Tom - W3TOM and Debbie - KA3VNF have a unique opportunity! Tom has been chosen to work on the voluntary police force that assists the regular police force at Yellowstone National Park for the summer. Normally there is a two week limit on camping at Yellowstone but they will have the entire summer with Yellowstone National Park as their back yard! Tom's office will be located at Old Faithful!
Because of this opportunity they will not be able to join the gang at HamVention this year. They are headed west so Tom can get the training needed for his part time job before he starts working.
As Tom and Debbie continue west on I-70 near Springfield,
Ohio, Fast Eddie - W8ED went out to the back forty of his property and took a
snap shot of them passing by on the Interstate. Notice Debbie's foot on
the dash as she relaxes? Tom is looking at Fast Eddie thinking "Who
is that crazy guy taking pictures over there by the fence?"
Ah, APRS shows them getting close now!
Tom and Debbie had made a stop nearby and disconnected the
Jeep that they tow behind the camper to make parking in ZWJ's driveway
easier. Here is Tom making his approach!
Debbie is ready to pull in the driveway!
Welcome to Ohio! Here's Debbie - KA3VNF!
Time for the IOOK hug!
Tom - W3TOM and Keith - WA8ZWJ
Here are Debbie and Tom in front of their camper.
Shortly after their arrival, we headed to dinner.
We were joined by Lou - N8KXM, Sandi, Lou's XYL and Marian
- WD8CJD. Here are Lou, Marian and Debbie.
Here are Sandi, Keith and Tom.
After dinner we headed back to the Farley Flophouse so the
guys could check into the Wednesday Night IOOK 40 Meter Net. Here's Keith
making a transmission.
Here's Lou making a transmission.
Here's Tom making a transmission.
After the net was over more visiting and conversation took place and then we called it a night.
Here's Tom and Debbie's camper looking through the window
on Thursday morning.
Tom and Debbie headed west to see a few sights along their trek towards Yellowstone.
John - N5AAA and Jan - KA9VQS have arrived from Tennessee. They have come up for HamVention a few days early so they can go to Indiana and visit with relatives for a few days. They will leave their camper at Lou and Sandi's for the duration. I had an APRS photo but it was blurry so it has hit the cutting room floor!
Here are Lou - N8KXM, Sandi, Jan - KA9VQS and John - N5AAA
They have arrived at the Farley Flophouse so the six of us can go to dinner together.
While camping a few weeks ago John and Jan had the
opportunity to meet the owners of El Mason. So, we decided to try out the
Columbian cuisine in West Carrollton! It is a beautiful restaurant and the
food was delicious!
Here is a sampling of some of the dishes....top left is
John and Jan's salmon dinner. You knock it over and mix it up on your
plate and then eat it! Top right is Marian's La Mancha vegetarian dish and
Keith's shrimp fajita's main course. Bottom left is Sandi's desert and
bottom right is John and Jan's desert. Delightful!
We had a great visit all the way down and all the way back (about 45 minutes each direction)!
The Hartman's headed towards Indiana early Sunday morning.
Wednesday morning Keith headed up to Lou's to load the flea market floors into Lou's pickup.
Lou came up with a new color coding system to help make the
assembly of the canopy easier.
Here is the pickup with a couple of the floors in it.
Lou bought "Fisher's Nuts" for the gang to enjoy
in flea market.
Here's Lou's pickup loaded with the floors. We are
back at the Farley Flophouse on our way to go to lunch and then pick up Hoss -
WA5ZAI at the airport.
Lou went inside and met Hoss while Keith waited in the
vehicle. Hoss has a forced smile here. He had a dandy flight but he
has just learned that his luggage is still in Dallas. They did deliver his
luggage to the Farley Flophouse after we got back from dinner.
About this time frame Bob - N0BIX was crossing the Indiana
boarder on his way to Dayton from the St. Louis area.
Bob made his annual trip to Fry's Electronics just to see
if there was anything he could not live without.
ZWJ is glad that he is not the only one who gets crappy
photos of crossing into Ohio! Here's N0BIXie's blurry photo!
In the mean time, Fast Eddie, The Flow Manager, has shown
up at the Farley Flophouse to drop off the keg!
Hoss taking it easy after his long flight.
