Slashdot Mirror
Computer/Tech Flea Markets?
Spamlent Green asks: "The recent 'Cashing In On Antique Computers' thread, and the PBS Flea Market documentary made me all misty-eyed for the MIT Swap Fest. I moved from Cambridge to D.C. last year, and haven't been able to find anything like it down here, and I don't mean those bogus 'Comptuer Show and Sale and Monster Truck Rally' events advertised constantly on cheapo UHF stations. So I was curious -- do any DC-MD-No.VA-area Slashdot-ers know of events like this down here -- or anywhere else in the country for that matter? They must be out there ..."
There's something called First Saturday in Dallas, too, and a google search turned up a number of interesting possibilities. What recommendations can you make for the seeker of swap?
I think what you are looking for is theARRL Swapfest Database. Hamfests are no longer just radio gear.
"Nobody owns the fucking words man." - James Dean
Mr. Dean,
We write in regard to your fradulent use of the words "nobody", "owns", "the", "fucking", "words", and "man". The legal holders of these words for Internet usage are as follows:
Nobody - Registered by Microsoft Corp., used in reference to a person who does not run their OS.
Owns and Ownz - Registered by Microsoft Corp., for use in describing Microsoft global market share of OSes.
The - Registered by Microsoft Corp., as it is an integral term used in their pending OS release.
Fucking - Registered by goatse.cx. 'nuff said.
Words - Registered by Microsoft Corp., as a reference to multiple installations of a component of Office. Sites and all Internet usages of the term 'words' will be traced to their owner/s and audited by the BSA for licensing compliance.
Man - Owned by the United States government, as it is a term frequently used in reference to them (ie. 'the man').
Use of these terms on the internet constitutes circumvention of U.S. copyright law under the DMCA, and enforcement of said laws will be carried out, regardless of state and international borders, local law, and common sense. In behalf His Lord Majesty Gates, I issue a cease and desist order on your use of these terms on His internet. Good day.
M. P. Hornswoggle
Attorney at law
There's no wrong way, to eat a Rhesus...
Has anyone heard of something like this near Chicago (or even better, Ohio) ?
"Question with boldness even the existence of a god." - Thomas Jefferson
A friend of mine spotted something a little unusual, even for Dayton..
"Hey, isn't that an IBM 360 console?" (Old cardpunch-based mainframe computer used in the 70's.)
Yep. It was. Apparently they had the rest of the system in a semi parked at a nearby mall. They were offering free delivery within 1,000 miles...
Ahh, Dayton. Anything and everything a man (or woman) can unload... And then some.
I live Manassas, VA (Manasshole) and although I've not seen much stuff other than the computer show and sales, there are several stores around here where you can find some pretty old gov't computers and old systems that nobody wants anymore. I'm thinking of buying a bunch of old boxes for my Beowolf cluster. Good Luck!
there is always bowlers computer fair, trafford park manchester. dodgy as owt, but some gems here and there.
No, not a festival of pork and bacon (I wish!), but the ever popular and never reproduced HAM Radio festivals. The main focus of these events isn't computers, but I've found a number of rare buys at these events. The people are rarely (as of about 5-6 years ago) companies set up selling you some crap PC they built on the way to the show. More often then not, they seem to be people that have bought stuff in the past and either have no need for it anymore or fixed it cause it was broken and hope to get a little return from it.
And.... HAM fest people are just swank. Really cool. I mean their the bee's knees and all that. Really "wow, this tastes like butter" neat.
something clever
You know what I find?
Most people who think employees at stores are dumb, are usually pretty clueless themselves.
Now, ofcourse them telling you they don't carry and item when they do is moronic.
But quite often...
People tell me stories about how clueless a salesclerk was and in the end, I only find the teller to be a moron.
The moral: When you're stupid, you can't tell if the person infront of you is stupid or smart.
dreamword
Proud owner of a 17" monochrome NeXT monitor that I have no idea what to do with, but couldn't pass up
Maskirovka
BPAI: Computer surplus buyers in Baltimore.
I bought a trunkfull of SparcStation LXs off these guys a while back for $35 each. Not too much intel hardware, but a ton of networking and workstation stuff. Gov't and corp surplus mostly. http://www.recycle.net/computer/
There's also a computer junkyard in Geln Burnie, MD on Sundays, but it's been too long since I've been there to remember the details. Another surplus buyer/seller is in a white warehouse in Fredericksburg, VA, in front of the fairgrounds. For new stuff, there's always Market Pro. These guys always haggle!
I'm not sure I understand your story about the Gas Station attendant. What does the cost of a broken component have to do with the final price of a repair? As a professional mechanic (working my way through college) I find people are always confused by this. Just because I need to replace a 10$ relay, doesn't mean that the labor and time involved will only be 5$. You have to remember that real businesses have expenses, they have to pay electric bills, heat, rent, tools...etc. I bought a screwdriver set last week. It cost me 175$ and it was a cheap set (only 4 screwdrivers). The cost of tools and equipment are what drives up repairs.
Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop
It's not in DC, but in Fort Lauderdale. It's a huge place, selling most anything on roughly 30 acres. Due to its sheer size, you'll probably find most anything you need, even though it does not specialize in computers or electronics.
Come on down and check it out. At least it's in a good vacation town!
It's cool to look at these shows... I wish there were some in my area (southern Idaho), but I wanted to make the observation...
I haven't seen one comment yet that says "but you can buy a new PC so cheap now, why mess with it."
I think it's a sign of the times that we are (as a group) economizing a bit.
doesn't bode will IMHO
I live about 7 miles from the Arlington, Tx Fry's and no longer shop there for the same reasons. I can not imagine driving 45 min and then waiting in line to return something.
Once I was in the store, waiting to be assisted, and a manager looked at one of the employees and stated "Can you go help that guy?" To which the employee responded "NO, He is beyond help." The manager then ordered him to help me. The employ came over and asked what i needed, I explained that the 3.3v memory we got would not work on the motherboard as it needed 5v memory. He responded "No you are wrong, The 3.3v memory is what goes on that motherboard." I showed him the mother board book that stated that the MB must have 5v memory. He responded "Well the book is wrong!"
I complained to the store manager and was told "Well that department manager has a hard time finding and keeping employees." I responded "So fire him and all the employees. Then hire some one who can do the F*****g job and be polite!" I then left the store. There is no reason for me to go back!
99.9% of the computer stuff at flea markets is junk, much of it overpriced junk (try explaining to an old guy that nobody's going to pay $500 for his beat up Packard Hell 486). As with most stuff at flea markets, the good deals were sold before you got there.
Computer "shows" suck too, unless you're into stolen, broken, overpriced junk.
Somebody mentioned hamfests. These are generally guys who are collecting and using AM radios made about 50 years ago, and still refer to equipment made this side of the last century as "solid state." These folks bring all sorts of computer junk, too, but you ain't getting any deals here either. These guys will calmly ask $250 for a Tandy 286 'cause it's still good for RTTY (radio teletype for those born within the last 30 years and/or having a life).
If you're half-serious about picking up junk computers, watch around dumpsters in office parks and colleges. If you're really serious about collecting junk computers, buy a business phone and put an ad in the yellow pages offering to take away unwanted computers for free. But have your own dumpster handy (supplied by a company that collects demolition and/or doesn't look too close or ask too many questions), you'll need it.
AC's cheerfully ignored
With comparisons of inequality it's incorrect to use then. In other words, it is "..... support you betther THAN anyone else."
So you take a trip to Fry's to laugh hysterically at price tags?
Frankly I can see no other reason for going to Fry's at all.
