Photos from the 2019 Charlotte Hamfest

This RS HF receiver was pristine. If I had the budget and the shack space, it would have gone back with me. See more photos in our gallery below.

Yesterday morning around 5:30 AM I started my nearly three hour pilgrimage to the 2019 Charlotte (North Carolina) Hamfest. The Charlotte Hamfest is one of the larger regional hamfests in the area–due to its central location, it attracts people from all of the surrounding states.

The Charlotte Hamfest typically falls on the heels of (or the same weekend as) the Winter SWL Fest in Pennsylvania so I usually don’t even put the dates in my calendar. Indeed, the last time I attended the Charlotte Hamfest was about twenty years ago! It was at a different location and, back then, was also very much a computer show. Today it’s almost purely radio.

Following Vlado to the hamfest site on a very foggy, rainy Saturday morning.

The Charlotte Hamfest is a Friday/Saturday event held at the Cabarrus Arena & Events Center in Concord, NC. The center is a superb hamfest venue: it’s well lit, clean, spacious and can easily house all of the vendors indoors–a huge bonus as weather was less than desirable.

My buddy, Vlado (N3CZ) reserved two vendor tables and packed it with gear to sell–I also brought along a handful of items.

I was very impressed with the turnout–indeed, it was one of the busiest regional hamfests I’ve attended in ages. I sold a couple of items and Vlado sold a lot (he also purchased a lot, but that’s another story!).

I believe I’ll start putting the Charlotte hamfest in my calendar–even though timing isn’t always convenient for me, I think it’s well worth the trip!

Kudos to the Mecklenburg Amateur Radio Society for putting on such a great show!

Photos

I’ve embedded over 140 photos of the Charlotte Hamfest below–click each one to enlarge. Being a lover of vintage radios, my photos feature a lot of boat anchors. Note that when possible, I try to include the price tags for each item.

Note: If you can’t view the embedded photos below in our email digest, click here to view them on the web.

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6 thoughts on “Photos from the 2019 Charlotte Hamfest

  1. Sergio Potes

    Thanks for sharing all those pictures. Very nice Hamfest and a lot of nice radios.
    Congratulations! Sergio AE4TO

    Reply
  2. Lee Spence

    Enjoyed your pics and comments on the Charlotte Hamfest.
    There was a pic taken through your windshield of you following
    Vlado to the Hamfest.

    Was it taken with a Dash Cam? If so I would appreciate the make
    and model and your comments re quality and whether you
    would purchase it again. Or a suggest dash cam to consider.

    Reply
  3. Mario

    Thanks for all the photos Thomas, great to see those old Heathkit, Yaesu and Lafayette radios. Must have taken some willpower to not spend hundreds of dollars on the wares being sold.

    Reply

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