The Nvcf
 

Hi All,

Please keep any questions about the NVCF on Sunday in this thread and look out for any late news flashes here!

BWVS Members: IMPORTANT ANNOUNCMENT

It is important that you bring your membership card with you and show it at the cash office.
There is a specific BVWS member benefit, but NO CARD - NO BENEFIT!
The guys in the cash office cannot be expected to do any checking on your membership status that is up to you to prove at the door.

They will not ask you if you are a member, it is up to you to proudly wave your card around in front of them.

This benefit is for VISITORS ONLY (early entry and normal time) and not for stall holders or their helpers as they are already receiving a reduced stall price.

There will be a large display of working Early Telegraph equipment on display at the far end of the hall.
The display includes many fully working items that will be demonstrated with set tours from 12:00 onwards on the hour.

The display is being hosted by Fons Vanden Berghen, who is transporting a large amount of his private collection to the UK especially for this event.
It will certainly be a very interesting display of equipment.

I hope everyone has a good day and finds lots of bargains.

See you there (I'll be the one that looks like he has not slept in days...)


Mike...

Re: The Nvcf
 

Hi All,

Forgot to say that there will be a Bring & Buy table at the NVCF.

It will be situated next to the BVWS table just to the side of the entrance ramp into the hall from the front entrance.
So you can dump that very heavy piece of radio history just as you come in rather than walking around looking for it.
The table will be hosted by a very friendly set of Forum volunteers throughout the day between 10:30 and 15:00.


Running the risk of getting my hand slapped by a moderator, and as I cannot see the "BVWS Parts Dept" post anywhere now.

There will be a supply of Brand New manufacture 0.1uf 630v long Axial leaded high quality metallised polyester film capacitors for sale on the BVWS stall.
This is in response to a long ago thread here.

They will be selling at 40p each to BVWS members (card needed) and 50p each to non members (max of 50 pieces per sale)
Get them while you can!

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Well I have just arrived after a long and tiring, but thoroughly enjoyable day. I arrived at the hall at 6am and was manning one of the doors from 7am to 9am when the vendors were unloading.

I took a lot of photos of the event and telegraph display for the NVCF website, so they should appear in a few days (I'll post here when they are online).

Although telegraphy is not my area of interest, I joined Fons' last demonstration and explanation at 4pm and found it very interesting. I hope some of you found half an hour to attend one of those, as it was worthwhile.

Everyone who had taken the radios and other stuff I offered collected them. It would good to see most of you at my car at 12 noon, as it was helpful to do most of them in one go. Dave Moll received his IBM PC AT too.

The food was reasonable, though some parts of my breakfast (at around 9:15am) were not as hot as I would have liked. It was a lot better than a motorway services breakfast though - and after a 5am start it was very much needed!

The event itself seemed busier this year to me. At around 10:30 the queue for entry extended back to the car park. For the first hour or so of normal entry time the hall was very busy so some patience was needed, but everyone seemed good natured.

I didn't spend much money, but hadn't intended to (due to house move). I paid for and collected a Cossor FM alignment generator from Steve Harris that I had claimed from his magazine a few months ago. I also bought a pair of Bose 205 (I think) speakers for £20 - sold as working. These are intended for wall mounting and should be better than the little Acoustic Solutions ones with my workshop 80's hi-fi setup.

I met several forum members throughout the day, and it was good to see you all. Sorry to those of you I didn't recognise even though I met you last year - I am useless with names and not much better with faces....

All in all, a great day out, and I'm looking forward to next year.

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Hi All

Big thank you to all those who put in such a lot of hard work to make this such an enjoyable event.
I had no intention of spending serious money, but on lap 2 of the hall I noticed an unusual set hiding behind a 50s Bush. It's an "Austin Super" made in 1933 by the City Accumulator Company. As I've owned a 1933 Austin 16 for 40 years I just had to have it ! It turned out to be the one Steve Harris sold last year (to another Austin car owner), and which I just missed. I bought it for the same price, which, though not cheap, is a hell of a lot less than any round Ekco, and MUCH rarer.
And I had to buy some 0.1 caps from the BVWS stall!

Thanks again

Ian Blackbourn

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Very good to meet up with a lot of people today - I am amazed that I found anyone through the crowds!

Turning to the event now....

I have to say that some of the comments I made last year are no longer relevant.