Fast Eddie is checking and....YES! We have flow!
Cheers and beers!
Bob arrives at the Farley Flophouse! Welcome to
Dayton!
N0BIX took a shot of my Tide Stick. Keith never goes
anywhere without it!
Fast Eddie and Keith visiting and enjoying a bit of foam...
Hoss says "Hi Bob! You don't need to take
another picture of me!"
APRS shows that N0BIX has arrived!
Here's a close up...
Farley Flophouse main entrance...
Farley Flophouse antenna farm...
Before long it was time to head to dinner. Lou and Keith have been wanting to get Hoss to try Ohio BBQ.
When we arrived at the restaurant, the first couple we see are
Libby - N8KOR and Jerry - KE8ZB.
Here's Lou - N8KXM, John - N5AAA, Jan - KA9VQS and Sandi.
It's called "Company 7 BBQ" because of it's
firehouse theme!
The back bar is an antique fire engine!
L to R - WA5ZAI, N0BIX, KE8ZB, N5AAA and N8KXM
L to R - Sandi, KA9VQS, N8KOR, WD8CJD and WA8ZWJ
Here's another look at the antique fire engine...
Jerry and John comparing smart phone apps...
Marian and Keith
Our waitress took this shot of the entire bunch of us at
the table!
Hoss says Ohio BBQ ain't bad but it ain't Texas BBQ!
After dinner, most of the gang went back to the Farley Flophouse to partake in the Wednesday evening IOOK HF Net.
Here's Keith and Lou...
Lou - N8KXM on the air!
Keith - WA8ZWJ on the air! Hoss enjoys his cigar...
Keith and John
N5AAA on the air!
ZWJ on the air!
You can certainly tell this is not a non smoking
area! Har!
WA5ZAI on the air!
N0BIX on the air!
Jan, Marian and Sandi visiting while the guys play radio...
Wow! The local APRS activity has certainly picked
up! HamVention cometh!
Here is a sampling of what the various tickets and passes look like this year. Today is the first day we will need them.
This schedule was sent out to IOOK News a couple of weeks
ago...
We had to change breakfast restaurants from the last few
years because the other one closed. The new one is Burkey Family
Restaurant and it is actually closer to the arena than the other restaurant.
Here's the front of Burkey's! They also sold parking
passes on Friday and Saturday for those who wanted to have breakfast and then
leave their vehicle there.
The fun begins! N5AAA, WA5ZAI, AI0OK and N8KXM
WA8ZWJ and K1MAX
N0BIX
After breakfast it was time to head to the flea market and set up our space.
Hmm, I think N0BIXie was trying to show that there ain't as
much blacktop as there used to be.
The floors are like puzzle pieces. Each one has a
place and a part to play. Yes, they actually are different from one
another because of holes that are drilled in a couple of them that let the legs
of the canopy support go through so the canopy doesn't sit too high on the floor
compared to the ground level.
Hmm, ZWJ seems to have picked up a bit of black tape from
somewhere! Probably something left over from last year?
Lou takes the point and gets ready to start the first floor
piece off the pickup.
Here we go!
Several of the floors have been strengthened by heavy duty
laminate flooring so they are rather heavy.
Lou is using a sledge hammer to make fine adjustments to
the assorted -pieces of the floor.
Somebody asked Lou if he thought the floor was level, so
he got out his cell phone and pulled up his "level app" and said that
it was only about a half a bubble off!
Now Keith maneuvers the van that will serve as the
warehouse during HamVention.
Under the back left tire is a piece of wood with a pipe
mount on it. That is later used as the base for our antenna mast.
Lou is using the sledge hammer to fine tune the adjustment
here too!
Yep! There is room for more junque...er a stuff...er..a...sales
items. Of course, after we come back this evening it will probably be full
from the stuff that will get dropped off then.
From the flea market we head to the grocery store to
purchase items for lunches for the three days.
Hmm, N0BIXie's sweet tooth must be working. We didn't
buy anything from this display.
Yeah, we didn't make any purchases here either!
We are making progress. Keith has the list while the
guys decide what the best price is on the assorted items and then place them in
the cart.
Load 'em up!
Lou is taking a break after all that heavy loading.