I was exaggerating a bit, I've never been actually tossed out, but I have gotten funny looks over the silly grin I wear on my face looking at the same hardware I just bought for over twice the price.
Steven
-- I have marked myself unwilling to moderate-- I don't have other accounts to artificially inflate the karma of
Timonium this summer was on July 29th, but man did it ever suck balls. The computer section (inside) was about like your usual marketpro show. The crappy weather must have kept the cool hardcore electronics guys/gals away from the parking lot swapmeet 'cause most of the stuff was super lame. Kinda like "My wife made me clean out the attic."
--fister
There is a computer festival in northern NJ called the Trenton Computer Festival (it's actually held in Edison now). It has an outdoor computer flea market that used to be quite good, although the quantity of old computer equipment there has gone down in the past few years. http://www.tcf-nj.org/
There are two good swap meets I know of in or around Silicon Valley. The first is at Foothill College on the second Saturday of the month. It's impossible to miss, just show up early.
The other one is on the first Sunday of the month in Livermore at a college off of Airport Blvd (I forget the name).
Of the two, the Foothill College one is the biggest. There's a lot of trailing-edge technology there as well. I've seen all sorts of things there. The last time I saw some HUGE CCDs for astronomy. A couple of times I've even seen electron microscopes there.
This post is encrypted twice with ROT-13. Documenting or attempting to crack this encryption is illegal.
Check the local Military bases DRMO (ok, guess it's now DRMS - Defense Reutilization & Marketing Service)
Or check their website: http://www.drms.dla.mil/newsales/
Used to be a huge selection at Ft. George G. Meade (north side of DC) with everything from old 8088 Grid laptops to 27in' RGB monitors....
Good Luck!
Why would anyone go looking for computer parts if they already had a computer? It just doesn't make any sense.
You're not my girlfriend posting on here under an assumed name, are you?
Don't sweat the petty things. But do pet the sweaty things.
Yep, the good ole Commonwealth of Virginia provides surplus from VCU, MCV, Tech, and its own operations. Convenient Saturday daytrip to Richmond, slightly less convenient roadtrip to Blacksburg. Often there's an online full list of lots. I probably shouldn't let the apparent secret out, but look here! Auction Schedule
The University of Iowa Surplus store used to be pretty cool... Back when I was in high school, I got some fun things there like an old Mac, modems, a printer, a dumb terminal for a couple bucks, some old IBM networking equipment, etc. Basically a bunch of old hardware that was good to hack with. You just had to rummage thorugh big piles of cruft on the floor, and then bargain with Joe to pay $0.50 for a Gandalf box rather than $0.75 :) We did this on quite a few Thursdays, usually during our school's lunch hour...
Now, UI surplus mainly packages up old computers and sells them for a few hundred bucks apiece (complete with software, printer, etc.) Most interesting items go toward this effort, and the big cruft piles are now off limits to non-staff :(
my cat made a noise and do you wear diapers hello tech flea markrets are cool ! i'll hax0r j00!
Here's the link to the Chantilly Expo Center, which called by its owners The Capital Expo Enter( http://www.capital-expo.com/ ). Looks like Market Pro has a show there every month. I also found some BigFlea shows that might be interesting. (I live just "around the corner" from this place.) It's easy to get to and from. Hope this helps. Have fun.
I've been to the one at the DuPage Fair Grounds (http://www.giantcomputershow.com/) many times. It's ok, but not always worth the price unless you know exactly what you want & the price you want to pay. Be sure to get the $1 off coupon through their web site ($5 instead of $6).
TCF started out at Trenton State College, hence its name. It was there for quite a few years. It outgrew the college space and moved to Mercer County Community College. It was held there until 2 years ago. The computer clubs running it turn the event over to Ken Gordon Productions (KGP). KGP now runs it and gives the computer clubs a cut of the proceeds. Funny thing, KGP was a doing crappy commercial shows for a long time. When TCF moved from Trenton to Mercer College, KGP sent out letters claiming TCF was being cancelled. A lie and they knew it. But they wanted to scare vendors into coming to their show. It didn't work. Eventually, they went bankrupt in the 80s and re-emerged as KGP Productions. Sad that these same folks now running TCF. As someone who went to every TCF except one, the current TCF is a shell of its former self.
I won't exactly agree (did you mean "owners"?) but i have had major problems with it. Live and learn. There was a time when they were good boxes. In fact, the torn apart 486 was (is?) a Gateway.
They have computer shows and sales regularly in south Jersey and King of Prussia (near philly)
I've only gone twice, and haven't found anything worth buying.
We have State Fair computer sales every so often in the twin cities.
Besides jacking up the admission price every year(8 bucks last time), they jack up the prices, or NEVER lower them down.
You know that one game a few years ago that was a hit being $40 when it just came out 5 years ago? You can buy that game there, for $40.
I saw some small-sized webcam dealy for $130, yet when they advertise it on tv the price is significantly cheaper.
Among the must amusing of sales: old AOL floppy disks.
Avoid Blue Star Marketing's state fair computer sales. Most of the vendors are vendors you never heard of(I din't see Tran Microcomputer, a local place that has GREAT deals), selling off-brand hardware at badly inflated prices.
I've been going to L&Y for years and you can find some good deals if you know what you are doing. Sometimes you can talk susie into giving you a volume discount if you buy enough stuff. Her daughter's pretty cute too.
IMHO, it was much better when it was the Trenton State College computer fest (allegedly one of the oldest) and actually held in the school parking lot. It's very commercial now - used to be you could find all kinds of cool stuff there.
The revolution will NOT be televised.
What's up with this old junk fettish people have? Those things take a lot of space and serve no useful purpose.
Would these items serve a more useful purpose if they were in a landfill?
One word: Education.
You can learn quite a bit about how things work by (a) taking apart old stuff and then later (b) using the peices to build new things. You might even be able to parlay that learning into a vocation. Wouldn't be the first time.
Lots of cool hardware that only a techie would love. A friend of mine hauled off with galium arsenic lasers :)
http://www.breezeshooters.net/index2.htm
This and other stores selling 2nd hand crap can be a decent place to look for parts. They also have no really set prices so you can bargain a bit. But they usually hate buying stuff from you.
How perfectly goddamn delightful it all is, to be sure. - Charles Crumb
Damn it! I have a wedding that weekend.
--
Does anyone remember
You might try looking for hamfests or amateur radio swap fests. Most are also computer flea markets and usually for about $15 you can get a table to sell your electronics/radios/computer related stuff. Go to the ARRL web site (http://www.arrl.org) to search for one in your area.
I haven't seen a mention yet. Anyone know anything in, or around NYC aside from the annual at Trenton?
Just because a few of us can read write and do a little math, doesn't mean we deserve to conquer the universe
First Saturday of each month down on Ross ave. Sidewalksale.com
It rocks. They have all kinds of crazy stuff. Telescopes to Discover Card readers to light switches and fuses to.... just go check it out at http://www.sciplus.com/ If you're in Chicago, Milwaukee, or Geneva, you can experience the madness in person: http://www.sciplus.com/stores.cfm
There's been a lot of shitheadded moderation lately. A lot of failure to read comments and taking things too seriously.
I will get my revenge MetaModding. You should too.
And yes, I am posting AC because I don't want to get fucked by the 12 year old moderator thinking he's tough.
yeah, except there is an $80 entrance fee.
I hit first Saturday faithfully every month with a big group of friends. Show up at midnight if you want to get the good deals. Last week we saw an IBM dual Pentium server for $20. Nice case, but too big for the space I have, or I would've bought it.
