[CQ-Contest] 2005 Dayton Forum Wrap Up

[sawyered@earthlink.net]

To continue on what Bob, N5NJ, was saying...the idea is for the vendors to follow where the customers are, guys, not for the vendors to tell the customers to come back to where they are.  

On one hand, you hear the stat. that the 400 - 500 contesters are only 2% of the population at Dayton and who will listen to us.  Then on the other hand you hear the comment...I hate to see many of my "big buck" buyers not at the Hamvention, where my booth is.  Which is it guys?  Are we important, or aren't we.  If we are, then the vendors should be telling Hamvention, either fix the problem and find these guys some reasonable space or I'm cutting my booth in half (or eliminating it) and setting up a product demo over at the Crowne.  If that doesn't get the attention of the organizers, nothing will.

Of the 500 or so contesters who go to Dayton, I wonder how many would go if the Contest and DX dinners, DX and contest and antenna forums, and super suites were somewhere else at a different Hamvention.  I, personally, would rather go to another location in April, June, August, or January, then go to Dayton the week before WPX CW.

My proposal: build up the Crowne into its own gathering with its own vendor representation over the next 2 years and then move it around to other colocated hamfests so that it moves around the country and calendar over a sunspot cycle.  To most of us here, this IS what we call Dayton now, not the flea market and forums on public safety nets, etc.

Doug and Tim, if you need help making that happen, count me in!

Ed  N1UR