The traders seemed to respect the need for walkways, and there seemed to be much more room at the bottom of the hall

There was a good mix of stuff available, and the display looked very good indeed.

The organisation seemed to be up to its usual exemplary standards - something that Mike and the team of unsung heros ought to be congratulated on - the event did seem to have a better "feel" this year!

I think the only possible request, or comment I could mention, would be - Could the entry be improved in any way? - I know the layout might not permit this, but a few more people taking the cash might reduce the queue! - not a grumble really, but if the weather was bad, there would have been an awful lot of wet visitors!

Hmm, prices, well, I guess they will always be high - that being said, I did pick up a reasonable TV62 for £90 - took a bit of haggling, but well worth the effort!

I wonder if the German chap managed to shift the huge pile of damaged Volksempfanger sets - IMO a little optimistic on pricing, and didnt really understand the concept of haggling! - I couldnt justify a VE301, incomplete and a smashed case for £80.00, so walked away - shame really, as I think one would be good to restore!

On balance, a good day - would have liked to spend longer there, but my youngest does not really appreciate the joys of radio events....

Cheers
Sean

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I think the German chap (who was the same one who bought a lot of sets at Wootton Bassett in January) was mainly there to buy, and stacked his table with junk that he couldn't sell in Germany! He tended to leave his partner to man the stall while he went around shopping. I don't think he was anything like as successful as he was in January.

With the aisles, Mike and the venue manager were much more strict on how much people could put in front of tables. I think the layout was also changed a bit, with wider aisles and narrower spaces between tables for stallholders.

The initial setup was also much better this year, with doors on both sides of the hall used (last year only the one side was used). Use of the second side is subject to the weather though, as that side is the paddock.

The committee did look at the issues raised last year and tried where possible to make appropriate improvements. I don't know what can be done about the initial paying and entry, but it is something we can discuss. We have to hope for dry weather though, as people will have to queue outside.

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The food voucher for BVWS members was quite useful, I had cheese and pickle sandwich plus tea for £2. Although the pickle used wasn't the 'Branston' sort and tasted a bit strange for my liking.
Brought a couple of radios after some haggling, and some caps. from the BVWS stall.
Seen a rather nice dual standard colour TV for sale (about £400 was the asking price), a bit too big for me being on my own though. A very good day out today.

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A big thanks to all who put in the time and hard work to make this another enjoyable event.
we arrived about 10.40 when the queue was back to the car park but it kept moving and within about 10 minutes we were in. Thought the hot food was well priced and good quality, also did cheaper kids portions (took 10yr old son).
Thought the layout was good, enjoyed the telegraphy display, found many required spares

Well done BVWS!

Greg

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We had a good day (met my Dad and my Uncle there), I got rid of a lot of stuff, mainly in the car park, and made use of the bring and buy - I hope this will be a permanent feature.

The organisation was excellent, and the price of food and entry was set at a reasonable level. As others have said, it was much easier to move around, as the aisles were kept clear.

Thanks to all who made it happen

Jim.

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I enjoyed it as well :D Under instructions not to buy any radios or tv's ( off to the US on friday to collect me aurora ;) ) i came home with a bag full of bits that i just know will find homes.
It occured to me on the journey down from manchester how many forum members might make up the 'congregation' to whom it would have been nice to say hello....
Fab event as usual :D

Stu ;)

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Hi

If the Dual Standard CTV was the same one I saw, it was a very nice indeed KB-CVCi, Surely the most desireable of all the production dual standard sets. I passed this stall many times, but as a pensioner the £495 is way beyond my means. But it looked like new. I would like to have seen it working! Anyway I prefer doing the restoration myself.

A couple of points:
Would it be possible, if another lecture is held at this venue for some chairs to be provided, I could not not stand still for more than twenty minutes. Also because so much background noise was coming from the hall that it was difficult bo hear the speaker. A radio mic, and some low level amplification would help.
I know that a layout sheet was posted in the hall, but was not very obvious
Could a photocopied sheet of the layout be given to each customer?

Anyway, "A Great Day Out" ( with apologies ot Wallace and Gromitt), apart from Harpenden, and Wootton Basset that is.

Regards

ALAN

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We used to do this when it was at the NEC and most people didn't use them. We'd probably have to get 1500 copies done, which is a lot of paper that will inevitably end up in the hall bins or (more likely) on the hall floor to be cleared up. Maybe a few more copies around the hall would help?