Yep! That is what three days of IOOK Flea Market
Lunches look like in the "before" mode! Har!
Back at the Farley Flophouse to put stuff in coolers
etc. John and Bob
Hoss and Lou
Hoss, Lou, John and Keith
Time for lunch! We headed to West Milton to the
Bulldog Diner!
After lunch Keith slices onions so the guys in the flea
market won't have to mess with them.
Soaking up a few rays on the patio at the Farley Flophouse!
Time to head to the Toll House Tavern for dinner.
Here are some new faces! L to R - KB8FJB, W8TVC,
N7LMJ, NN3V, KF8KK, N8BYT and WA8ZWJ
Keith's annual beer! According to Luis - XE1L, this
should read "Salud!"
Gene - K8OW and Lou n Sandi
Dave - WB8WIQ, Ted - KD8BXJ and Gene - K8OW
Jan and Hoss
Jan and Big Al
John and Jan
Ted - KD8BXJ and Dottie - KD8BXK
Our waitress...
Cheers and Beers! Tom - K8BTE and Keith - WA8ZWJ
Bob - N0BIX
Hoss and his daughter Tina
Hoss, Tina and granddaughter Jessica
Bob - N6BOB, Bob - W6BO, Janet - W6JND and Keith - WA8ZWJ
Marian - WD8CJD and Keith - WA8ZWJ
Jim - KA8SFL
Loyd - K8EI (Man! What a rack of ribs!)
Yes, in the old days when Jim was appearing on stage, it
was not uncommon for him to do the bottle dance!
Oklahoma has finally arrived! Jim - W5JCS, Stan -
N5JFQ, Al - AE5CJ and Joseph - WA5FLT
Lou finally gets his dinner!
More Texicans!
Hoss - WA5ZAI, Wil - WB5YFX and Gail
Leaving the Toll House with full bellies.
Making a game plan for tomorrow's opening day of Hamvention.
Stan and Hoss fooling around with the iPhone camera.
Last minute comments before the gang head to the flea
market...
Hoss - WA5ZAI and Joseph - WA5FLT
IOOK is about friendship.
Dang! The kids have been at it again! It should
read Union!
Sort the poles...
This year they are color coded...
Loyd and John decide it is time to consult the manual...
In no time it is starting to take shape...
Joe has a great labor saving tool to make the chore of
tightening all the bolts easier...
Up and over the van!
Attaching the IOOK Flag to the flea market antenna...
Assembling the mast...
Up...
UP!
Up and into the pipe! Yee haw!
Hmm...seems we forgot one little thing....
To put the tarp on the frame before taking it over the
van! Guess we will do that tomorrow the hard way...
Ted, Marian and Dottie relax at the Farley Flophouse!
WOW! APRS traffic has shown a marked increase!
We get an early start to the day...up at 4:30 - on the road by 5ish - in line to get in the flea market at 5:30 - they open the gate at 6AM.
Here is the Vice Presidential Limo ready to pick us up and
take us to breakfast.
The reason we have to get in the flea market so early is because after
breakfast they do not want folks driving around the flea market.
Yep! We are back at Burkey's! This photo was
taken after breakfast because it was still dark when we went in!
Randy - KD8OEA
Randy still has plans to upgrade to Extra they just seem to keep getting out
off till later...
Hoss - WA5ZAI and John - N5AAA
Joe - N8BYT WAKE UP JOE!
Keith - WA8ZWJ and Lou - N8KXM
Our waitress, Tami!
Didja know that Tami is a retired 911 dispatcher? Too cool! I
guess that is why she never makes any mistakes on her orders!
Loyd - K8EI and his two breakfasts! His metabolism
must be beyond belief!
These two guys were there every morning. On the left
is a Canadian DX'er and on the right is a Romanian. Talk about
International!
W5KUB and friends pulled alongside us as we were in line to
go to the flea market.
Lou begins putting up the tarp that we forgot to install
the night before. Yes, he is using a ladder!
John and Chas. assist with the tarp...
Joe says "I think I will let the tall guys handle this
one!"
Randy assists Lou with the tarp...
Rick - KK8O and Bill - N8TQ
"Big Boy" Bob - WA8BOT!
