 2nd order distortion anytime.
No.The used "flea market" is still outside, but they keep guards at every entrance checking for tickets. The second time I went and got in free, I went out the gate to use the porta-john and when I started back in I was stopped and told I needed a ticket to enter. I protested I didn't need one for outside and was turned away. I walked to the next entrance and found it unguarded and re-entered: ) Since then, they are all manned all the time.
Good luck.
Ya' gotta get up to get down!
I am confused Mike. The last time I was there I had to pay the entrance fee as I entered the grounds. Has that changed? That would be nice as there never was anything inside for me.
Oh, and by the way, don't you dare buy the stuff I want!
Well, I am going to try to make it to Dayton this year, so we will see what happens there. Used to be good for parts at least, but I have not been for at least 10 years. If it has hit the wall too, then I guess we have had the weenie.
End of an era for sure it that happens. When I had my stash I could breadboard almost anything I wanted to hear I a few hours and not spend a cent. Now it will take several hundred in parts just to see if I like something. Won't be doing much of that.
What does everybody else do?
I sold at the hamfest in Puyallup, WA this year. I was selling Amperex 6DJ8's for $10 each with transconductance testing, and I was only able to sell one pair.
There was a large tube vendor close by, his prices were about 2-3 times what a retailer like Vacuum Tubes Inc. or Antique Electronic would charge. His prices were also not negotiable.
I did see about ten tube testers, plenty of chokes, but not so many oil cap.
I were at Puyallup last month. It was still a fun day.
Oh yeah, I had a blast!
Next year, I will be bringing all my surplus iron. There was certainly quite a demand there for potted chokes and transformers.
when I asked why so and so (old ham guys) didn't show up this year, the answer is always the same. They are either very ill or even had passed away.
When you heard the vendor says "let me show you the ebay price.....". You know it is no point to hang around.
I get the ebay response from all manner of thrift/antique stores these days. I usually respond well I'll just buy a better one on ebay.
High sensitivity, wide dynamic range, low distortion, and smooth frequency response. Pwk
The ham fest in Richmond is "ok" but certainly not great. Lots of junk and only a few vendors selling tubes. For insane prices. Only one of the sellers had a tube tester available.
As for the chokes, connectors, switches, resistors, caps, etc. most of them looked like they'd been ripped out of a burned out rig from the home of a man who smoked three packs a day.
The ham fest in Chesapeake was a total waste of time. Junk and more junk. No good deals for radios or parts. What few things of interest around the show was priced insultingly high.
Here's wishing you more success than I've had around here.
roN
my sister lives in Va Beach and I go down to see her every so often, I know there is a hamfest, or used to be, at the Va Beach convention center, but did not know of any in Chesapeke... thanks
When I used to live in Maryland, I'd hit the Hamfest every year, at the Howard County fairgrounds.
I even bought my son, an old Hallicaster tube radio, for his 16th birthday.
NOW....anything GOOD, and it's sent off to E-bay or Etsy;
Welcome to the 21st century............................................
The days of people dumping great stuff for a song are in the past. I also regret selling many of the things I had. A good network of friends can help here.
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