The answer to this is totally in the eye of the beholder, I guess.

I'm not much of a homebrew type, nor am I a collector. This means that most "old" stuff to me is junk. I know - one ham's junk is another ham's treasure, but everything has a limit!

Now, that doesn't mean I don't admire a fine-looking example of a 50-year old rig. I might even twist a knob or two on it. I might even give it a sniff, if no one is looking, to enjoy that "old" circuitry smell.

But what I see too much of at hamfests are dirty, bent, beat-up versions of these old rigs. Or maybe just "pieces" of them.

And then there's the completely non-ham stuff like laser pointers, flashlights, clips and magazines for WWII rifles, telephones, mechanic's tools, typewriters, etc.

No! No! No!

For some unknown reason, hams want to drag everything, including the kitchen sink, to a hamfest. Yep, there was dog food being sold at one hamfest I attended. Maybe they realize the lack of good quality ham stuff and feel the need to fill the void.

No! No! No!

I hear hams say this stuff is okay because even if they don't like it, it gives their wives and kids something to look at and not be 100% bored. Well, in my opinion, it's either a hamfest or it isn't. Keeping the family entertained is no justification for corrupting a hamfest. Leave them at home, or pay them back later with a trip someplace else.

My wife is into arts & crafts and rubber stamping. When I go with her to one of those type conventions, I expect, and usually find, everything to be "on topic". I sure don't see nearly as big a "drift" as I see in Amateur Radio.

Not too long ago I drove to a certain city for a hamfest. What I found was a junkfest so bad that I wanted to sue the organizers in small claims court for the cost of gas! I consider myself somewhat technologically aware, but there was "stuff" there that I had no clue as to what it was or what its relation to Amateur Radio could possibly be. I don't build ham gear, but I can tell when there's stuff being sold that no one else could use to build ham gear with either. I know good and well the decorative iron I saw for sale wasn't going to be radiating much RF, not even for someone with antenna restrictions.

If I had taken a ham-to-be to this event, I would have been so embarrassed it would have been like one of those "Want to get away?" commercials. If that wasn't bad enough, I later heard one ham tell another who couldn't make it: "You missed a good one".

Life must be real slow in Junkfestville.

73,

WF5TX