Dayton Xenia Hamvention 2022 – Jeff KE9V’s Final Report

A bit unusual for With Varying Frequency, we have words from a guest to share.  Jeff KE9V is a long time ham, podcaster, author and blogger.  We’ve corresponded for years.

Jeff KE9V made it to FDIM (Four Days in May – the QRP event) and Hamvention, and has agreed his observations could appear here.

I’ve minimized any edits, mostly adding Jeff’s call sign when it added clarity.

While doing a massive amount of creative work, Jeff KE9V rebuilds his web presence removing the old to make way for the new periodically.  Some of his ham radio fiction podcasts may be put up for a few days a year, but then maybe not.

Link to where his blog and other work usually appears https://ke9v.net/ and to his twitter feed when he is doing that https://twitter.com/ke9v

Presenting part of our dialogue, oldest to newest:

FIDM by Jeff KE9V

I’m here at the Four Days in May event and it looks like attendance is about 2/3 of usual.

Tomorrow at the fairgrounds should be interesting…

Jeff [KE9V]

Quick Update (1) by Jeff KE9V

Big news (to me) is that Kenwood isn’t here this year. Oddly enough, TenTec has a booth!

I’m going to maintain my estimate on vendors at 2/3rds of normal. Not empty but not pressed for space anywhere. Lots of open places in flea market.

Everything kinda looks just like 2019 to me!

My Reply

Dayton/Xenia Hamvention 2022 New Products

Gathering the product news passed on to me from those at Hamvention:

New/Replacement Products

• Icom HT and Mobile
• Italab Amp (Silent Two)
• [Edited 23MAY22]  Several new “small brand” radios and kits, most which work of their arrival came after the event.

“We got one also!” Products like the other guy’s

• Solid State Amps from Icom (IC-PW2)
• and Acom (2020S)

Firmware/Software Upgrades

• Icom for the IC-705
• FlexRadio for SmartSDR (was released a few weeks prior to the event)

Interesting Accessories

• Protection/Field Kits for certain Icom and Elecraft transceivers

Preproduction/release Announcements of Hardware/Software

• SDRplay rewrite/update/rename (SDRconnect)
• FlexRadio SmartSDR update previews

Segmentation/Disappearances

• Heil Ham Radio separates from Heil Sound
• Kenwood (JVCKenwood) continues to deemphasize and closeout its Amateur Radio offerings
• Haven’t heard anything about the promised GHz products

Weird Announcements

• ARRL International DX Contest Log by N3FJP being announced by the usual news sources as version 1.0 where latest release is already version 5.1.2 [Edited 23MAY22 – I got this one figured out, as the v1.0 reference is for the new “Digital Contest” version.]

Show/Internet Discounts

• Yaesu, Icom, FlexRadio, Kenwood, Alinco, Heil, Uniden, SDRplay, Ham Radio Outlet, Gigparts, DX Engineering,

73

Steve
K9ZW

Dayton Xenia Hamvention 2022 from Afar

As I am not attending this year, I have had plenty of time to do some searching for what is new in Ham Radio.

And I have a couple friends who are feeding what they hear/see back to those of use who didn’t go.

Seems the new themes are:

• You can win a really big station by attending
• Several postponed DXpeditions are rescheduled and back on for fundraising
• DMR (Digital Radio Mobile) offerings (on DMR see: https://infogalactic.com/info/Digital_mobile_radio)
• Ruggedized HTs/Mobiles
• and one ham reported back he was told of some commercial GHz equipment promises

Very interested in what else pops up as new.

73

Steve
K9ZW

Dayton/Xenia Hamvention 2022 – New Memories or Just an Old Memory?

It is less than two weeks to the Dayton/Xenia Hamvention 2022 event.

So far I have spoken to only a couple of hams that are planning to attend this 2022 event, from the group who I’ve either done part of past Hamventions with or would get together with them at Hamvention.

The numbers from my area going to Dayton/Xenia seem significantly down – maybe 25% of the usual group is going.  Haven’t heard of any of the younger area hams going at all.

