UK Radio Rallies

[bd139]

I’ve got addicted to the Marconi crack now.

MKARS has been a good one for me. It’s not huge but has been good. There’s a bit in a field and a bit inside. There’s usually a table at the end of the inside with all the interesting stuff on it. Plus one or two really good stands from locals. The rest is mostly the usual stuff.

[Zenith]

Sounds like an OK day though. When I went to the Rugby rally last time, I don't think I bought much apart from that Marconi signal generator and also a Marconi chewb volt meter.

MK next week then chaps, nothing in particular on my shopping list, just want to have a browse around and see what takes my fancy if anything at all.

An OK day, but not an unmissable one. I was really glad I went to FRARS and wish I'd gone before

Whether a rally is any good or not depends on your luck, what you are looking for, how sharp eyed you are, and the amount and type of stuff that happens to be there.  The bigger ones have more stuff, so more chance of seeing something interesting. However, the small ones, like Chippenham, could just throw up a couple of items you've been looking for for years.

MKARS or Torbay next - they clash. I haven't been to either before, but I have the impression MKARS is better.

[tggzzz]

MKARS or Torbay next - they clash. I haven't been to either before, but I have the impression MKARS is better.

I haven't been to either, but I'll note Torbay is a costa geriatica. Whether that increases or decreases chances (of modern/old or silent keys) is left as an exercise for the reader.

[Zenith]

MKARS or Torbay next - they clash. I haven't been to either before, but I have the impression MKARS is better.

I haven't been to either, but I'll note Torbay is a costa geriatica. Whether that increases or decreases chances (of modern/old or silent keys) is left as an exercise for the reader.

Torbay is a half hour less travel time and a more straightforward drive. The rally has a 10am start rather than a 9am start, which is good. Both sound about like Chippenham scale events, maybe 30 stalls.

Costa Geriatrica eh? Endless Morse keys and Yaesu transceivers, with computer junk and the odd bit of Heathkit thrown in, or a Collins R390A or an AR88 new in its transit case, plus the "acquisitions" of a deceased Tektronix salesman.

Torbay it is.

[bd139]

Morse keys are good money on eBay especially paddles 

[Zenith]

I haven't gone to these things with an eye on the ebay potential. Maybe I should, and Morse keys, a thing I've taken no interest in whatsoever, would repay some attention.

It does occur that anything small and neat, such as little audio oscillators, or those plastic cased RF sig gens rebadged as TenMa, Rapid etc, fetch an obscene amount on fleabay. If they don't work, they usually don't take much to get them working and it's fun. You can calibrate them to within their spec if you have halfway reasonable test gear. Clean them up, and a nice photo... I'd rather sell working stuff.

Then there are valves. There must be all sorts of things.

Transistors. Imagine hitting paydirt with a bag of 100 fabulous TI BC183Ls for a couple of quid.

Yes, I must get in touch with my inner Ferengi and see rallies in that light.

I'm beginning to feel I must have left RATS with treasure unlifted.

[bd139]

Yeah bounced a few of those generators myself 

I make a habit of making the hobby pay for itself. That’s all really.

[Zenith]

Quite so. It wouldn't be much of a career.

However, there's no shame in turning an honest quid - it beats picking pockets every time. You also enable someone to find the very thing they want on ebay, without having to go out and look for it. Regard it as a service to society.

[Cerebus]

I promised myself that I'd get to a rally or two this year. Fed up of hearing from the rest of you about your bargain acquisitions. The barrier for me is getting up early enough to make the trip worthwhile and not arrive after all the good stuff has gone.

I'm pondering MK but haven't made my mind up.

[bd139]

Do it do it do it 

[tggzzz]

Do it do it do it 

You're confusing this thread with another

[Zenith]

@Cerebus

I have the impression you live in the London area.

https://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

Not that many good ones within striking distance left this year. There a few that might be OK in the North of England or East Anglia. Too far for me.

There's Andover, Chippenham and Croydon, but I don't believe they are top notch. Chippenham, Newport and Weston-super-Mare are fairly local for me, but I wouldn't recommend any one to travel a long way to them.

Go to MK. Make the special effort to get up. You know you'll feel better for it.

I shan't go to MK because I'll check out Torbay instead.

[Cerebus]

@Cerebus

I have the impression you live in the London area.

Correct. East London. North of the river. Can add a fair chunk of time to get out and/or across London for some destinations.

https://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

Not that many good ones within striking distance left this year. There a few that might be OK in the North of England or East Anglia. Too far for me.

