Dunstable Downs electronics bootsale (Luton.UK) May 22nd

[bd139]

That would be interesting 

McMichael is a bit variable. Sometimes it's a washout, sometimes good. The last one I bought nothing at but it's not that far from me. I'll probably go for a walk in the afternoon somewhere local and take some photos.

[Zenith]

McMichael has been OK the couple of times I've been there. Chippenham is very small. Newbury has generally been good. I used to like the West of England Rally when they held it at Wobourne Abbey in a field, but it was stopped there and they moved it to Frome.  I really don't like being in a building with a lot of other people in August.

I might make the effort to get down to the Flight Refuelling Rally, as it sounds like one of the better ones.

[tggzzz]

I don't disagree with any of that, except I like Frome Shame it isn't happening this year.

I have found a few nice pieces at Chippenham, but it is small.

[Zenith]

The Cheese and Grain might be a pleasant venue in September, but not in the middle of summer, at least not for me.

The rest of it depends on what's on your shopping list, your luck, and how sharp eyed you are. Anyway, there's another side to it, like bumping into people you know, and chatting with the stallholders about some of the stuff they are selling. Obviously at the smaller rallies there's just less stuff.

There used to be one in Almondsbury, just north of Bristol. It was a bit bigger than Chippenham, but not much. I had a few good buys there but it seemed to throw up a lot of curious things. One year there was a bloke selling off a collection of those little Japanese multimeters sold in the electronics rags in the 60s and 70s.

There's another small rally in Weston-Super-Mare. I rate the small rallies as worth no more than an 80 mile round trip.

Has anyone any thoughts on Flight Refuelling? It's not that far but it's a tortuous route from where I live.

[tggzzz]

Neither the W-s-Mud nor Chippenham rallies are worth going too far; for me they are both within "your" 80mile round trip.

I may go to the Wimbourne rally, and make a day out of it.

[bd139]

I was considering the FRARS one as well. Would drive down to Swanage the night before, spend some time walking on the coast and do some sneaky wild camping overnight then the hamfest.

[tggzzz]

I was considering the FRARS one as well. Would drive down to Swanage the night before, spend some time walking on the coast and do some sneaky wild camping overnight then the hamfest.

Typical hams wouldn't notice the consequence of that. Besides, most of it is in a field.

[Zenith]

Did anyone else go to McMichael?

I found it a bit flat. Nothing on the shopping list. A few fairly tempting items I may regret not buying tomorrow. I did bag a good looking 5Y3GT, which is just as well, because on checking, I'm down to my last eight spares. No £5 piece of junk to take away on the grounds that the Nixie tubes alone are worth that much, and it would be interesting to get it to work anyway.

I blame the heat for dampening my collecting appetite - and the fact that houseroom is in fact finite.

[tggzzz]

Did anyone else go to McMichael?

I found it a bit flat. Nothing on the shopping list. A few fairly tempting items I may regret not buying tomorrow. I did bag a good looking 5Y3GT, which is just as well, because on checking, I'm down to my last eight spares. No £5 piece of junk to take away on the grounds that the Nixie tubes alone are worth that much, and it would be interesting to get it to work anyway.

I blame the heat for dampening my collecting appetite - and the fact that houseroom is in fact finite.

See bd139's comments in the TEA thread,starting with https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg4304410/#msg4304410

[bd139]

It wasn't great. Got some bits as tggzzz pointed out. The usual trader (see TEA thread for discussion about how to dispose of him) snagged all the good stuff before anyone got there. Bastard signs up as a seller, empties the place then leaves without selling a thing.

This for £20 was the biggest win



Just needed a clean up and a couple of minor issues fixing



Kept my mind off the heat this afternoon!

[Squarewave]

I went to McMichael, bought an old Decca KW2000CAT radio and a couple of Eddystone receivers which I'll probably never use.

[Zenith]

I saw some Eddystones. I've got one, but I've never been into them much. I gather there had been some boatanchor action early on, but stuff I've already got too much of anyway.

I got lost and delayed by about 45 minutes so by the time I arrived, all the junk had gone and only the rubbish was left.

[bd139]

I've found you have to turn up half an hour earlier to get the junk. The gold was already gone by that infernal seller that doesn't sell (grey Mercedes estate).

[Zenith]

He really exists does he? I thought he was some mythical figure you joked about, like a gremlin or "The phantom bodger" who's messed up a lot of the stuff that comes our way.

[bd139]

Unfortunately no he really does exist and is not a mythical creature. I was massively pissed to turn up 30 minutes early and see his estate car stacked to the roof with HP kit. He had stuff like HP85 computers, RF signal generators, the lot in there. Just turned up as a seller and emptied the place. Never sold a thing. Leaves when he's emptied the place.

Everyone knows who the phantom bodger is as well. It's the guy who tells you "yeah this doesn't work and I don't know why". He knows why and it's probably because he's been at it with Jesus' hand me down whale oil fired soldering iron.

