I have to agree with Jim. I've never been to Dayton,
and am planning on going next year.
However, Visalia has always been a special event in
that its 100% DXing/contesting in a forum which is
designed for those aspects of ham radio. Like the
contest side of Dayton this year, the Visalia
convention is self contained in a single hotel and is
a total immersion experience. The vendors who are
there are very DX/contest oriented, and the entire
focus of the event is on contesting and DXing (more
DXing than contesting).
You will not see the 10-10 club, repeater
associations, county hunters, traffic net groups, or
AM nostalgia groups at Visalia. But, if you want to
meet Martti Lane, Jim Neiger, Fred Laun, and the likes
in close proximity, Visalia is the place. I
thoroughly enjoyed the three times that I went to
Visalia and would very much like to return.
As I said before, Dayton this year seems to be
gravitating to what Visalia currently is. However,
I'm personally a little concerned about the move since
Dayton is as much of a get-together for competitors as
it is a marketing tool for contesting and DXing. If
we're going to isolate ourselves to the Crowne Plaza,
we're really going to have to market the forums as
something that is really exciting and for everyone to
see and hear.
73 Rich NN3W (ex KI6ZH)
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