CB DAZE

"BACK FROM BELTON..."

"...you can see the difference, as the cool temp's

and crisp air puts a spring in the step,

and an erect wallet in the pockets of each potential buyer!"

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Yes indeed my friends, the first Belton Texas

hamfest of 2007 has come and gone, and unlike the past few years, I'm happy to say I attended!
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Unlike the last one I made it to (some 3 years ago or so), which seemed to be on a slight decline, this one - despite the weather seemed to be a good success. My oldest son Josh came along with me and we left later than we usually would, pulling out of Sealy around 4:15 a.m. with only one headlight working and many miles to go.
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Also unlike other late departures, this one was not due to oversleeping, as neither of us slept! I was doing some stuff via the internet, and then got caught up watching a movie that started at 2 and ended at 4. Thus the late departure. I was traveling light for this trip for a variety of reasons:

I had the pleasure (not) of my lower back and upper back "going out" at the same time about 2 weeks ago, so I wasn't eager to load move a bunch of stuff around the shack, much less carry it to the car for loading.
Having been out-of-touch with recent Belton events, I wasn't sure what to bring, and, if I did load the car down with goodies, would that effort be wasted?
And last but not least, I wanted to spend less time selling and more time visiting some old friends, and of course, recording the event.

One thing that didn't change, was the traditional cold front blowing in. I'm not sure of the how's or why's, but usually, a cold front comes in just before, or during the hamfest, dropping the temperature and humidity to the point where everyone is energized to stop by Belton. Once there, you can see the difference, as the cool temp's and crisp air puts a spring in the step, and an erect wallet in the pocket of each potential buyer!

We arrived at the "Dome" after 6 a.m., and the air had been steadily getting colder the closer we came to Belton. A quick look at Josh told me he was thinking the same thing:

"We'd be stuck outside, freezing our butts off"

As we crossed the parking lot though, it became apparent that there was NO LINE of vehicles waiting to go inside. I drove slowly by one of the large doors to see half the area still vacant, so we pulled right in and got a spot. Happy to be inside, I was a bit worried about the lack of people coming to sell items, but within the next hour or so, those worries were gone, and the building was full.

We setup what few items were brought, then I took off, camcorder in-hand (In one hand. The other hand was gripping mad money). It was good to see some of the long standing vendors, as well as seeing my good friend Val from Oklahoma. Val makes the Belton trip twice a year, and it's the only time we get together to compare notes, and talk about rigs, and of course...the old times. It was his email in fact that got me to this Belton event by writing "If I can drive six hours from Oklahoma to Belton, surely you can spare two" (or something close to that). He was on a buying mission this time so each stop by my space was short, then he'd dart off in another direction. If I recall correctly, this was the 17th hamfest he'd been to since the first of the year.

Surprisingly, Friz wasn't there, and I did attempt to look for him, outside in the tailgate section, but I didn't last long - the wind was strong and the temperature dropping. And of course "Repeater Steve" was there!

There were at least 4 Amateur Radio Stores with tables and booths, including George's shop in Spring, along with several other multi-faceted dealers. I saw quite a few CB's, the only collectible being a Browning Mark IVa, and the rest were solid-state, somewhat beat up, but still usable. Used Ham radios were quite abundant, just not the model I was looking for, and if I were to guess at ratio of HF vs HT's/Dualband I'd have to give the nod to used HF rigs with a whopping 75% or more presence. HT's were almost non-existent (used). I found a sweet deal on a HEIL PR-40, but chickened out at the last moment (yes, I'm regretting it already).