Flea at MIT.

They used to be great,...
As I PMed @VetteGirlMA in Jun'19 (in part):

Here's the Flea@MIT summary I EMailed @Len-2A Training
when he got his license ... [and partially recapitulated here]:​
While there will be a vendor selling coax connectors, etc.,​
unfortunately it is less than 10% ham oriented. Most people are​
selling used electronics, old rusty tools, lab glassware (start a​
meth lab?), showing off their authentic boilerplate Gemini​
capsule, etc. They run 3rd Sundays, Apr-Oct, and I attend​
2-3/year - every one I can, but I won't rearrange my life for​
them. ...​
But print a copy of the flyer to save a buck.​
"Won't rearrange my life" means "won't roll out of bed at 7AM in a rush to get to MIT by 9AM".​

And OBTW, I wasn't sh¡tting her about a boilerplate Gemini capsule being there one time.

In reality the guy was probably bragging that he owned a boilerplate Gemini capsule
and most of the other attendees probably didn't.
But in theory it was a way to troll for people who had Gemini instrumentation
that he was willing to buy at exorbitant prices in order to equip his capsule
to make it less boilerplatey...
 
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It's probably been 20 yrs since I attended one of the MIT Flea Markets. What I remember most was electronic parts, many of which resembled the mil-surplus collection we could buy from Eli Hefron back then. Rechargeable batteries, capacitors, diodes, wire, old computer junk, etc. I wasn't a ham back then, but it was mostly geared to the electronics junkie.

I totally minimize my exposure to MA at this point, so no interest in attending. I will attend HamXposition later this year however.
 
The last time I attended MIT flea market, I missed out on a brand new mini mill still shrink wrapped for $350.00 I should have peeled off the cash but there was no place to plug it in and see if it worked properly.

I made a pile of cash selling stuff though.......100% all of it came from dumpsters. [laugh]
 
It's cheaper entertainment than a gun show, although the range of items is pretty similar when it comes to quality. Prices are usually pretty cheap and often negotiable. It's sometimes good for finding oddball parts if you're trying to resurrect an older piece of gear.

For $5.00 it's a decent way to kill part of morning. Plus, you can see the Cambridge Freak Parade as you drive around.
 
... Most people areselling used electronics, old rusty tools, lab glassware (start a meth lab?), ...
But considering we're talking about MIT...
24586474e26225afc539330f3d218d39a1d6aba8df0994bd0c2fa55031ef1cf2.jpg

Hat tip: Instapundit reader JK Brown
 
I was already there by the time you posted this. Spent about an hour wandering through the various tables.

The usual assortment of stuff was there. People overall seemed happy that it was back. There were a few ham radio items there, maybe a bit less than in the past. Then again Hosstraders/NEAR Fest is at the end of the month so a lot of people are holding on to their stuff until then.

Not many masktards, but a few. It amazes me that the "smartest people in the world" go to MIT, yet they believe that a mask that is as porous as a coffee filter will protect them from the plague that has a 98% survival rate.

The freak show was there and it baffles me how people have convinced some otherwise attractive young women to dress like homeless people and dye their hair colors not found in nature.

I bought two no ham related items. A clamp on work lamp and a Marx Brothers movie DVD collection. The worn out tool guy was there with his collection of worn out tools for sale. The Enigma Machine guy was there. No commercial vendors, which was unusual. There's usually one or two with an assortment of connectors and other accessories, some of them radio related.



NES meetup at the MIT flea?
 
I was already there by the time you posted this. Spent about an hour wandering through the various tables.

The usual assortment of stuff was there. People overall seemed happy that it was back. There were a few ham radio items there, maybe a bit less than in the past. Then again Hosstraders/NEAR Fest is at the end of the month so a lot of people are holding on to their stuff until then.

Not many masktards, but a few. It amazes me that the "smartest people in the world" go to MIT, yet they believe that a mask that is as porous as a coffee filter will protect them from the plague that has a 98% survival rate.

The freak show was there and it baffles me how people have convinced some otherwise attractive young women to dress like homeless people and dye their hair colors not found in nature.