One of the guys who I usually go with says First Saturday is bigger than the MIT swap meet. I wouldn't know, though. :)
Interestingly, First Saturday started as a HAM radio swap meet, like other people have mentioned.
If you go, be sure to have a bratwurst!
Secession is the right of all sentient beings.
Folks in the SE might check this out.
I'm the maintainer of mitfleamarket.com. If anyone has any pics of the flea or just suggestions of how to make the page more useful for people, throw me an email at jason@macross.com. Thanks, Jason
My
Limekiller
And prices are way down on what you would pay retail anyway. It's good fun to look around and hear other peoples opinion on the new intel chip, or how nVidia are taking over the market with this next chip etc... One might even call it a learning experience
And if you are lucky, there might even be somebody BBQ'ing food for ya all to munch on.
A Grand Day Out.
Trav
Leg Godt!
-LOTS of vendors selling slightly old/used computer books at good discounts ;P
... this student was later approached by various automakers for development in that industry.)
-Hard to find and sometimes slightly older/used software that still retails for ultra-high prices can be found for maybe 1/2 or less of retail price
-Enter draws to get tee-shirts and sometimes neat gadgets!
-If you don't mid buying software with 'questionable' licenses, you can find many packages laballed 'to be sold only with a new computer' for $5-10.
-Adult software sections you just don't find at the mainstream joints
-Demonstrations of technology from grad students that hasn't quite come to maturation yet, but is still very cool (for example, about eight [or so] years ago, I saw this really awesome robotics demonstration running on a state-of-the-art Intel 486 DX2/66
people at hamfest smell and look ugly
Dayton Hamvention It is a huge show that goes from Thursday through Sunday. It is primarily for ham radio equipment, but has tons of vintage/used/new/whatever computer equipment.
Last year I attended a Hamboree. Lots of ham radio enthusiasts were there with antennas sticking out of their hats, belts, and eyeglasses (I kid you not). They made the strange members of the local linux group seem fashionable in comparison :).
The aisles had everything imaginable: PCs, hardware, radios, other electronics. I snagged a sound card and SiS AGP card for $5. The AGP card didn't work, but the PCI sound card did! I also got some other miscellaneous cables for about $1 apiece (SCSI, serial, etc).
Yup- L&Y is pretty good. They get some good Commodore stuff in, too!
Their used book prices tend to be steep, but -wow- what a great selection of vintage stuff.
Somebody moderate this guy down. No dickhead, it isn't censorship, it's off fucking topic!
On a related note, the company they hire to actually run the auction is Dickensheet, and they have auctions with computer equipment atleast once a month. I just never have the money to spend.
There was on here in cinci, www.bluestarshows.com , i guess they go around the states or something. (up to 80% off on mechandice!) heh. maybe this is the jamboree type thing tou didn't mean...
You're not my girlfriend posting on here under an assumed name, are you?
Gosh honey, don't you already have a pair of shoes?
--
As a matter of fact, I am a lawyer. But I play an actor on TV.
Not a fest, but a store that is a good source for parts, old computers and old software in Northern Virginia is L&Y Electronics, 14824 Build America Dr. Woodbridge, VA. They are located on Route 1, near Potomac Mills. Not open on Sundays. They have plenty of PC and Mac equipment and occasionaly Suns and SGIs.
There are two really great ones that I know. These aren't really flea markets per-say, their surplus equipment dealer. They have a lot of other stuff, though.
Sunnyvale, CA - WeirdStuff warehouse. It's at the end of Mathilda avenue, around the corner from the NASA Ames research labs. If you need a TRS-80 or an Apple II, then stop here. They are a "dumping ground" for the bay area tech companies. Their prices aren't that great, though.
Ann Arbor, MI - University of Michigan property disposition. They have a ton of old computer junk there. It's the dumping ground for the entire University of Michigan system. It's on the U's North Campus. If you're lucky, you might even score a well-worn in Mammogram machine!
Troll? I asked a real question and backed it up with real points and I get rated a troll? Did I say "first post"? Did I say "man, flea markets blow"? No, I didn't. If you can't handle people making honest statements and using reasoning in the their arguements, leave or grow up.
"Nobody owns the fucking words man." - James Dean
Ive got about 800 metric tons of computer crap in there. But Im in the dc area, and i dont know of anything like this either.
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
MarketPro, probably the one's you're seeing on tv, has shows across the country. Some venues are better than others. Maryland State Fairgrounds is pretty large. Of course if the vendors decide not to go to that particular one, you're out of luck. The one at Ramada Conference & Exhibition Center in New Carrollton, MD, was pretty good the last time I was there.
Yup. While many of the flea market dealers look and smell like carnies, it's the best deal in town.
There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
:wq
google's cache
there is the sciencenter's "Einstein's Attic Sale" usually in late September. They have cool computer stuff, science related electronics, labratory glassware, you name it! It's for a good cause and after 2pm the price on "stuff" drops to $25 a pickup truck load (they fill...sorry). They'll post the date of the sale on their site:
http://www.sciencenter.org/
Ever try to talk to someone at Radio Shack about a computer?
Ever try to talk to someone at Radio Shack about anything remotely electronic? I've been shopping RS since before they sold their Trash-80s, and while most of them knew the diffence between a double A and 9-volt battery you were pushing the envelope on any question more technical than that.
There are clued ratshack employees, but in my experience they're as rare as hen's teeth. I've always assumed if they actually knew something about what they were selling they could get a better paying job than salesdrone.
oh man. this years was just 3 months ago. :( 9 more months for the next one. this past year's speaker was Emmanuel Goldstein. /me sad.
complex
Hey if you are at Madison, WI, take a look at UW-Madison's surplus shop. I got a 17" Sun monitor for $17 USD, also they got zillion of Macs, each selling $10 to $20 USD, good for running NetBSD.
Here is SWAP Shop Inventory website.
What every vendor should do is compile a list of everything they have to sell and stick it in a database.
This works if all the junk is easlily counted and of decent value. Otherwise the database maintenance is going to be more of a PITA than the money the seller will make dumping it. And realize that the motivation for selling a lot of this stuff is the wife saying "Get it OUT!"
Which brings up a good bargaining tip: If someone has something that you'd like, but you can't haggle them down to your price, wait until the end of the event when the vendors start to pack up and leave. Then stroll by and suggest that your bank notes will be much more easy to carry home than that widget the vendor has. The bigger/heavier the widget the better this tactic works.
You can find good stuff at government auctions of excess property. In the Washington, D.C. area you might try NASA/GSFC in Greenbelt, Maryland. They usually have an auction every year to clear out the warehouse. Military bases are a good place to get stuff.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
Ok, so its not VA, but for those of you in Ottawa Ontario who might be looking for this sort of thing, they happen every few months. The next 'computer garage sale' is on August 26th at a public school in Kanata (can't recall the name of it), and every 3 months or so at Kingsway United Church. I think its about $30 for vendors to get a good sized table, and $1 or so admission for everyone else (all proceeds go to help the school/church). Vendors vary, from people like myself just to get rid of stuff we dont need, or smaller retail stores trying to get a little exposure to the local computing community. Either way, theres always lots of geeky stuff there.
There is a largish swap meet that happens near the TRW building in the Manhattan Beach area on the last Saturday of every month. It's free admission, with effectively unlimited parking. It's located on the Northwest corner of Aviation and Marine.
It's frequented by a lot of amateur radio operators and hardcore electronics specialists, so don't expect to find helpful salesmen ready to sell you a system fresh off the boat from China. Expect vaccum tubes, used parts, legacy hard drive controllers and random electronic components you've never heard of.
