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Author Topic: QSO Today Virtual Hamfest - March 12-13, and Beyond!  (Read 329 times)

K6LCS

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QSO Today Virtual Hamfest - March 12-13, and Beyond!
« on: March 04, 2021, 10:08:17 AM »

Coming to your desktop, laptop, and/or tablet March 12th, 2021 - and "on - demand" until April 12!

Scores of sessions ... live talks ... And if you cannot "attend" March 12-13, your ticket allows you to
view it all for a month afterward!

https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/

« Last Edit: March 04, 2021, 10:11:03 AM by K6LCS »
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Clint Bradford, K6LCS
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http://www.work-sat.com
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KA4GFY

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Re: QSO Today Virtual Hamfest - March 12-13, and Beyond!
« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2021, 07:56:51 PM »

Has anybody been able to get into this thing?  I never received a ticket via email.  I tried retrieving it via the home page, but that didn't work. 

I kept getting sent back to the page to buy tickets.

I did send them a message through the website.  There was a message saying they are having problems with ticket distribution. 

Rich, KA4GFY
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W2NLS

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Re: QSO Today Virtual Hamfest - March 12-13, and Beyond!
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2021, 08:45:01 PM »

I also fear that this is a scam or absolute incompetence or extremely bad programming. I did not receive a ticket. They sent me a note to check later today on their website and they would have a "manual method" to retrieve a ticket using my order number. It is about 11:30 PM on the East Coast and their website has been promising this all day and now it is still not there. A lot of things have bothered me about this online Expo. A few weeks back I used PayPal to get the ticket. I buy all sorts of things with PayPal. Thousands of dollars actually. I have never once been sent back to the seller's page and been asked to fill out a very intrusive form giving address and phone number. This happened and I decided not to attend. What I like about PayPal is they guard this type of info and to my knowledge have never had a data leak. I wrote to Eric. the organizer to complain and mentioned that I had spent around $400 at the first Expo and wanted to go but did not wish to give my information in this manner. Eric wrote back to me and he indicated that the form was to avoid people impersonating hams. Huh? Anyone with access to any of many, many sites that give QTH data could have filled out that form with my information. It seemed senseless until I thought that maybe it made it easier and legally safer for them to sell the information if I provided it personally rather than breaking a site's compilation copyright. At any rate I just really wanted to go to this thing. I finally decided the H___ with it and so what if a few people got my email as a ham. Or, whatever. So I used PayPal again and then filled out QSO Today's form. At least PayPal was still guarding my credit card information. But I never, ever thought that instead of immediately getting a link to use to go to the Expo when it became live that this sort of ridiculous and -- IMHO -- untrustworthy procedure would result. I am still hoping they will fix this and I will attend. But if I knew then what I have so far experienced I would not have given them a second chance. Well, good night and let's see what tomorrow brings. Maybe a Golden Ticket.
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K6LCS

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Re: QSO Today Virtual Hamfest - March 12-13, and Beyond!
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2021, 01:16:08 AM »

Scam? What a ridiculous thing to say ...

They had a database problem for a very few hours.

The event started already last night - and we're getting started for today - as well as watching the ISS' EVA to replace that non-working cable segment they installed in January.

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Clint Bradford, K6LCS
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http://www.work-sat.com
909-999-SATS

W2NLS

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Re: QSO Today Virtual Hamfest - March 12-13, and Beyond!
« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2021, 09:14:49 AM »

Glad to hear that it started last night. I missed that as it did not start for us East Coasters until this morning. I stopped by here to say that I DID get in and that the Expo looks very nice. I have found a few bugs but nothing very serious. Most annoying is that using the Next button and winding up in a blank Test Booth. This is repeatable (when returning from an off-site website)  and should be looked into for next year. The other is when using the chat area you have to be in Chrome or in Edge from the beginning of entry. If you are in a different browser it will not work and all it needs to do would be to open the needed browser in a second window after getting permissions.
    As far as my use of the word "scam" that was in a sentence which read: "I also fear that this is a scam or absolute incompetence or extremely bad programming." From that sentence I will retract the word "extremely." But they really should have caught whatever the problem was during some sort of alpha test under heavy load. They had the time.
     I am still concerned about the form that needed to be filled out following a PayPal authorized charge on return to the selling site. If the information is to be resold to third-party vendors that needs to be called out. And explained. If third-party vendors are to be within the world of Ham Radio vendors -- hey, no problem. But if the information is to be sold (if it IS to be sold at all) then I would like some sort of warranty it would not be sold to people who sell outside Ham Radio. 
     Anyway, while I disagree with you that my concerns are "ridiculous" I would say that they are not major. The Expo did open (a tiny bit late for East Coasters) and the booth experience is very well handled as are the chats (with, again, a minor complaint about being tied to a browser). And, unless I start getting all sorts of spam emails from being forced to give out information that really was not at all needed by the Expo runners as far as stopping impersonations of hams (which was claimed) then I would rate the Expo as something which I recommend and probably return next year. Indeed, I am about to spend $200 over at the Quicksilver booth. It is a fun experience but it WAS an annoying start this year.
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K6LCS

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Re: QSO Today Virtual Hamfest - March 12-13, and Beyond!
« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2021, 08:05:04 AM »

I cannot believe the whining and complaining I am reading from fellow hams this morning.

We had some technical glitches at the QSO Today! Extravaganza yesterday. The AirMeet software was
problematic. Savvy Windows users thought to "right click" and enter those pages in new Windows.
But most just complained that it didn't work.

We're HAMS, for gawd's sake. Plan Bs and Plan Cs should be in our blood ...