Here are some of the reasons I have heard:

• CCP-19 Virus (aka Covid-19) remains a biggie.
• Costs of fuel and everything else.
• Low Awareness of Anything New
• Uncertainty – here less than two weeks prior the isn’t a definitive health statement making one uncertain if even the organizers harbor concerns with gathering up so many hams
• The combined Greene County/Ohio State Sales tax burden (said to be 8.75%?!)
• Same deals being offered on the internet as are available if you attend.
• So many items being out of stock, so if you want to buy you are placing an order rather than walking out with the cutting edge XYZ-123 unit then and there
• Many of the Dayton era attendees are simply “old” and not travel-able
• Lower numbers of DXpeditions and missed years means less war stories to be be told at Hamvention
• Hams having missed previous events are struggling to reclaim their “Dayton Time Window” from among other family plans and pressures that took over.
• Reduced event Promotion – many hams said they didn’t get the mailings and emails that strategically used to appear to puff up the event and banquets.
• Alternatives (Hamcation being somewhere warm in Winter was mentioned by snow country hams)
• Less exhibitors (see https://www.make-it.ca/hamvention2022-indoor/)

I am not going, but really not for any one single reason.

Rather in my personal take the ROI (Return on Investment) for attending Hamvention is all about people – the other hams I know and can meet there. Since so many are giving Hamvention 2022 a miss as I’m not eager to drive and attend alone.

73

Steve
K9ZW

Is there a good Dayton Hamvention Draw for 2022?

Rumbles are that advance sales to Hamvention and the various banquets are significantly lower than expected.

Of course there is a lot of pondering happening trying to figure out what the cause might be.

High fuel prices are a popular idea, but when I did the math using my significant drive to Xenia I found my out of pocket for fuel would be up about $75. That isn’t enough to wreck a Dayton Hamvention trip budget, and I could easily recover that extra and more by taking my car rather than the truck I would have planned.

In the couple weeks from initial draft to finishing off this post, I have spoken or emailed quite a number of hams for various reasons, and have yet to hear of anyone heading to Dayton outside of those who are working the event for their jobs.

While I am certain there are hams from my area going, by all appearances only a fraction of the hams that pre CCP-19 Virus would have gone.

Even some of the Ohio hams in the general area of Hamvention seem to be taking a pass when we email or chat.

Wonder what’s up and what are the various roots causes for the decline?

73

Steve
K9ZW

Ain’t gonna happen – Exhibitions with Mask/Vaxx-Cards/Testing/Releases/Waivers Requirements

My industry is struggling with the Virus and with holding real in-person trade show events.

They have responded with Mask Requirements, Proof of Vaccination Requirements, Virus Testing (ever 72 hours for the duration of the show) for Anyone Unvaccinated, and ominous Waivers & Releases a person must sign to even get in.

They talks about tradeshow floor “Virus Police” who will do something or another to you if your Mask is Down unless you are taking a drink or bite of food. They tell us that attendees must mask up or they will be sanctioned/arrested/fined/thrown in the Jan 6th Gulag (ok I made that last part up, but for a reason to invoke your concerned attention), and that you have to show your Vaccination Card to get food or attend events.

Most of that stuff is pushed on them, but off their own backs they have come up with tat if you don’t sign their release/waiver that you won’t get in.

So they feel they are creating a dangerous situation, enough that you are expected to sign a release/waiver!

2021_12_22 – CRCA COVID Release is the Waiver from a Medium sized regional event I often attend.

Some of this is pushed onto the event organizers by the location’s ever changing requirements. But the release/waiver is a second level of madness.

Professionally this over the top set of event rules saved me time and money – as I am not going to any event that has these rules. What I want to see or learn about, I can do later from online resources. The people I would like to socialize with I can reach my phone or video chat.

Big question is will our Ham Radio events end up doing “Virus Games” to attend events?

If they have to, or chose to I again will save a bunch of time & money.

I’ve ended up wonder if my revulsion is getting grumpy with age?  Or is it purposely induced “cognitive dissonance” that I may be a bit more sensitive about than others?

Different people have differing tolerances for these sort of rules. I keep thinking of “We want a Rock” from They Might Be Giant’s Flood where peer pressure causes nonsense actions – But everybody wants a rock, To wind a piece of string around! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp8znvfYbow

https://www.nrca.net/RoofingNews/proof-of-vaccination-or-negative-covid-19-test-required-at-some-ire-events.1-11-2022.10178/Details/Story is the Big Kahuna in my industry, which apparently already knows how much the rules will curtail attendance, as they are having an in-house Keynote Speaker rather than an expensive celebrity Speaker.

If our Ham Events follow suite, I’m okay as I am already planning to only be “virtually there.”

73

Steve
K9ZW