More info at: http://www.csz.com/w6trw/swap.html
EBay is the last place I'd go to buy computer stuff. The prices there are hardly going to be a match for computer show prices and yard sales, plus there is the uncertainty factor. And the shipping charges. But the biggest factor is having to haggle and bid against several million people, instead of just you, the vendor, and maybe 2 others at a swap table...the prices definitely vary, and you can personally inspect the product, unlike Ebay.
(Dont get my wrong, Ebay is prolly the best for vintage computers (except certain yard sales as in another post of mine) but for newer stuff shows and trading in person is much safer and cheaper).
http://thechubbyferret.net - Ferret pictures and informative links.
You could always check out the definitive guide to swapfests, linked from that page:
http://web.mit.edu/w1gsl/Public/ne-fleas
-dan
i'm originally from rochester, ny, and there's a huge hamfest there every summer (usually around the end of may). used to be mostly ham equipment, but there seem to be more and more computer tables every year.
and sometimes there's some good finds. a friend of mine bought a complete amiga 2000 system this year, a great find in a field of mostly old apple and intel shit. a couple years back, we bought a microvax, and i've seen everything from old apollo workstations to next cubes to cable descramblers to pay phones and every other damned thing under the sun for sale there.
not that this is much help for the submitter (~8 hours away) but anyone thinking of going to RIT next year might be interested. :)
--saintGod, I miss First Saturday (I live in Tucson, AZ now.) I think that was the only thing that made me wake up excited at 5am
-jc
Decent sized show, and I always come away with a trunk full of cool junk for under $100.
They have a fall show though, but its not so big.
There are small shows every weekend. Look for hamfests as well as computer shows.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
Shop lifting common out there. I have seen many things walk away from tables when the vender is not looking. Although if the vender sees you he may just through an old XT at you. If a cop sees you you will go to jail!
with table after table of ripoff, no-name parts (but all the tables have the SAME ripoff, no name parts), lack of air conditioning, and smelly people all-a-lookin' fer one of dem kom-pew-turs not the environment you're looking for? Big dissapointment, and more than a little shady. I don't want to be the show's organizer once the New Carrolton fire marshall decides he needs a "Only The Best" brand CD burner, a "Learn French Now" CD, and some $30 RAM that fails after a few weeks.
I dropped by a hamfest somewhere in Maryland the weekend before last on the way up to CT, and it looked like there would have been alot there if it weren't for the rain. The mostly outdoor participants had more or less packed up and left by the time I got there, but the inside show wasn't all bad: a few MarketPro refugee sellers, and this one guy way in the back with alot of cool stuff. Not many people with actual radio gear for a ham fest, but worthwhile none the less. I'd say keep an eye out on the AARL web site or magazine.
"These people look deep within my soul and assign me a number based on the order in which I joined" --Homer re:
One good source for old computers and other odds and ends for hardware hacking, are ham fest. A ham fest is an annual flea market event, sponsored by local Amateur Radio Operators in your area. Check around the DC and VA area for the local chapter of the Amateur Radio Operators. We have a very large Ham fest Labor Day weekend, in Shelby North Carolina. You will find things like radio receivers, old vacuum tubes, laser's and computer vender's for new and old equipment.
Once a year HAM Radio and electronic junkies get togeather at the state fair grounds and sell and trade just about everything. I've bought,tubes, a face for my Car CD Player (better not to ask), and all sorts of other junk. My buddies and I usually have a contest of who can build the best junk computer system for under 20 bucks. The BRATS one you just missed it http://www.bratsatv.org/hamfest.html The big one http://www.qsl.net/w2vtm/hamfest.html is listed somewhere on here
Dallas has a good scene workin for computer sales. Check out 1st Saturday (on the 1st saturday of the month, duh) on Ross Ave and US75 in downtown Dallas. It usually starts rollin around Friday @ midnight
Grrr. Here we go again. I've got the 486 on the floor, torn apart, the 90mhz DEC next to the Gateway and the SOL in the closet along with the Osborne Executive...and it drives my husband crazy! You guys have just found the wrong women! Sigh.
Everyone knows dumpster diving is the best way to get old hardware. (-:
When I lived near Dallas (Arlington) there were fair deals to be had just outside of the Infomart in Dallas, on the 1st Saturday of every month. There was a small movement to get the market going every week, but I don't know how successful it's been.
I went once or twice; some of what I found was wet from previous rainy 1st saturdays. I also bought a cyrix-200 & motherboard for about $130, when new ones would have cost ~$200. YMMV, of course. I just can't get excited about spending more than $200. on bare computer equipment that's served up outside.
Some capitalist pig moderator moderated my post down to oblivion... read the parent!
TRW Swap Meet is held the last Saturday of each month on the northwest corner of Marine Ave. (Compton Blvd.) and Aviation Blvd. in Manhattan Beach. 7 A.M. to 11:30 A.M.
Buyers free, sellers $5.00.
The real Webmaven is user ID 27463. I don't rate an imposter, because my ID is such a lame-ass high number.
What:
10th ANNUAL HAM RADIO, COMPUTER,
& ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT SWAP MEET
How big:
14,000 Square Feet Inside - Tailgate Sales Area Outside
When:
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2001
9 am - 1pm
Where:
COWLITZ COUNTY EXPO CENTER
LONGVIEW, WASHINGTON
How much:
Admission $4
URL:
http://www.qsl.net/nc7p/swapmeet.htm
Freq:
147.26+
As far as I know the Timonium Hamfest is/was held by BRATS (Baltimore Radio and Television Society). About 50 - 60% is computer related. You see EVERYTHING there television transmission vans, piles of classic Macs, a PDP-8, bowling balls, snow shoes, etc. Its worth the price of admission just to go in and look.
That's true. For those of you who don't understand the comment, here is the deal. First Saturday takes a fair amount of real estate when all the vendors are there. Some of the parking lot owners rent their spaces and they charge some cash to set up in the premium spots right off the road. Some of the little guys, including me when I go down there to sell, set up in smaller lots off the main road and hope people wander by. One of the prime spots for used/personal stuff, the part that would be most like a swap instead of a sidewalk sale held by commercial entities, was under the bridge for the highway. This is a no-parking zone and the city started forcing the little guys selling out of their minvans and trucks out. A lot of the real obscure/vintage stuff went away when that happened.
That having been said, I think the last of it's glory is still head and shoulders above Fry's in both selection and quality of service, even if they weren't a fraction of Fry's prices. I have never bought a computer(or any major components) retail and as long as I live within driving distance of First Saturday, I never plan to.
Steven
-- I have marked myself unwilling to moderate-- I don't have other accounts to artificially inflate the karma of
http://www.ettpreuse.com/tornrc.html has tons of computer and antiques there daily. Not their little shop up front, but in back, where you need security clearance. I remember fondly the days of digging through that stuff back there and pulling out macs, and ram and UPS handhelds, etc. You can buy 15 inch monitors for 20 bucks and up. We're talking TONS of stuff daily. It's located at the K-25 site just outside of Oak Ridge.
http://www.firstsaturday.com/first.htm
Used to be awesome, now its just 'ok'.
OC, all us BBS SysOps of the 80's and 90's are now running 'Net things of some kind. While the 'Net is definitely a Good Thing®, I do miss the comradery and community of the BBS days. Nothing in the 'Net world comes close.
--
If I actually could spell I'd have spelled it right in the first place.
More than you apparently think. Ever try to talk to someone at Radio Shack about a computer? It's like talking to a rapist about safe sex. They just don't get it.
