On the amateur radio subreddit, someone complained about the amount of junk that one finds at a hamfest. I can’t seem to find the exact post right now, but the gist of it was that if you expect people to show up at hamfests, then there has to be something more than just junk for them to buy. The fellow opined that it wasn’t any fun going to hamfests and coming back empty-handed because all he could find for sale was junk.
I can’t say that I don’t sympathize with that argument. I realize that one ham’s junk is another man’s treasure, but the volume of junk at hamfests does seem to be increasing, and I’ve gone to many hamfests and returned disappointed that I didn’t find anything worth buying.
I’ve thought for quite a while that it might be possible to make a few bucks by selling microcontrollers, like Arduinos and Raspberry Pi Picos. Of course, I’d also have to sell related boards, such as audio boards, relay boards, etc.
I may just give this a go. Even if I don’t make much money doing this, perhaps it will spur others to start playing around with these things, and ultimately, have more fun with amateur radio.
What do you think? Is there a market for microcontroller stuff at hamfests? What would I need to do to be successful? What could other vendors sell that would make hamfests more fun?