February 16, 2000
Radio enthusiasts tune into annual swap meet
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
In a high-tech twist, vacuum tubes were more valued than microprocessors Saturday morning at the Cherryland Amateur Radio Club 27th Annual Swap and Shop meet.
The swap was held in the gym at Immaculate Conception Middle School, where 100 Megabyte hard drives were offered up for $2 (three for $5) while vacuum tubes ran $4. A bag of 1 Megabyte memory chips languished ($1 each) as shoppers picked through boxes of old resistors, capacitors and sockets, thrilled with their finds.
"I got a whole box of stuff I can use in building," said Eric Schultz, an amateur radio operator (ham) from Harrison Township downstate who came north for the meet. "Some items cost me ten cents each and if I wanted to buy it elsewhere it would be $5. I wanted one thing and he would give me a handful of stuff."
Schultz builds ham radios and other components in his workshop at home. Building your own is a rarity these days because as the price of electronic components has dropped and their complexity increases, few hams build their equipment. Even just 20 years ago many sets were built or enhanced by home-based tinkerers, but now only the purists do so.
An inveterate tinkerer, Schultz attends many swap meets around the state and was glad to link up with sellers like Philip Johnson of Northport, who cleaned out his workroom and still has more for future meets. Much, much more.
"I brought stuff until the trunk wouldn't hold anymore and it is just the tip of the iceberg," said Johnson, a ham since 1950. "Most people buy pre-built sets nowadays but I built sets and equipment for many years. I remember winding my own coils on toilet paper tubes, but the sets are too complicated to build anymore."
More than 300 hams from all over the state came to talk shop and swap talk at the meet, which featured more than 40 display tables. Tables were heaped with oscilloscopes, computers, microphones, transceivers, antennas, circuit boards and ham paraphernalia of every kind.
As shoppers swarmed about the tables, meeting and greeting, they kept an eagle eye out for that special something.
"All good hams are always looking for a good deal," said Chuck Mellberg, past president of the Cherryland Amateur Radio Club. "We all like to have new stuff and are constantly changing and upgrading."
In the afternoon, the club conducted testing at all proficiency levels to allow hams to acquire or upgrade their ham license. More than 50 people signed up for the tests.
"The FCC has changed the rules and it has brought a real big flood of people into ham," said Hope Francisco of Traverse City, a member of the Cherryland Amateur Radio Club who helped organize the tests. "Many people are also upgrading their licenses before the switch."
Francisco became a ham five years ago, inspired to try it so she could talk to her brothers in Alaska, who were both hams. Since then she has talked with people all over the world and keeps a log of her contacts, which have included Australia and many obscure Pacific islands.
Acknowledging that ham culture is 99 percent guys and one percent female, Francisco finds the people she's met - either through the club or over the radio - are a very friendly bunch. She travels to the swap meets as much to network with other hams as to find great bargains.
"Some times it is like a social hour, with people from all over the world checking in to talk," Francisco said. "It is a nice way to bring people together."