-nd
You want to find a repository for all sorts of obscure electronic devices and computers? Ham fests are definitely the place for it. Sure it's focussed on radio, but how many radio geeks do you know that aren't also computer geeks? :)
Don't you mean bazaar for the bizarre? ;)
One thing, however... those "cheapo" computer show and sales really aren't all that bad. I've found some pretty good deals there. True, you can generally find better deals online, but I've had good success with these computer shows. I've been "e-screwed" a few times with online companies and it's been hell to get a DOA product replaced or my money back. At the computer shows, you actually talk to the people, get the product in your hands, and usually the dealers are phyiscally located nearby (say in Alexandria or Bethesda for instance) and if you have a problem... you know where they live! And like I said, the deals are competitive with products you can purchase online, especially when you factor in shipping costs and the "I want it now damnit!" factor.
But compared to what you're referring to... I guess these marketpro shows really don't compare.
I know this is redundant, but I haven't seen the ARRL link posted yet:
http://www.arrl.org/hamfests.html
If you can't find it at a hamfest, it may not be worth finding at all! I have seen the following at hamfests:
- piles of C-band satellite gear, $5 or so
- DSS receivers and dishes for next to nothing
- 286 and 386 desktop PC's, FREE! (sans monitor and keyboard)
- old computer/language manuals of all descriptions
Its not just radio stuff!
8 bit computing - It may be 2007 out there, but it's 1983 in here!!
hehe.. i think thats a persona for everyones girlfriend/wife :)
check out http://www.computercentralshows.com/ for shows in the midwest. I've been to the show at College of Dupage in Glen Ellen and was frankly amazed. Nothing like 1st satuday in Dallas though.
Geek out
While the NASA surplus facility has tons of cool stuff (rocket fuel tank anyone?) only a small fraction of it is actually available. For some reason they have a trailer truck's worth of old keyboards and yet you can't get at them (feh).
Also, while there is cool stuff, it goes FAST. Make sure you're there before it even opens and get in line.
But they do take credit cards! (IIRC)
-- "I am disrespectful to dirt. Can you not see that I am serious!"
http://www.purchase.umd.edu/ttrader/
There's always the near-legendary TRW swap meet. It's held in the TRW parking lot every last Saturday of the month, and there's always a lot of interesting stuff being moved there. If you're in the LA area, it's one of those places you check to augment your pile of "interesting" stuff.
If god had intended you to be naked, you would have been born that way.
I forgot my password so sue me. http://www.baltarc.com/ Timonium Hamfest is one of the largest events of its type on the East Coast. Unfortunately it is only once a year while MIT is every month. - Space Rogue spacerog@speakeasy.net
As a resident of the D/FW area and a regular at First Saturday I can attest to it's coolness on a first hand basis. It's been called "The largest open-air electronics sidewalk sale on the planet" and has had writeups in everything from local newspapers to the Wall Street Journal. Here's the scoop. On Friday night the vendors start to roll in, they sell all night and are gone by noon the next day. Mostly these are people who own computer shops throught the metroplex, but we get some of the larger vendors from further away too. Everyone pitches tents, sets up generators, cash registers, etc and sets tons, I mean TONS, of OEM and retail hardware on conference tables in the middle of a parking lot just west of the freeway. The prices are really amazing too. Every time I go to First Saturday I make it a point to go to Fry's the next day and browse for exactly the items I just bought off the street the night before. I've been stopped several times by people asking why I was laughing, and one time escorted from the store for laughing too hard at their prices. I've never paid more than half of what Fry's was asking for anything. Memory, motherboards, CPUs, CD burners, ANYTHING. Same brand names, same models, everything. I've never paid retail for any piece of hardware I've bought in any situation other than impulse buying. I've built three systems from parts purchased at First Saturday in the past four years and I intend to do it again as my current machine is over two years old. Cost me about 1200 bucks for the parts to build it at the time, and is just now starting to get a little behind the times. Think extreme bleeding edge two years ago for less than 1200 bucks.
I've introduced people in the office to First Saturday. The last time my co-workers went they all came back with factory refurbished 21" Sony Trinitron monitors for $325 the first time and the next month the price was $275. They got business cards and three year warranties from the companies. One of them had problems with it, took it back to the shop and they gave him another. They have 15" flat-panel HP monitors with integrated sound for about $300. I got my 120 watt, powered, shielded speakers for my workstation at the office for $6. That's not a typo. Six dollars. They sound good too.
I've also sold items there. My brother was a SA for a company who did a bunch of upgrades a while back and we hauled all the old desktop hardware out there and sold it out of the back of the company van. Good stuff, could have made some nice little BSD boxes, dirt cheap. Mix and match all the stuff you want. You want extra memory? Five bucks a stick for the simms you need.
That having been said, I am kind of disappointed with First Saturday recently. It's been going on for 30+ years now and originally you could get anything, I mean anything, electronic there. From single resistors to full computer sets. I saw military codebooks and collections of Magic cards there too. Now it's shifting from component-oriented to package oriented. They'll sell you bare-bones systems for $575 for a nice MB and Athlon based system, but without any of the toys like a DVD-ROM(bought mine there about a year ago for $85 for a 6X, damn fine price, and a major brand name too) You can still buy the component level stuff, but it's not the emphasis anymore. I guess it's just the world that has changed. The resistor is no longer a component, the board is a component. Sigh, I'm showing my age apparently.
Steven
-- I have marked myself unwilling to moderate-- I don't have other accounts to artificially inflate the karma of
there are 3 kinds of people:
* those who can count
* those who can't
One might counter your argument with the opposite... What's with this "new technology" fetish people have? Do they really need the latest 1.x Ghz processor and 80 gigs. of hard drive space just to type a letter?
Despite what Intel, Dell, Compaq, and all would like you to believe - the old tech. is still very capable of doing at least half of the tasks people want to do with a PC. It's stupid to waste a new PIII or P4 processor on a computer that's dedicated to controlling a home security system, or running a model railroad layout.
I usually go to Weirdstuff warehouse in sunnyvalle:
http://www.weirdstuff.com/
For those in the LA Area or Inland Empire, there is a "Computer Show" at the Fairplex in Pomona once or twice a month. Vendors from the greater LA area come in a set up. 10-5 Saturday and Sunday, there's one this weekend. Prices are slightly above Pricewatch (http://www.pricewatch.com) and much better than any retail stores around. Theres usually over a hundred vendors there with brand-new name brand OEM and Retail stuff and a ton of generic parts. You can get whole systems or individual parts very close to wholesale prices.
Info:
Price: $7 for parking, $8 (I think) for admission or $25 for an annual pass (do the math)
Location: East of LA about an hour in Pomona off the I-10 at the Fairplex, just follow the signs. Its usually in buildings 6 & 7.
Next date: Aug 11 & 12, 10 am - 5pm
I'll see some of you there!
Jonathan
Technology
No place for wimps
- Dilbert
Not everyone has an MIT swapshop nearby, so why automatically phase out those computer shows that you diss.
IF you actually KNOW your stuff about computers then you will get a better deal at a computer show because the vendors are there to make money and sell hardware. Build up relations with these vendors and they will get you anything you want at the best price and most likely support you better then anyone else.
In the midwest, there is the Dayton Ohio Hamfest. Which is a huge (as in takes all day to walk around literally) place to buy/sell/trade all forms of geek gear. If you know your stuff, you can find some computers and parts that havent been seen for years.
Hrm loving these
Boat anchors are expensive to Ship. A $20 UPS isn't worth the $50 shipping :-)
University of Maryland at College Park has a store where they sell a bunch of antiquated computers/furniture/etc. I can't remember the name of it at the momemt..
