My buddy and I went Friday and today. Here are my opinions on the Hamvention. First off, signage going in was great. Radio info on AM radio 1620 and noticed a sheriffs car at major intersections. We saw no issues at all getting in. Parking was great onsite. Weather was no issue. It was great weather. Very small areas with any mud and anybody complaining probably should just park their butt in front of tv and stay there. Facility is outstanding. Very clean, friendly people everywhere. Great food selection from the various food wagons. Much much better than anything Hara ever offered. We did miss the Ye-Haw girls but ya can't have everything. Flea market area was also great. Gravel paths really help. There did seem to be a few holes in the flea market but I dont know space wise how it compares with Hara. Didnt see any sewer geysers anyway. All in all, DARA and the fairground hit it out of the park.
One thing that did stand out to me was some vendors (most notably to me - Gigaparts) didnt bring any equipment to the fest but had a online order station. I would think this really hurt their sales but I could be wrong. I can always order online from home. At Dayton, I want to handle it!
Also for all the Ten-Tec people, we went by the tentec booth several times and saw very little traffic. Couple commercial receivers, an eagle and a argonaut were on table. I did not see the purported new Omni VII. It may have been there but we didnt see. I wish him luck.
See you next year.