Complaints of "the sessions were pre-recorded" are ignorant: ALL sessions were pre-recorded by design
and submitted by February 1, 2021. Then we went to LIVE Q&A and Tables to further discuss life.

Here's a complaint: "I had to scroll too much to find my Table." Make the tables' icons smaller so more
fit on a page, and that same whiner would then write, "The font's too small ... "

Organizer Eric is beating himself up on all this. He shouldn't be. It's not his fault. Conversed with him
this morning at 6am - after another all-nighter ...

I have heard NO ONE pointing a finger at YOU.
We are hams, for gawd’s sake - Plan Bs and Plan Cs
should be in our bloodlines ...

Whatever platform(s) you choose for next year, I would
like to assist create a one-page “cheat sheet” of
keyboard commands and “tips and tricks” to negotiate.
A single page we can each print out and refer to ...

Attendees are enjoying. Speakers are getting great Q&A
sessions. The “tables” are absolutely wonderful.

I couldn’t find the open bar .... but will search again today.

Clint Bradford

PS Take me up on that offer with the cheat sheet. 951-533-4984

PPS Let’s have a Zoom session for speakers before next
year’s extravaganza - to show us the techniques and intimacies.

This morning, took me 30 seconds to log in and find my nest presentation area.

SO ... If you cannot provide constructive comments and assistance to make the event better, then you
really are not behaving like true amateur radio operators. Writing from ignorance and bitching
and moaning because of a couple problems OUT of the control of the event organizers is NOT how we
operate.

OH - here's one for you: A ham complained the event was "too commercial." Yes, the event was
sponsored by HAM RADIO EQUIPMENT SUPPLIERS. What an idiotic thing to complain about.
Now, then, if Marlboro was a major sponsor, that would be a legitimate topic of conversation.

Clint Bradford K6LCS
951-533-4984
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Clint Bradford, K6LCS
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http://www.work-sat.com
909-999-SATS

W2NLS

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Re: QSO Today Virtual Hamfest - March 12-13, and Beyond!
« Reply #6 on: March 15, 2021, 07:34:51 AM »

Clint, at the risk of being called idiotic or ridiculous could you answer a quick question? I entered the post-Expo today hoping to watch a few speaker sessions. I do not seem able to do that. When I click on a speaker session topic all I get is the paragraph which describes the event. I do not see any sort of link or button or other interface that would get me to the actual, recorded session. What am I missing?
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W2NLS

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Re: QSO Today Virtual Hamfest - March 12-13, and Beyond!
« Reply #7 on: March 15, 2021, 08:10:57 AM »

OK, I did find the information I needed. It sort of illustrates one of the problems with the site's programming. I first logged on with my ticket and it all worked as it should in the exhibit hall. When from the main interface's top list of links I chose to go to the speaker area that too worked. However when I was on the Presentations page all of the speaker sessions are presented but there is no way to access them. So, yes Clint, I being a ham tried Plan B. I went to the Expo's main page and saw the one line (but, yes, bold type) that explains that the auditorium "door" will appear later this week. But it is not the user (especially a paying one and whether they are a ham or not) who should be expected to treat a web interface as a Rubik's Cube and fool around with "plans." I would suggest that the programmer of the site copy the one-line note about the presentations not yet being workable following the event from the main web page to show at the very top of the actual Presentation page as well. Or, if you go to the speakers via the exhibit hall interface that you get a dialog box explaining the situation and to watch for the door to appear later this week. There are many ways to prevent confusion in this, again, minor, but annoying problem. You may characterize this as "whining and complaining" if you like. But I have alpha-tested both software and hardware for companies as big as Apple and Microsoft and startup operations as well. I was also the Editor of the really, really, really old MACUSER Magazine and also worked on and wrote for POPULAR MECHANICS, ELEMENTARY ELECTRONICS and all sorts of places. Doing all of that I learned one hard lesson -- you can have the greatest software or hardware in the world but if it is not intuitive enough you need to be able to accept criticisms (whether you personally consider them constructive or not) and rework what needs reworking. The QSO TODAY expo was a great deal of fun. But there were some minor problems. I look forward to attending the next one to see what improvements and additions will be made.
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K6LCS

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Re: QSO Today Virtual Hamfest - March 12-13, and Beyond!
« Reply #8 on: March 15, 2021, 10:13:43 AM »

That meeting software tossed hundreds out. It was a mess.

I was on from 1-4AM Pacific Saturday flawlessly. FLAWLESSLY. Left the desk to grab more
coffee, and returned as the program exploded. I was kicked out. "Clint, I don't see your Heil PR40 nor your nice HD Logitech camera any more ... " errormessage.

Took me almost 2 hours to get back in. 8AM sessions were delayed un starting. My 9AM - and other 9AM shows - seemed to be going all right. Then the Tables Page was GREAT. I was there eight hours Sunday, manning our Satellites table.

Spoke to organizer Eric 6AM yesterday ... he came to our Satellites Table yesterday and have us almost 15 minutes of his time. Problems and solutions discusssed ...

All the sessions are being edited as we speak, and will be available to all in the next 48-72 hours.

Eric didn't spend a year on this merely to irritate us. Problems completely out of his control (as well as two key staffers coming down with COVID-19) messed life up.

But Eric's integrity should NOT be an issue at all.

Thanks for your comments.

Clint K6LCS
951-533-4984 - cell
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Clint Bradford, K6LCS
AMSAT Ambassador, ARRL Affiliated Club Coordinator
http://www.work-sat.com
909-999-SATS
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