Bob - K8GJL
Bill - N9AYD
Jim - W5JCS
Tom - K8BTE
John - KA8ZSB and Stephen - KC9EKU
Lou - N8KXM, Loyd - K8EI and Max - K1MAX
Lee - WA8MSD
This is what the lot looked like when N0BIX arrived on the
bus...
Bob - N0BIX
John and Charlie compare cell phone capabilities...
Big Al - KB8FJB
Dave - W8TVC
Wil - WB5YFX
Busy Friday morning at the IOOK booth.
Al - AE5CJ and Joseph - WA5FLT
Charlie - WB8NSL and Don "Da Bear" - KE8NK
Keith talks to Ron - AA5RT on Wil's cell phone
Keith - WE0G
Jim - WB8VSU
Keith and his troupe
Keith and troupe from the back
Stan - N5JFQ
Mike - N7LMJ
John - KF8KK
Mike and Ted - KD8BXJ
Skip - N2FOE
Interesting sign...
John - W9KD and Nolan - KC9EJB
Bob - N6BOB
Will the real Al Snyder sign in please?
Yes, they are BOTH Al Snyder - KB8FJB and AE5CJ
Persimmons are being served on the veranda!
Many many thanks to our lunch preparation crew!
Tom - WD8JPP
An antenna array inside...
According to Luis - XE1L "Please find here the "Two Translators" that will never ever
finish to
translate the IOOK hymn. Por favor sirvanse encontrar a los "Dos Traductores" que nunca van a
terminar de traducir el himno del IOOK." According to Charlie - NN3V
"The two Vice Presidents whom are in charge of translating the IOOK song into
Spanish. They plan to do that manana."
Noel - N8OVS
Noel is Keith's brother-in-law. He has never been active! We need
to remedy that somehow!
Neat T shirt!
Wow! Can you believe a NEW dual band HT for $59.95?
New digital Yaesu handheld talkie, about the size of a VX-7, and uses TDFM digital.
Three generations of Durrum's - Son, Granddaughter and
Grandpa Randy - KD8OEA
Vice-Presidential afternoon break with special "tea" in their water bottles.
There is something mischievous going on between those ears!
We are first greeted by Sponge Bob Flow Chairman and
Parking Attendant, Fast Eddie - W8ED!
Big Al is cooking the brats!
Big Al is still cooking the brats!
The Gathering is being opened with a prayer.
A week or so prior to HamVention Keith was talking with
Richard - VK5UK on Skype. Richard suggested that maybe during the
Gathering he could get on Skype and chat with some of the guys. Prior to
dinner, John - N5AAA called Richard on Skype on his smart phone and a lot of us
had the opportunity to chat with Richard Down Under! What fun! At
this point in time John and Richard are getting ready to finish up their
conversation.
Keith and Bob discussing presentations...
Dennis is undoubtedly telling a whopper! Just look at
his eyes!
To quote Big Al "The IOOK is all fed up!"
Great night for the Gathering! 75 degrees and the
beer is 35 - yee haw!
Zed W. Jay is explaining how the K in IOOK came from
KBob
"And that is why he is President for three
lifetimes!"
Bruce - W6RBM has been assimilated!
Bob - W6BO and Janet - W6JND have been assimilated!
Due to technical difficulties, the photos from this evening's awards presentations are somewhat limited...thank goodness N0BIX has it all on video!
The "WTFAI" Award. Hmm, could also be the
"Wrong Way Carrigan Award"
From a recent trip, Bob - N0BIX added this photo.
Stan - N5JFQ says: "How funny! The funny thing is we were wondering
why one stack was not releasing smoke when I made the comment: "I don't
remember those stacks before.""
Here is a sample of one of the awards that were passed out during this year's "Gathering Of The Faithful"!
"Tick Tock" Clock Award
"Bad Boys Bail" Award
First AM contact!
Pack Rat Award...
There are a lot of us who would qualify for this one!
Chopped Liver Award!
Bunkhouse BBQ Awards...
Instant update! News Flash! N0BIXie saved my
butt by gleaming a couple of photos off of the video!
Way to go Bob!
Bob - N0BIX made the presentation to this year's recipient, Hoss - WA5ZAI who was elected by a vast majority of the IOOK!
Congratulations Hoss!