Watch out for those shady "Pentiom Processor" dealers. And never buy a computer from the back of a monster truck. Ever.
Hamfests are your best bet. The larger ones tend to have lots O obsolite equipment. You'll usually find lots of old Sun boxes, millions of used UPS' and $2 Hard drives.
I'm actually typing this message from a SparcStation 2 that I bought from ECH.
"Evil will always triumph over good, because good is dumb." - Dark Helmet (Spaceballs)
you can still find decent stuff at these shows. This year, one vendor was selling SGI Indys and Sun Sparcstations by the palletful. Last year, I picked up an old Sparc 1+ for $80, and it's been my webserver for a year and a half now. Bargains can be found, but they definitely aren't as numerous as they used to be. I got some good serial cable, and a cable tv tuner. I still chuckle from the year I heard someone telling his buddy he wanted one of those "cowayla" pads (Koala tablet).
Anyone know anything for the New York metropolitan area? Specifically, I'm looking for an old RS/6000 laptop.
-Chris
Hi!
The University of Maryland runs Terrapin Trader. See http://www.purchase.umd.edu/ttrader/.
They had an old VAX for sale earlier this year. I was tempted to buy it, just to watch all the lights in my neighborhood dim when I turned it on.
- Tim
I'm looking through a rack at RatShack. An employee comes up to me saying "Can I help you?"
"Yes, I'm looking for a long cable with a male 1/4" stereo plug on one end and a female stereo mini plug on the other." (Is that 3/8"?)
"Oh, we don't carry anything like that" the clerk says cluelessly...
Naturally, knowing the caliber of RatShack employees, I hadn't stopped searching while talking to her...
"Oh, does that mean I can't buy this then?" I said, pulling what I needed off the rack...
-------------
Other well-known story:
Motorist, at gas station, with broken car...
"How much to fix this <broken component>?"
"$75"
"What? How much is <trival component that needs replacing>?"
"$2.95"
"How much to borrow a screwdriver?"
In North Carolina there is the Shelby Hamfest. When I used to go it was the largest in the country. Really fun to walk around and see all the old stuff for sale. I really miss that...
I know they still have it, maybe I should check it out again.
New Jersey has the Trenton Computer Festival every year. The outdoor flea market there has just about everything imaginable. The latest hi-tech gadgets on one table, Commodore-64's on the next.
When you can get it new for damn cheap on pricewatch or used for damn cheap on ebay, what market is left for something like this?
MIT's Swap has always sounded pretty mythical, and I think that helps it to attract people. But for most other flea markets, I can't see why they would focus on technology and pidgeon hole themselves into one category when they can run a generalized flea market and attract a wider demographic.
"Nobody owns the fucking words man." - James Dean
The Greater Baltimore Hamboree and Computerfest, at the MD state fairgrounds is in April... Check here for details: http://www.gbhc.org/
-MattT *** Not speaking for my employer, or any other sentient beings ***
I remember quite a few years ago now that there was certainly a lot of Hamfests and stuff in the UK. And they had everything you could possibly need or want, at the time it was mostly Electronic Componenets and stuff, but no doubt now there is certainly a larger amount of computer gear too.
http://www.computercentralshows.com/
Also found these guys on Google:
http://www.giantcomputershow.com/
-B
Not that this wasn't entirely predictable.
There is a *huge* HAMfest every year at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium (take the exit for Padonia Road off 695). Basically, three big buildings filled with HAM & old computer stuff, plus the parking lot is *filled* with people selling/trading their old equipment. I am a link to the website. The event is generally in April or May and costs $5 to get in. Check out the site for more info. I've gone a few years and picked up a lot of good equipment.
Every once in a while I like to masturbate a new word into my vocabulary, even if I don't know what it means.
First saterday of every month starts at 12am in the morning.. on Ross street by deep ellum.. its great.
Go to www.robertaustin.com. They're the only ones I know of and they're just like the old days.
./
Two hours north of you, the DuPont company is still dismantling itself. Their "excessed equipment" sales can be pretty great... although me and my buddies already picked through all the PC and mac stuff, you can still get old VAXen on occasion, and gigantic industrial robots.
The only problem is you never know what is going to be there until you get there.
And it's kind of disturbing how fast the more exotic animal-torturing equipment sells... I think the direct nerve stimulation devices lasted about 48 hours.
--Charlie
Try hamfests.. they are usually run by local HAM radio clubs. I know there are a ton of the. One near you is huge in Gaithersburg, maryland.. They have it every year and if you cant find it there you cant find it.
It occurs to me that there will probably be a lot of "me too" posts that will be asking for info on posts in their area. Why don't we make a central site to inform geeks of all varieties of events like this? A simple CGI script...select your area, and you get a listing of upcoming computer-trade events. I'm sure someone would be willing to donate bandwidth and space for a site like this...hell, I'd even do it if people were interested. If enough people email me, I'd set one up.
Of course, there'd have to be some safety rules. Posters would have to include their address and phone number, so it could be checked up on in case of a hoax. Perhaps it would only be to the admin of the site, or perhaps it would be posted; the details would need to get worked out. But it strikes me as a good idea, and a great way for everyone to stay on the same page. I am sure that there are swapmeets and events going on in my area (Oregon) that I'll never hear about...
There's no sig like this sig anywhere near this sig, so this must be the sig.
I am surprised there aren't more telnet based BBS's on the net. Obviously low tech, but there seems to be a lot of people pineing for the days of BBSes.
Make different discussion areas, have levels, so the more you post, the higher your level, door games. You could have it all.
It would be a low tech underground for all the high tech geeks.
Twice a year there is a serious "computer show" at Timonium Fairgrounds in Baltimore county. It isn't like the monster truck rallies you mention(I can hear the cheesy MarketPro ads now "Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Come to the computer show and sale... Full computer, super VGA, CD-ROM...")
They are not really swap-fests, but there is a whole lot of tailgating, plus the usual vendors, plus vendors selling electronic equipment, gadgets, and bizaare stuff. Often local computer groups or schools are there. Anybody else go to these things? Maybe we should turn them into something more like a swap-fest.
As usual, I made a mistake. The swap meet is held the last Sunday of every *ODD* month. The next one will be in September.
Being from the DC area, if you want inexpensive computer components I would urge you to actually try the Market Pro Computer Show and Sale. You can find information about the shows at this link.
Although they are advertised as you said "'Comptuer Show and Sale and Monster Truck Rally' events advertised constantly on cheapo UHF stations," they are mostly filled with local (DC/MD/VA) vendors and some out-of-area (PA/NY/NJ) sellers who sell computers and computer compenents. I would not recommend this show for any novice computer user. I do extensive research of the product(s) I want to buy before I go there; because the phrase caveat emptor is very appropriate.[1]
However, since you mentioned you wanted more of a swap fest, this may not be for you. You might try...
There are also fedral auctions at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) which sell many components. However, most of them are really old government surplus. My step-father once picked up three 9 inch floppy drives there (it was part of a pallet where he wanted the plotter). I don't know the URL of the auctions but you can goto the GSFC Website and search for it. Google may work as well.
Finally there are HAMfests in the DC area you can go to. Not being a HAM operator/user I don't know of any. Once again, google may help.
[1] My friend once claims that he bought a motherboard from a computer show that was not FCC compliant (made in China) and interfered with radio devices. I have only bought a bad harddisk once which the (local) vendor was happy to replace. Again, caveat emptor.