I spent over half an hour today clearing up rubbish on the floor and tables once the stallholders had left - two bin-bags full.... Plus there was stuff stacked up by bins. We don't need any more, since we have to pay for disposal of excessive rubbish (which is basically anything other than catering rubbish).

Which reminds me - I rescued a little wooden Ultra set (possibly FM950) which was left on a table, labelled "SOLD", at the end of the day. If it is yours, PM me to claim it (as proof, let me know roughly where in the hall you bought it). Otherwise I'll put it in the Wootton Bassett bring-and-buy with proceeds to BVWS funds.

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Yes - it was a indeed good event; as to improvements in future events, I cannot think of anything at all.
Good to meet a few more people as well; like Paul I am useless at recognising faces.
There were a lot of bargains as well as some of the prices being in the realms of fantasy; I resisted as I have a big "awaiting restoration" pile.
The Murphy version of a TR130 and the RS millivoltmeter were tempting, though.
The stall layout was much better - it was easy now to ensure that you visited every one of them.
We had to miss the talk as I needed to head back soon after 2:00, and if there was no seating it would not be possible to stand up for more than about five minutes.
A great effort on everyone's part who made this possible.
One minor point; although I now know where the venue is, the map on the website is a tad confusing!

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Great show. You tend to hear the grumbles long before the praise and the amount of grumbling was minuscule. Apparently the venue is planning an upgrade to the foyer area which should give a lot more indoor queueing space. Wet weather wouldn't be so much fun as we could only use half of the loading doors.

Somehow I managed to miss Sean! He's not exactly petite and was said to be wearing a bright yellow t-shirt.

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Hello,

I had no problems finding the venue (even though my satnav didn't quite get it right) and I paid £20 to get in early, worth it I think as the queue which formed outside was some 200 yards long by 10:30.

I met lots of friendly forum members during the day and also a group from Dublin who collected an old Philips set from me for onward transmission to maitustandun. However I missed Josh for whom I had a mustard yellow Roberts RIC2, maybe at the next event, Josh ?

Not only were there radios there but quite a lot of old hi-fi kit which I enjoyed looking at (I'm currently looking for an original 1983 Marantz CD63 CD player) and there were even a couple of nice early Linn Sondek LP12 turntables there at very reasonable prices, one at just £235.

At the back of the hall was a display of old telegraph equipment from Holland which all looked in extremely nice condition.

There was a stall selling US built radios sets, some of which were rather nice, but far too expensive !

Having passed on a mint Hacker Sovereign IV RP77MB at £60, I bought several cheap scrap Hacker, Roberts and Bush radios and also, at long last, a nice 1967 RRR Astrad Solar multiband set for £10, which completes my collection of USSR built transistor radios :)

Howard :)

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I must add my thanks for a brilliant event. The layout and organisation was excellent, so much so that it is only this morning that I even thought about it. Moving around the stalls was no problem, last year it was a bit crowded so the organisers should be very pleased with themselves at the result of their efforts.

The general atmosphere at the venue somehow gave the impression that it was a long established friendly event, without any hint of outsiders being fitted in to a cool commercial enterprise that I felt at the NEC .

Again, the car parking is one of the great advantages, it does not discourage buying bulky items, perhaps the fine weather also helped but compared with the long trek at NEC there is no contest and at no extra charge.

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Just to add my tuppence worth - easy to get to, great parking, very enjoyable, well organised, very friendly people, lots of good stuff - and thanks for the Murphy Paul!
Look forward to next year
Cheers
Andy

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A very enjoyable day out!

I met a few old faces, and missed some others, and actually managed to avoid buying anything despite there being many tempting goodies on offer. I really must get rid of some junk to make room for for such goodies before the next meeting.

Most importantly I should like to offer a very big thank you to all the guys who organised it for their hard work, most of it unseen by the visitors, in making it a splendid day.

Joe

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Yep, great day out, just as expected, thanks to all those who made it possible. The venue is very pleasant with friendly staff and is and easy to get to from most regions.
I soon became one of those who seemed to be forming a human chain carrying radios from the hall to the car park :).
Neil

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I'll add to the Praise side of things as well. As you know I'm not entirely mobile at the moment and I got round OK more than once.