There's Andover, Chippenham and Croydon, but I don't believe they are top notch. Chippenham, Newport and Weston-super-Mare are fairly local for me, but I wouldn't recommend any one to travel a long way to them.

Go to MK. Make the special effort to get up. You know you'll feel better for it.

I shan't go to MK because I'll check out Torbay instead.

Andover and Chippenham are quite a drag, further than I'd want to go purely because they'd involve getting up at sparrow fart for a same day trip with the obligatory 9ish arrival. About 6:30 and 6:00 departure time respectively. Croydon although relatively close is, of course, Morlock territory.

MK's probably a 1 1/2 hour drive, yielding a tolerable 'get up and go' time. I'd be prepared to go much further afield if things started at more relaxed times

[Zenith]

I don't dig early morning rising either. I agree they should start these thing at about 3pm, but they don't. That's one of the reason's for Torbay rather than MK.

Coming from East London and going around the bleeding M25 which never seems to end........

I'd say Newbury and McMichael (now done for this year) might be worth the trip, with a blast down the M4. Chippenham isn't. Dunstable Downs (Luton) should be one for you.

You need to consult the list at the start of the year and plan your rallying earlier.

Sometimes new rallies start up, and there might be one conveniently close to you.

[bd139]

Missing Kempton at the moment. That was ten mins from me

[mikeselectricstuff]

From East London, IMO Dunstable Downs is the only one worth going to

[tggzzz]

There's Andover, Chippenham and Croydon, but I don't believe they are top notch. Chippenham, Newport and Weston-super-Mare are fairly local for me, but I wouldn't recommend any one to travel a long way to them.

W-s-M, Chippenham, Newport: agreed. It will be Chippenham's second hamfest this year, so not sure how many goodies will be available.

Ask bd about Croydon.

[bd139]

Croydon sucks.

I only go because I've got sod all else to do and it's only about 30 minutes away.

[tggzzz]

Croydon sucks.

So I've heard. But what about the nearby hamfest?

Croydon wasn't bad the last time I went there, in the 60s and 70s.

[bd139]

Only bit of Croydon I have suffered through recently is ikea because they were the only store with the TV unit fronts I needed left. That sucked too. I also knew someone who loved it so much she moved to Peacehaven which is like an atomic wasteland.

[tggzzz]

Only bit of Croydon I have suffered through recently is ikea because they were the only store with the TV unit fronts I needed left. That sucked too. I also knew someone who loved it so much she moved to Peacehaven which is like an atomic wasteland.

I presume Peacehaven is a an up-market Torquay. Much like the place in "The Good Place" comedy, not least that you think it is a good place and you go there before you die.

I have, IIRC, got a piece of Tek TE from between Torquay and Brixham; it didn't work.

[bd139]

Worse. Peacehaven is so nice it's trying to throw itself in the sea so no one else has to suffer it....

[Cerebus]

Only bit of Croydon I have suffered through recently is ikea because they were the only store with the TV unit fronts I needed left. That sucked too. I also knew someone who loved it so much she moved to Peacehaven which is like an atomic wasteland.

By coincidence when SWMBO and I went to Dungeness for a walk and then on to Brighton for a fish supper the other week we stopped off in Peacehaven for a piss break. Followed signs to the shopping centre and found a mini-mall that had obviously been built around a Co-Op supermarket as an "anchor store".

The place was so deserted looking from the car park that we thought everything was shut and abandoned or we'd driven to the back of a disused 1970s community centre instead. The Co-Op was open, although you had to push the door to be certain because it was so empty and underlit. Every other store in the mini-mall was conspicuously abandoned. If they had tumbleweeds in South East England they would have been rolling about indoors.

Edit: On reflection, Peacehaven is probably best described as "Suitable for people who find the racy pace and hustle of Bexhill a little too exciting for their tastes."

[Squarewave]

There's Andover, Chippenham and Croydon, but I don't believe they are top notch. Chippenham, Newport and Weston-super-Mare are fairly local for me, but I wouldn't recommend any one to travel a long way to them.

W-s-M, Chippenham, Newport: agreed. It will be Chippenham's second hamfest radio rally this year, so not sure how many goodies will be available.

Ask bd about Croydon.

Chippenham's second Rally is cancelled isn't it?

[Zenith]

Chippenham's second Rally is cancelled isn't it?

Not according to any of the lists I've seen. Of course, before going to a rally it's wise to make sure it's still on. There are a couple of phone numbers for booking tables and an email address, so closer the day, 19th November, it will be worth checking, unless the lists say it's cancelled.