N0BIX, "I object to being nominated the Director of the hall of Fame."
All in favor of N0BIX for the Hall Of Fame Director.
In special consideration for all he does for the IOOK, Bob
- N0BIX was declared an additional IOOK Hall Of Fame recipient and named as the
Director of the IOOK Hall Of Fame Award by all present! Congratulations
Bob!
Photo Op for the new director.
Keith, "One more item."
"So, that is where the "K' in Krazies came from -
Krazy Bob - our illustrious President!"
Whatever the item was, it got a round of applause!
Dottie - KD8BXK enjoys her annual IOOK Gathering Of The
Faithful cigar!
Breakfast at Burkey's!
Here's Chas. all decked out in new IOOK wear!
Hmm - looks like Da Bear must be chopped liver cuz somehow we missed getting a snap shot if him this morning!
Off to the flea market!
Randy showing his new Chinese dual band HT!
Rob - KA5RUC
Rob and Bruce - W6RBM
Joe bought a metric thermometer - Yep! Celsius not
Fahrenheit!
One never knows what they may find on display in the flea
market...
Charlie - KW8R and Annie - N8KHZ
He may wish to reconsider?
Our flea market paper towel holder donated by Jan.
Persimmons are being served on the veranda!
Making persimmons at Saturday lunch. The chef says, "Order anything you want, but take what ya get."
Photo proof that Lou finally got his persimmon "on rye."
Luis - XE1L and friends have arrived!
Luis has brought a couple of snap shots to share with Hoss.
Here are the two snap shots. This one was taken at
Luis' QTH in Mexico City when Hoss was visiting there back in the old days when
he was working!
Another great shot Luis shared with Hoss.
Hmm, that goes back a ways before Tom became W3TOM! Ancient history!
Dave - WB8RRQ
Dave is a good friend of Bruce - W6RBM. They used to work together here
in Dayton.
Stu - K8ST
Dave - N8DRM
On Saturday afternoon Al, Stan and Joe got a special tour of the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base courtesy of our Holiday Inn manager and his good friend (Joe has his name). We visited the Air Force Institute of Technology. Below is the group in front of The Icarus monument at AFIT.
The plaque for Icarus.
Another great T shirt!
Charlie managed to nearly steal KA8SFL's Kenwood 430 - but
at least he did finally part with some cash and now has a decent back up rig!
In the heat of the afternoon Charlie - NN3V and Loyd - K8EI
retreated to the cheap seats in the arena.
Time to stack a few ZZZ's!
Dennis - W5LOL and friends
Randy's son and daughter-in-law
Some one was having some fun with peanut shells. As
you can see, one of them has rolled off the top of the hat and caught on the
brim! It stayed there for quite a while without Dave - W8TVC realizing
that it was there! Lee titled this shot "Peanut Head".
Man! That BARF shirt is so bright that even Photoshop
cannot correct the color!
Tom - W5KUB came around for a visit. It was good to
visit with him.
Tom reminisces about the old days when his spaces were next
to ours!
In the process of packing up stuff, Charlie - NN3V suffered
a scrape on his hand that drew blood. Duct Tape to the rescue!
The Oklahoma group with the Holiday Inn owner, Sanjay.
At the end of a hot day in the flea market he provided us with a free beer and cookies.
Sanjay operates the Holiday Inn Express next to Rob's in Brookville.
Now that's the REAL color of the BARF shirt!
Dottie is walking back from their rig after Keith took a
look at their APRS rig to find out why it had not been transmitting since last
February. It turns out the squelch knob had gotten turned and the
"BUSY" indicator would not go off preventing it from transmitting!
If you don't get "All Fed Up" at Rob's, it's your own fault!
Breakfast at Burkey's!
This is Loyd's military ID. Don't cha just love the
photo?
Hoss ordered the pork chop breakfast! It is
HUGE! No, he could not finish it! He did eat over half of it though!
They are ready for the short ride to the flea market!
Yee haw!
Once the sheets were down this was the first item that Joe
- N8BYT put on the table. No, it is not for sale.
Wynn - W6CDR
Dueling cell phones?
Hoss is talking to Ron - AA5RT in Texas.
Flat Kbob is talking with Ron on Hoss' cell phone.
So Janet, how heavy is it?