I bought two no ham related items. A clamp on work lamp and a Marx Brothers movie DVD collection. The worn out tool guy was there with his collection of worn out tools for sale. The Enigma Machine guy was there. No commercial vendors, which was unusual. There's usually one or two with an assortment of connectors and other accessories, some of them radio related.
I wouldn't have been able to make it today anyways, but maybe next month.

As someone that likes hair colors not found in nature, I'll just leave it at "different strokes."
 
otherwise attractive young women to dress like homeless people and dye their hair colors not found in nature.

Warning coloration like Coral snakes or South American frogs, a visual indicator to avoid.

Indicates she espouses viewpoints antithetical to a healthy & functional society not supported by common sense, logic nor able to withstand honest debate.
 
I bought two no ham related items. A clamp on work lamp and a Marx Brothers movie DVD collection. The worn out tool guy was there with his collection of worn out tools for sale. The Enigma Machine guy was there. No commercial vendors, which was unusual. There's usually one or two with an assortment of connectors and other accessories, some of them radio related.

I missed the first 2 (drat), always went for the audio gear & parts. Have been going since the late 80s. Major change is that Steve passed (ran it from day 1) and as I understand it now it's is fully in the hands of MIT students. That it happened at all this year (twice!) is a good omen for it. Spoke with one of the kids in 2019 (last full year for it) taking over and he was very enthusiastic about it. Will they clamp down on non-electronic junk? Doubtful but believe they will naturally get more electronic & ham related gear to come back over time. Best thing about it as always is that if it rains the MIT Flea is held in a parking garage.

MIT Flea website
 
It's probably been 20 yrs since I attended one of the MIT Flea Markets. What I remember most was electronic parts, many of which resembled the mil-surplus collection we could buy from Eli Hefron back then. Rechargeable batteries, capacitors, diodes, wire, old computer junk, etc. I wasn't a ham back then, but it was mostly geared to the electronics junkie.

I totally minimize my exposure to MA at this point, so no interest in attending. I will attend HamXposition later this year however.

When I started going in the late 80s, milsurp electronics at the Flea were incredible. Entire trucks full of Raytheon, DEC or Wang tagged gear & excess inventory. As I understand it, that all changed early 2000s when .gov contract leftovers or accounting write-offs were mandated to be destroyed rather than sold off. Start digging and you can find tales of new condition spectrum analyzers, machine tools, & chunks of titanium being ground up & scrapped rather than sold on. What a waste.
 
And OBTW, I wasn't sh¡tting her about a boilerplate Gemini capsule being there one time.

Someone I know bought the inner frame of a comsat one time. Another time a gimbal-mount laser prototype off a helicopter was there with power supply, Raytheon tags all over it. Sparrow missile fiberglass radomes used to be there so often I never considered buying one for $10, they'd always be around. Sort of like EG bakelite mags when they were $15, you'd think I'd learn by now how surplus works; plenty then famine.
 
When I started going in the late 80s, milsurp electronics at the Flea were incredible. Entire trucks full of Raytheon, DEC or Wang tagged gear & excess inventory. As I understand it, that all changed early 2000s when .gov contract leftovers or accounting write-offs were mandated to be destroyed rather than sold off. Start digging and you can find tales of new condition spectrum analyzers, machine tools, & chunks of titanium being ground up & scrapped rather than sold on. What a waste.
Tis true.
 
Parking gets progressively tighter every year. The lot next to the garage, where a lot of vendors used to set up has been gone and the parking lot across the street is now a construction site.

Still a good way to kill an hour or so for short money. A lot cheaper than a gun show, that's for sure.

I missed the first 2 (drat), always went for the audio gear & parts. Have been going since the late 80s. Major change is that Steve passed (ran it from day 1) and as I understand it now it's is fully in the hands of MIT students. That it happened at all this year (twice!) is a good omen for it. Spoke with one of the kids in 2019 (last full year for it) taking over and he was very enthusiastic about it. Will they clamp down on non-electronic junk? Doubtful but believe they will naturally get more electronic & ham related gear to come back over time. Best thing about it as always is that if it rains the MIT Flea is held in a parking garage.

MIT Flea website
 
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