Starting (technically) at 12h00, the Cape Town Amateur Radio Centre held its March meeting on Saturday, 3 March 2018, the first Saturday in March. As has become tradition, this took the form of a flea market / car boot sale, and attracted many radio hams from our membership and surrounding clubs.
The committee members arrived at 10h30 and set up the tables, gazebo, braai fires and chairs. At noon the event formally opened, but by that time a number of sellers had already set up shop and transactions were well under way.
The weather was ideal - clear skies, not hugely hot and the South-Easter held off until late afternoon. A goodly number of sellers (at least 24) brought in their vehicles and sold from tables or out of car boots. An even greater number of radio amateurs and those with related interests (over 70, though it was difficult to count!) were to be seen skoffling through boxes, picking up exotic RF-related items to examine for burn marks, and negotiating relative impedances. Many of them were to return home afterwards with emptier wallets and heavier car boots, their tread lightened with the knowledge that they had found The Unfindable Component and/or the Widget That They Had Always Wanted To Own. Creativity was duly applied to compose just why the hokkie required this particular item when confronted by spouses standing at the conjugal doorway to homesteads - lightly fingering the proverbial rolling pin....
There was a huge variety of ham gear on offer, ranging from ancient rusty chunks of valve equipment through to high-end solid state rigs, test equipment and accessories. Sufficient to make the mouth to water and the purse strings (after an appropriate haggle) to loosen.
Throughout the day, our fine team of ladies under the gazebo tirelessly dispensed boerewors rolls (expertly braaied by ZR1VOX) and liquid refreshments.
In the later part of the day, the raffle tickets (bought by sellers but also open to anyone else to buy too) were drawn, (with the assistance of Desiree / ZR1VOX who drew the winning tickets at random, Noel / ZS1FW who had sold the tickets, and our chairman, Rob / ZS1SA, who announced the winners). Kobus / ZS1K walked off with a handsome Yaesu cap, and Peter / ZS1PGC collected a fine bottletjie wyn that had been observed with covetous eyes in previous meetings.
At around 16h30, most stuff that was going to sell had changed hands, and the event started winding down. Thank you to the sterling efforts of the CTARC Committee to make it happen and to set it up, to the dear catering ladies who sustained us with their greatly appreciated refreshments, to the sellers who provided the reason for the flea market to exist, and to all who attended. We look forward to doing it all again next year!
Photos of the event: [Batch 1] [Batch 2] [Batch 3] [Batch 4] [Batch 5]
