[Boatanchors] Another Belton Swapfest

[Kees & Sandy]

Another Belton Swapfest in the rearview mirror. It was great with quite a few more attendees and sellers than last time. Always good to see everyone and test yourself on remembering names ;o). Some of the old guys actually looked better than they had in previous years. One example is Roy Acuff (the ham). That Hill Country (Burnet) air living must be really good for you.

This time the "rig de jour" was Drake equipment, it was everywhere ..........in the parking lot ........in trunks........inside on the floor, .....inside on tables. Much of it was gone or had "moved to another spot" by Thursday evening. In fact that happens quite a bit with the "good deals" on Thursday. The "rig de jour" has been the R-390/A but this time I only saw 3 of the R-390/A's.

Saturday I had some WCARC club member stuff and shared my table with a good friend from Austin whose wife and he had agreed that he needs to "thin the herd" so at least he has a path through his "stuff". He had brought quite a bit and ended up taking up a lot of floor space (the really good stuff was on the table) and stuff like a BIG Boonton signal generator was not too popular......even later on for FREE. You know the feeling, big boatanchors, great in their day, too good to just throw out and you would feel guilty ......have to find someone who appreciates it and will give it a good home. Nearing the end of the event, I put my specialized skills to use, knowing a few sellers who would take ANY "free stuff". Three hand trucks later, much of the floor stuff had found a new home.

I saw a Tektronics 453 and 454 go for $30 for the pair. A BC-221 in good condition for $10 (we had 3 at our table). Many ARC-5 units selling for $20 to $5 each. In fact, I had a reasonably complete Q5er for$5 which did not sell. The activity, as usual, started Thursday afternoon and the weather was beautiful, cool and a few clouds. One fellow came in (before I got there) with lots of items marked with a price on a piece of blue tape. I saw many pickups with purchased gear in the back with a little piece of blue tape with $1, $2, etc on it. He sold most of his stuff in short order and there were several "the one that got away" stories".  Not a single BC-348 was seen......that surprised me, but then again , can't be everywhere, especially if you have a seller table. One guy had some interesting CW keys and other (estate?) stuff on a trailer but he never came back to several guys sitting on the fenders of his trailer waiting. I think he missed some early sales.

I saw Monty walking around with a-n-o-t-h-e-r  keyer/paddle combination he had just purchased.....good for QRP.

Richard from New Caney was there as always, with his overalls riding around on an electric scooter pulling a wagon which was generally loaded as he headed back to his pickup with the loot. I think he attends all the events within a ~300mi radius of New Caney. If you have older US made tube gear in good to excellent condition, It's great to see Richard coming around. He just buys and buys and loads up his warehouse. He's VERY knowledgeable on the old gear and ALWAYS owns several examplesof "everything" in his warehouse. 

One fellow had a number of 6ft rack cabinets outside, ..........talk about hauling. There were only two serious tube vendors this time, there are usually more. A few strange military items I couldn't identify and several towers. One guy had parts by the pound in the outside area and he sold a surprising amount. Nice to find 450V electrolytics. 

The usual contingent of Yaesu, Kenwood, Icom gear was everywhere. 

Of course, a meal at the BBQ place on Central St in Belton was in order at the close.

73 Kees K5BCQ