Sunday morning inside is a bit slower than the rest of the
weekend.
Bob won a door prize. It is an antenna that works
from daylight to dusk!
Vic - WA2KOO
Dave won a door prize too!
Persimmons are being served on the veranda!
Wil is repackaging some things.
There is a story to be told behind Joe and John eating the
ice cream.
At least I sold a VHS tape to the lady who was selling the
ice cream. :-)
It is near the witching hour.
Tear down has been started. Bob is getting ready to
leave and take Charlie to the airport.
But wait! After they leave we get a call from Charlie on the radio
asking about his back pack!
Yep! It is here!
They made a drive by to pick it up!
Here's the hand off!
From two angles!
Hoss is contemplating doing a pole dance. We convince
him to reconsider.
Our ticket watchers return from the drawings.
Alas, there were no winners amongst the tickets they were
watching.
Time to take down the canopy.
Now to load the floors back on Lou's pickup.
Wil stops by to show us the new radio he won! Way to
go Wil! Yee haw!
Loading the floors.
Securing the poles.
I think Bruce had a good time!
Hey Joe! Wanna see my picture?
Imagine that! Peanut shells!
Back to the Farley Flophouse.
Hi Marian! We are home!
A bit of R&R before pizza...
Maybe a brewsky or two as well!
Lou dropped off his pickup at home and Sandi brought him
back in her Camaro.
Still a lot of APRS activity...
Time for dinner at Marion's Piazza!
This is Paul - Hoss' grandson.
Yep! We are all fed up...again!
Back at the Flophouse...
Hey Fast! Lee and Keith think they blew the keg!
We think the keg blew! Sob!
Yep! She is blown! Empty! Done! Out
of beer!
Fast is waiting for the last of the foam in his glass to
turn into beer.
Breakfast at Rob's
John's shirt from El Mason! Pretty cool!
John and Jan were recently at the Tabasco plant in
Louisiana and knowing how well Keith likes Tabasco, bought him a holster with a
bottle included!
Keith is practicing his quick draw!
Time to say goodbye!
N0BIX got a better picture of the arch going west!
Hoss and Keith returned to the Flophouse and unloaded the
maroon van. On the dash we found this folder.
It turns out Loyd's missing Roofing Filter is in his folder
that he inadvertently left on the dash! It is found! Yee haw!
Hoss says "Hasty Bananas!"
Keith goes to Lou's to unload floors and stack them in the
shed where they are stored.
Making progress
Thankfully, Lou made this two wheel dolly that the floors
can balance on so we don't have to carry them very far!
The floors are stored for yet another year!
The pickup is empty!
Here is the post HamVention 2012 note:
Hosting the IOOK for the Dayton HamVention is a team effort! If it weren't for the support of our local contingent it would not be possible.
Many many thanks to Marian - WD8CJD for being such a big supporter of the weekend! She does many may behind the scenes things that few of us can truly appreciate!
Many many thanks to Lou - N8KXM for EVERYTHING he does for the IOOK and HamVention!
Many thanks to Bob - N0BIX! Your DVD's are a treasure for all of us to appreciate! Your efforts to better the IOOK are beyond approach!
Many thanks to our lunch chefs, NN3V, W8TVC assisted by KB8FJB!
Many thanks to all the contributing photographers - alphabetically by call sign:
KA3VNF, KD8OEA, N0BIX, N5AAA, N5JFQ, NN3V, W5JCS, W8ED, WA8MSD, WA8ZWJ, XE1L
Many thanks to Hoss - WA5ZAI for being the item that originally gelled many of us into starting the IOOK. His many acquaintances have brought many of us together as true friends!
Now we start working on next year's HamVention!
If there are any additions, corrections or deletions that should be made, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Respectfully Submitted by Keith, WA8ZWJ
On Thursday, May 31st, Stan - N5JFQ sent along some additional photos from HamVention. They have been inserted into the photos you have seen about. Here is what he had to say about tornadoes in Oklahoma:
"Taking cover in the basement of church, but this is a quick pic from the parking lot outside.
"
"I didn't get all of my pictures sent, Keith. So as we are watching the thunderstorms weather plow through the state again, I will send them out. By the way, Aaron is going on 24 hours now without power."