Well we used to have HAMFEST around here a lot. Haven't seen any advertisements for one lately, then again I haven't been looking. It's possible that the Marketpro shows (that you mentioned) muscled it out of the way. Walking around was fun at HAMFESTS, lot of cool tech junk.
I'm the big fish in the big pond bitch.
I've never been to one of 'em, but there are the computer expos that are held out at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds, some place down in Annandale and out near Dulles. They may also have them at the DC Armory every now and again. www.marketpro.com May have vintage stuff there -- I think the focus is mostly on buying components, but hey, most of those small computer shops I'm sure have a load of stuff they can't "move" as new merchandise too.
Look into finding local HAMfests. These are usually weekend events sponsored by HAM radio operator clubs. HAMfests usually have a good bit of computer stuff to since many HAM operators tinker with computers and packet radio.
In your area, a big one happens (or at least happened while I still was in Virginia several years back) in Timonium, MD. HAMs would take over the fairgrounds and spread out all sorts of hardware - Radio, computer, and other. You could pick up used hardware, crazy home cooked gadgets, and just junk. Everything from high end components from retailers (the computer show crowd) to used 8088s from an old HAM.
Carl G. Jung
--
"With one breath, with one flow, You will know Synchronicity" -La Policia
Texas Instruments has sidewalk sales for those who live in the Dallas Texas area.
BTW: Anybody heard of something like this in the Pittsburgh area?
SIGSIG -- signature too long (core dumped)
For those in the D.C. area, NASA Goddard has surplus property auctions. I've never been, but it looks like they have some pretty cool junk.
Diagnostic equipment (scopes, probes, signal generators, etc.) is abundant.
A good place to look for one in the U.S. is the American Radio Relay League website.
from the the-bazaar-for-the-bazaar dept.
I'm pretty sure that was an attempt at a joke, but if it was, it should have been "the bazaar-for-the-bizarre". Timmy!
And hey, since I'm ranting: Why is a question about local events being propelled into worldwide distribution? I mean, I guess if I ever need to travel 2000 miles to DC to pick up used computer junk, I'll be set. Timmy!
Feel free to mod me down: I accept that as a consequence of being off-topic. But since the topic is lame, I'm off-lame, which is probably the same as cool. I can live with that. Timmy!
Check your local flea markets. You might find yourself amazed at how many flea markets have a couple of stands full of hard drives, RAM, keyboards, components and CD-Rom drives. I picked up a 21" sun monitor at one for 40 bucks, complete with a 13W3 connector. I also bought a CD-Rom that didn't work, but I was able to run back in time to return it. It's certainly buyer beware, but I've found everything from Vic-20's to C64's to Pentium II's - and all for sale at cut rate deals. And don't get me started on how many Macintosh Performa's there are out there.
http://www.coganfairs.com Connecticut/ Rhode Island
The U of I runs a surplus store that's very seldom open, Thursdays during the day I believe, but I hear they have great junk.
Most people would die sooner than think; in fact, they do.
I used to live in the DC area and there were plenty of really good hamfests, which always had tons of computer stuff. I live in Austin, TX now, and the local hamfest-type scene is *pathetic*.
Look for the Hamfests in Bowie, Timonium and Manassas. The Gaithersburg hamfest (F.A.R.Fest) was the biggest I remember, but since I've left the area, I think it moved to Bowie. I remember plenty of smaller ones, but the smaller ones tended to be more oriented to amateur radio, and less cool technology junk.
I run an online event guide called EventNation.com. I would love to see more of these kinds of events listed on the site. We have a swap meet section on the site here. If you know about events like these, post 'em! If we start getting more computer related swap meets listed, I'll add a subcategory for them.
Scott EventNation.com
Most hamfests have a large flea market area that is electronics of all types. The last time I went to a Baltimore area hamfest they were at least 50% computer stuff as apposed to radio stuff. In the Baltimore area I know that there are 2 such events at the fairgrounds every summer that are large, there is one in Gathersburg in Sept. http://www.qrz.com or http://www.arrl.org are good places to look for event listings.
For those on the Space coast the PCARS Melbourne Hamfest is coming up this Sept 8th in Melbourne, FL. Most events like thses charge around $6 for admission and the money goes to the radio club for use in maintaining repeaters and other stuff that might come in handy during an emergency.
yeah i live in dc annandale, va actually. the computer show and sale thing you see on tv and hear on the radio is a ripoff. you're right about that one. most of the companies involved in taht have legit store fronts in the area. and the prices are the same you just don't have to spend $5 at the door with a coupon. there are a few shops in town that have an amazing selection of old goodies. practical computer in alexandria, computer renaissance in landmark (alexandria). practical actually has a very decent selection from a big vax i saw in there one day to sgi indy. and i mean indy the blue box w/the spatter paint on it. and scsi boxes galore. sun monitors. there are a few shops in twon you just need to know where to go.
You see a problem, I see potential. - Vincent 'Vinnie' Antonelli
This is a fairly old (about 20 years) swap meet with a useful mixture of new dealers, so you can buy the latest stuff and used 'treasures' side by side. I often leave with far more stuff than I planned on, just because of the unusual items that you see. Last month, I got an RS/6000 560 for $20. There is no cost for admission and parking can be a problem, if you are unable to walk more than 200 yards. It is run the last Sunday of every month in Santa Ana, CA.
-foxxz
and you forget the monster show every may. the Dayton Hamfest. at least 3 times the computer equipment, and many more types of goodies :-) many thousands make the treck every year from all corners of this country.
Anyone want my Commodore Vic 20? lol
Hi!
These are my favorite Maryland Hamfests, in order of preference:
Greater Baltimore Hamboree and Computerfest - the event mentioned by the previous poster. A big two-day event in April in Timonium. See http://gbhc.org/.
BRATS Ham/ComputerFest. A big one-day event in July in Timonium. See http://www.bratsatv.org/hamfest.html.
CARA Hamfest. I always enjoy this event, even though it's relatively small. Occurs in September, in West Friendship. See http://www.qsl.net/cara/
FARFest. This one used to be very big, but their move to Bowie a couple of years ago greatly decreased their attendance. Occurs in September. See http://www.amateurradio-far.org/
There are events in other US states too, of course. See http://www.arrl.org/hamfests.html. Some Virginia hamfests should also be convenient for folks living in the DC area.
- Tim
Down here, we have what's called "First Saturday" and it happens, well, just guess when. A HUGE number of vendors, some shady, some real businesses come down and sell computer parts, electronic junk, ham radio stuff, and anything else you'd find at a garage sale. Things down there are CHEAP. I got an Athlon 1.0 GHz "C" AXIA for $90 down there, works perfectly with no problems. It's not exactly a swap-a-thon, but it's the closest we have. There's also 3rd Saturday, but I think that's died out by now. My $0.02 Tim
checking for libvirus... no
ERROR, libvirus.so not found, terminating
So the thing would be to find out what are the major tech/science schools in the DC area. Approach them with the MIT model, and then, when the arrangements are made, promote it to all of those tech/science schools. You should be able to break even, and maybe even make a buck or to to help finance your other research projects.
Heck, you might even wind up with tables of surplus spook gear.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
What's up with this old junk fettish people have? Those things take a lot of space and serve no useful purpose. Unless you are going to sell tickets for an event such as: "The flying cray-1", why do people care?
Later!
I've seen ads for MarketPro Computer Shows On UPN 20 In The DC Area Almost Every Weekend. Never Been To One Though. A quick visit to http://www.Marketproshows.com Might Turn Up A Show.