[George Edmonds]

Hi

From memory this has been happening at Newbury for at least the last five years, actually starts before the grey estate appears, by then he has already been around most other traders during setup time and bought anything of interest, just brings the estate on site to do a collection.

I will no longer go to Newbury as a result, this behaviour is well known to the rally orginisers

G Edmonds

[bd139]

There was a discussion going on elsewhere which concluded on following him home after one, recording his address and then applying the mantra of prevention is better than cure by inserting the contents of a well stocked fruit bowl up his exhaust pipe before the next rally 

[Squarewave]

Hopefully I don't get banned from the rallys, as I turn up in a grey Mercedes Estate! But it's not me!

Perhaps there should be a gentleman's agreement that people shall not sell before the doors open.....I guess this has been happening for years, but the good stuff to someone like this, may not well be the stuff I'm looking for.

[Zenith]

I can't see what can be done about it.

It shades into normal behaviour. At these things legitimate stallholders walk round and pick up things before they open properly. Try outlawing that and enforcing it.

The organisers may not like the fake stallholder/demon buyer, but it doesn't affect attendance. Most are there for a day out; see their old mates, see some interesting junk and have a chat with the owner/seller about it, possibly find a treasure, which could be a valve or a wreck containing the bits they need to fix something they've always meant to do something about, or a manual they've been looking for for years.

I suppose they could "lose" his application and refuse him entry, but such a dedicated and thick-skinned character would soon find a way round that.

I want no part of these dubious measures to constrain him by the application of fruit etc, but if someone found themselves so driven, I could not find it within myself to condemn them.

[bd139]

The only way really to have any honour is do what the BVWS does and that is run auctions: https://www.bvws.org.uk/auctions/

Prices are reasonable as is the process: https://www.bvws.org.uk/auctions/results.php/2022-07-03-royal-wootton-bassett

[Squarewave]

BVWS auctions don't have the buzz of a rally. I have been to them, but even some of the auctions have their sharks. Plus, I'm guessing here, this is only a guess, but the fake seller buying stuff to sell on later is probably buying more expensive items than I'm prepared to buy at a rally.

There's a chap who's been selling at a few rallys already this year, who's been trying to part with a beaten up Yaesu (FT726R I think) for about £350. I'd never buy an item of that value from a rally. There was someone at Andover selling one for £150, less than half the price, but he still took it home with him.

[bd139]

I think that didn't sell because rule one of hamfests is "it probably doesn't work" and rule two is "someone probably fucked with it".

I tend to only buy stuff for the value of the parts on its own.

Edit: I'm not sure what you mean by the buzz off a rally. It usually feels rather like this to me

[Squarewave]

The buzz! Come on, you must get the buzz? Walking around in the sun, chatting to a few people?

The Andover one was great for that, as we took the dog with us, then headed into Salisbury after and put a few pints away and had dinner out in a pub. McMichael was good for that too, plus it's not far away from an epic kebab shop.

I tend to have a purpose when I go and I never spend a lot. Those two Eddystones and the Decca didn't break two figures, so that's alright even if they don't work. A brief check showed that there was nothing missing from them.

[tggzzz]

I think that didn't sell because rule one of hamfests is "it probably doesn't work" and rule two is "someone probably fucked with it".

I tend to only buy stuff for the value of the parts on its own.

That's why prefer to show my decent stuff working, which needs a 'lectric supply. No, I'm not going to power my decent stuff from a car battery and a modfied sine wave inverter!

Even so, I think £150 would be the upper limit for something you could flog at a hamfest. Unlike sproglet, it is strictly cash for me. I don't have smartphone so can't use these newfangled payment machines that are commonplace in farmers markets etc.

[bd139]

The buzz! Come on, you must get the buzz? Walking around in the sun, chatting to a few people?

The Andover one was great for that, as we took the dog with us, then headed into Salisbury after and put a few pints away and had dinner out in a pub. McMichael was good for that too, plus it's not far away from an epic kebab shop.

I tend to have a purpose when I go and I never spend a lot. Those two Eddystones and the Decca didn't break two figures, so that's alright even if they don't work. A brief check showed that there was nothing missing from them.

Not really a buzz at hamfests. It's nice to chat with a couple of regular forum folk on occasion however. I tend to drag one or both of the eldest two kids with me now as they can carry stuff and it only costs me a McDonalds breakfast or lunch for the services. Although sitting there in Andover McDonalds with a cold McPlant after Newbury was an all time low. It reminded me never to move out of the city...

If I want a "buzz" I go out hiking with a group I'm a member of and end up completely hammered in some seaside town with a bunch of similarly single middle aged women

As a member of the TEA thread my objective is twofold:

1. Obtain test gear. Just because.
2. Snag any usable parts for considerably less money than Farnell would screw me for.