Dilys said something about Parking, but she's a woman and you know what they say about women and car parks. And I got in OK so it can't have been that bad.

Ouch! Who threw that half-brick...

Cheers and well done,

Steve + Dilys

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Yes, I put the post code in my satnav, and it took me to a village nearby. I just kept following the road though and found it no problem. I have now saved the correct place in my satnav as a "point of interest", so I am sorted for next year.

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I intended to be there for a couple of hours, which in the end became 5.5 hours.

It took several eveneings of moving stuff to get to the HP spectrum analyser for Jim Beacon, which indicates just how tight for space I am. So what possessed me to buy a thumping great Sobell telly off of Andy Beer I don't know :) In fact just got back after lunch, having conned a workmate into helping us shift the beast out the back of the motor !

The security bods were much more sensible than the gestapo that lurcked at the NEC. Quick chat to one of the gaurds and there was no prob bringing my car round the back to fetch said telly.

Bought to other tellies, but they are real little 'uns so no storage problems there.

Totally forgot to buy the caps from the NVCF stand though. Doh !

Steve_P : Kept an eye open for you but your hiding tactics were too successful for me :)

TTFN,
Jon

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I put a cross on my low-tech road atlas (remember them?) so I shall definitely find it OK next year.
My comments on the location plan are no big deal; it was just the fact that Hinckley had been moved across to the other side of the M69, the latter did not show junction numbers and the poor little A5 was not shown.
Not a serious problem at all.

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One advantage (not entirely unpremeditated;)) of spending a fair amount of my time on the bring & buy stall was that I didn't have so much time for wandering round making impulse buys - just a couple of "quick" tours of the hall with my shopping list.

Although I returned home with a car pretty much filled to capacity, even though I sold all the items I brought for the bring & buy, most of it was either acquisitions previously agreed through the forum or items from eBayers whom I had established would be at the event.

My only impulse purchases were from the bring & buy stall itself!

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Well my PC, two monitors and the box of stuff took up a fair amount of space!

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A great day out and several good things bought, sorry I forgot about you though Howard!! The space inbetween the rows was a bit cramped at times (especially if you're carrying a Pye Black Box) but I don't have any real complaints. Thanks to all the organisers, Josh.

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I did my first NVCF and thought it was excellent! I arrived at noon :-/ to see loads of people loading there cars and going in for more. I paid my fiver and could not believe how many people were there :o . As a newbie to this radio lark I was amazed at the numbers of sets and how cheap they were. I only bought a few valves and capacitors and an american battery radio. As I am quite a shy person I didnt say hello at the bring and buy. However, I have learnt few lessons for next time:

1. Do not leave the list of parts I need on the dining room table (I only managed to remember half of them >:( )

2. If you see something you want-buy it ! (I went back later and it had been sold :'( )

3. Get there early -I bet there were some great bargains to be had at the start.

Thanks BVWS for my first day away from the wife and kids in over 3 years! :thumbsup:

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Please do come and say hello next time. It's so good to put a face to a forum name.

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Actually I did see you at the stall Dave (unless someone else was wearing your badge). BTW are there any pictures-I did see someone taking some.

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Yes, I have took quite a lot, mostly early when the stalls were full and there weren't that many people to get in the way. I also have some of the telegraph display items.

I'll try to get the good ones onto the NVCF website in the next couple of days.

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Better late than never > i thourily enjoyed the day and came away with 2 nice tellies , one was a Beery castoff too;) Now i need to find some space ...:-)

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Yes it was a great day. I bought some NOS EY51's as my stock was very low and some .1uf caps from the BVWS stall.
I added a HMV octal battery set for £5.00 and a very intersting Beethoven portable model P44 from 1938. It is a TRF, very small and Art Deco. [£13.00] Managed to pass on the huge EMO colour set to a French TV collector and an RGD set both via Jeffrey's excellent bring and buy stall. Next time I'll go by bike thus preventing any possibility of buying anything.......That truck of mine drives better when its full...Regards John.

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Maybe in that case John, you could start a McMichael museum in the back of one of the lorries....

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I have just added lots of photos of the NVCF including the telegraph display to the NVCF website here http://www.nvcf.org.uk/2007/index.htm

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Thanks for putting those up Paul, looks very interesting. Gives me a good idea of what to expect as I hope to make it to the next one.:)

Keith