Our good friend Scott KC8EMH sent us these photos from the Marshall, Michigan hamfest, held recently.
The Motley Crue
It’s probably too small to see, but the taped sign says “Radio Testing Station”
What is a hamfest without a table of boatanchors?
Lots of room to pour concrete inside to make the boatanchor nice and sturdy….
Removes overhead streetsigns and underground parking pipes with ease and comfort
Look at that stack of folded dipoles… and what does that sign on the luggage ladder say?
Oooh. A “danger, radio wave radiation warning” sign. Not only am I ham, I’m dangerous too! What a great way to foster relations between ham radio and the rest of normal society.
Another case of not wanting to ruin your shitty car by committing to NMO mounts
Thanks!! Keep the submissions coming!!
Hey – quit insulting my 89 buick shitty car! Just kidding guys, I have a good sense of humor and I know a lot of hams don’t like magnet mounts. I don’t like drilling holes in vehicles, so I use magnet mounts. This hamfest is one of the busiest of the year in this area, it seems ebay is killing the hamfest circuit something fierce. Marshall still packs them in because Marshall is filled with a lot of wealthy hams. 73’s
Scott KC8EMH
I think the sign is a good idea. It warns of
the hazards, of RF energy, which in high enuff
doses are real and also makes it difficult for
kids to climb the ladder and fall and get hurt.
His liability insurance company probably likes this!
73 de Ronnie
Actually, I don’t like drilling holes in my
car either, any more, too ole, so I take car
to the two-way shop and let the pros do it.
I ‘ve got to mount ASP Ball for 6 meters
and two Larsen NMOs for 2 Meters and scanner at
the local shop Thursday.
Metal to metal, forever!! 🙂
73 de Ronnie
WTF is up with that DB products repeater antenna on the back of that van?! I hope he doesn’t drive around with that thing attached! Not only is it uber ham sexy, but highway speeds plus stiff breeze means busted antenna!
I was there also and KC8EMH hit the nail on the head about “Ebay scum” I never in my life seen so many ebay scummer’s fricking running tabel to tabel trying to jew and insult so many hams.I also had the plesure to see EMH’s beloved 89 Buick.
Maybe the rf warning sign should say, “stay away! perverted pediphile inside”
Another fool in his Emergency Communications jacket.
Hams are not first responders, I am sick to death of the wannabe element in this hobby. It makes us look foolish. If you want to be a cop, medic, firefighter, do some push ups, get in shape.. and most of all grow up! In the event of a serious incident the most ARES, et. al. will handle is welfare and non essential traffic. The fact that you can key a mic and wear a quasi-offical jacket, does not make you a first responder.
I agree with va3inv, the whackers only get in the way of the real professionals, they have been doing this for 40 years or more.
The real emergency personnel are trained how to properly react in a serious incident and get tired of the whackers causing problems.
Ares should be eliminated from amateur radio, it just encourages more whackers with lights, sirens, scanners and radios on the vehicles.
The only good thing it does is to help keep the whackers generally in one place.
They act like they control all the repeaters and they attempt to be the mind control for all amateurs.
Many want to censure other amateurs that do not agree with them, especially those with a sense of humour.
Funny thing is that they have no special rights on the amateur bands and should be treated as the whackers they are.
Members of the local Toronto ARES group have been know to jam the repeaters, threaten, harass and intimidate other amateurs.
Perhaps a phsycological assessment should be required before joining ARES.
I will be at Hamex on Saturday. I cant wait to see how many hams will be wearing Tactical pants, assault vests, public safety mics. And also the ever present quasi official dash and door signage, strobes, lightbars. I challenge anyone who has that type of lighting equipment to let their insurance company know. They will let you know that if you need those items for increased visibilty / safety etc. then your vehicle should have a commercial policy. Guys, grow up. Dress up time ends at around 12 years old.
Yikes! Any ham who’s generating enough RF to need that sign shouldn’t be operating while anywhere near the vehicle, or inside it.
Just like the flashing lights and neon jackets, the sign is a way to make him feel more powerful than he is.
My state has started busting people who have emergency lights on their vehicles who aren’t employed by an agency that needs them to have those lights.
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Why did ytou have to use vulgar language to describe that vehicle? Kids see this stuff and honestly it’s not a very good representation of amateur radio, or the Marshall Hamfest either.
So back to my original question, “Why?”
Yep , Unskilled hams with tools are a powerfully destructive force . Seen a lot of otherwise nice old pieces of classic gear trashed by hams with drills . Eager to demonstrate their ineptitude in the metalworking arts ,many unskilled hams will gleefully drill , punch ,snip and hacksaw unwittingly into anything at any time . In fact , fixing a hamhole in an old Toyota, Honda or Subaru is hardly worth the effort anyhow .