Just check out www.marketproshows.com I know that they have shows in Baltimore so I don't see why they wouldn't be near D.C. hope that helps
there is a radio & computer rally at RAF Cosford next month i think, i can't remember the exact date... sometime in september anyway. you should be able to get plenty of junk... i mean digital heritage there
Well if people are talking about vintage equipment, does anyone here have a lead or an idea on acquiring a Space Cowboy keyboard?
"...heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will, to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
I too will confirm that there is lots of good stuff to be had out there. Lots of junk too. But I have found things out there that I can't find any place else in Dallas/Fort Worth. There is also a Third Saturday sale in the West End on the Third Saturday of the month.
This used to be in Mesquite at the Big Town exhibit hall but has since moved out to the West End in Dallas.
http://www.3rdsaturday.com/ has details for those who are interested. -brent-
OK, i don't really post as much as I should, but damn, I know a good post when i see it! Why is this offtopic? Should be at least +1 Funny.
I didn't know this was a treat only for us Bostonians. Why don't you start your own, that's how the MIT swapfest started... Not with Computers but HI-FI equipment. The HAMies then took over and then sometime during the 80s the Computer geeks stole the show. If you don't have it, DIY!!!
They probably wouldn't care if you posted an ask slashdot about where to buy laptops in Zimbabwe. It would probably devolve into a bunch of chatter about the third world in general, kind of like this lost it's DC only angle pretty quickly.
So post away about swap meats in New Zealand or whatever. And stop whining.
Does anyone know of any events like this in the UK?
I don't know if they still do it, but the University of Waterloo used to sell surplus junk on the first wednesday of each month. They usually had decent stuff.
The difference between Canada and the USA is that in Canada healthcare is a right and gun ownership is a privilege.
I have a closetful of 486's, old cards, 5 inch drives, ect that I would love to sell.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
They come around in these big hot air balloons that look like the moon. I think they hit all the major metropolitan areas.
Yes, and Texas Nerds are usually very proud of the 2nd Amendment, and Texas does has a concealed carry permit law. There's also lots of off-duty cops around too, in street clothes. No one in their right mind would attempt to mug anyone there, they'd get beat up, shot, thrown in jail, or some combination of those things.
2. As I'm looking for a battery for my calculator, the salesdroid asks if he can "help". I ask to see the battery cross-reference book. He cops an attitude and insists that there is no such thing as a battery cross-reference book. I insist that there is. He demands to know if I've ever actually seen one, and if so, where. I tell him I saw one at the last RatShack I visited... "the one to which I'm returning now!"
I've given up on RatShack.
Mail? Put "slashdot" in the subject to pass the spam filters.
Join a local LUG and talk to those people. This is a great way to network with other geeks who may know where the best swap-meet/computer surplus/auctions are. Also, if you work for a tech company, talk to your coworkers about computer surplus at work (and other workplaces). Often large companies auction their old stuff, but you have to know when and where. Only insiders will know.
This shouldn't be filed under hardware /. posted a 'Ask Slashdot' about where to buy a good laptop in Zimbabwe.
but under America.
If you disagree then you wouldn't care if I
At the university of waterloo here they have monthly surplus sales. I saw all kinds of great stuff while I was there... so check with the local universities...
--
Some weasel took the cork out of my lunch.
We don't have much in that department. There are of course the Martket Pro shows, which is where I get almost everything, but they just sell, no swaps. The only other close thing is a place called SmartCo, which is local to St Mary's county to my knowledge. It takes surplus and old computer equipment from the local naval base and has volunteers rebuild them for schools. The old policy also allowed you to scavenge for yourself on occasion if you volunteered enough.
Due to the dismal lack of such things locally to my knowledge, I'm also much anticipating the results of this inquiry...
http://thechubbyferret.net - Ferret pictures and informative links.
[managed to get a refurbed 21" trinitron for $300 a couple of years back, some APC 2200s for $600 each, etc.]
For more info, see:(As it's coming up at the end of the month)
I highly suggest getting there as early as you can on Saturday, and if you find a deal, go for it, as it might not still be there by the time you go around the entire place (it's a massive computer show).
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
There are one or two places in the eastern Pennsylvania area that buy up used systems from those washed up dotcoms and sell parts/systems at much less than retail, i picked up 3 western digital hard drives sized 8-13gigs for $10US each
bah
Market Pro Shows (http://www.marketproshos.com) does computer shows and sales, but they're for modern equipment. They have shows all over Maryland and Virginia. The closest to the DC area would be New Carrolton.
I've been to both. The HAMfest is nalstolgic, and I been able to get a base for an old Compaq laptop there.
--
# Canmephians for a better Linux Kernel
$Stalag99{"URL"}="http://stalag99.net";
For computers ans amateur radios to get fleas?
Who would buy or trade something that is flea infested?
Ever since computers started invading Hamfests in
the mid 80's, they have been a great place to buy
new and used parts at the lowest possible prices.
For a list see:
http://www.arrl.org/hamfests.html#listing
The University of Maryland in College Park runs the "Terrapin Trader", which has everything you could ever want. You can see some of their stuff here (click on inventory, then Data Processing for the computer stuff). It wasn't so long ago that they were giving away Alphas! Looking at it now, I see a lot of Sparcstations and some older PCs. Worth a look.
When I lived in Northern Virginia in the 70's, I recall a huge hamfest/computerfest that was run by AMRAD, which is based near Dulles Airport. I don't see anything on their website about events (the link is broken), but you could call them. I never went to one of their events, but I always wanted to. I usually heard about them after they happened.....
It pretty much went downhill after the city kicked everyone out from under the highway bridge, though.
Now its just a commercial sale.
I haven't visited it in about two decades, so I'm not sure if it is still in the style of the classic computer swapmeets that I grew up with. In the good old days you could buy cool stuff for your TRS-80 there :)
Personally I would prefer the Monster Truck Computer show, I've been going to puter shows in atlanta for years and not ONCE have I been able to buy a hard drive and look at GRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAVEEEEDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGER in the same show. Personally I think Monster trucks and semi used equipment sounds like a winning combo..hmm hey wait a second...a linux controlled monstor truck...this would rule then linux could literally STOMP M$!
Don't forget the Defense Reutilization Management Office of your local military installation. You may not find all the fancy-next-to-new stuff that you are looking for, but you can find an impressive array of other stuff. Like a 6 hour 250 UPS. Yes, 6 hour. And, yes, it's freaking huge.
You can call the main information number and they will eventually transfer you to the correct number. Most installations have the "auctions" on a monthly basis. Kind of like re-installing windows...
Well, the 2 hamfests in Timonium have been mentioned; one is in the spring and the other is the last weekend in July. There are others; check ARRL. York PA is 15..16 Sep, Columbia MD is 23 Sep, the FARfest in Bowie is 30 Sep.
You might also look into State of MD Surplus in Jessup. Not to mention your friendly local DRMO store. I got several UPSes at DRMO Aberdeen (now closed); paid $35 each. At DRMO it's where-is, as-is, but you can usually try the electronic stuff before you buy it.
The next big hamfest in the area is the Bowie MD Hamfest located at the Bowie Baysox Stadium parking lot. The stadium is located just South of US Rt 50 on US 301, about 8 miles East of the DC Beltway. IIRC the date is Sunday September 16, and most hamfests usually start letting in tailgaters around 6am. If you want a smaller flea market sooner, our radio club is holding a tailgate fest at the Pleasant Hill PA Fire Department near Hanover PA on August 26.
Well, then you suck.
The rules are simple: (1)Nothing gets left behind, and (2)There are no exceptions to Rule #1.
This weekend there is another free outdoor computer swap meet sponsored by some community-minded private parties.
Got some junk?