February 18, 2004
Hams dial in swap show
Radio club sale features gadgets, electronic parts
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
For sale, Cheap!
The Cherryland Amateur Radio Club's 31st Annual Swap-n-Shop was a bargain hunter's paradise Saturday. If you're interested in old electronics parts, tools, vintage radio equipment and gadgets, that is.
Held Saturday at Immaculate Conception Elementary School, the swap meet drew 300 attendees and dozens of vendors. Downstairs, a few aspiring hams took tests to qualify for various operator and technician classification.
Everything from heat sinks, milled or unmilled, and relays to chargers, cables and power supplies were up for grabs. Outdated computers and parts sat by relics of printers and new ink cartridges while a gleaming electric typewriter sat neglected in its case. Cartons labeled simply 'Project Boxes,' housing a tumble of miscellaneous items, tried to lure passerby.
Chuck Mellburg of Traverse City staffed a table featuring a variety of old radio parts, electronic components and a vintage oscilloscope. Mellburg, who has been an amateur radio operator for 50 years and served in the signal corps in Korea, described his offerings as a combination of treasure and junk.
"I've got more stuff than I need, so I've got to make room," said Mellburg, whose dad was a ham and ignited his interest. "Every year something new comes out, what happens is they make them smaller and put more in it so the old equipment is mostly obsolete."
Jeff Campbell of Saginaw had an elaborate display of items spanning multiple tables. Campbell is not a ham but he is a self-described junk guy. He has built an elaborate display unit that he fills and brings to amateur radio swaps around the state. A congenial fellow, Campbell was doing a brisk business in new tools Saturday, while much of his loose and older parts languished in their custom-made bins.
The popularity of shows such as the Swap-n-Shop is declining somewhat, he noted, mostly due to the Internet.
"I think eBay has changed it a lot," said Campbell, adding that his other business selling at camera shows has also been impacted by eBay. "People don't have to come here and search through boxes and boxes of stuff for something. They can just punch it in the computer and find it."
Old-fashioned, in-person browsing still appeals to enough people to put on these shows, however.
Cliff Rosebohm of Harbor Springs, a member of the Straights Area Amateur Radio Club, has been a ham for only a few years. He attended the show looking for some must-have items. While he didn't really know what those items were, he knew he would recognize them when he saw them.
"This is a good way to get rid of your old stuff and buy something you just can't be without," said Rosebohm, who took up the hobby after retiring. "You'll have something new to play with but it will probably end up on the table for sale again in a few years."
Casey Gardiner, a licensed technician and a tenth grade student at Central High School, represented the younger generation of amateur radio operators. While he has talked to someone only as far away as Gaylord, he is intrigued by the possibilities. A second lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol, his love of flying led him into electronics and communication.
"I got really intrigued and learned about it on my own," Gardiner said.
Deni Whaley of Traverse City does not mind being one of a handful of women amateur radio operators. She has been licensed as a two-meter technician since 1996 and had a table at the swap meet selling the byproduct of another passion: bead jewelry.
"There are not a lot of women in it, hams are mostly guys because it's a guy thing," she said, then added on the addictive nature of the hobby: "You just keep wanting to upgrade so you can talk all over the world."