I've been enjoying this thread a lot, and posted a few thoughts along the way. I'm one of the many AK'ers who made it to both fests, and I'm totally committed to coming next year. I've already put in my request for a room so I can bring some gear!
I'll try to be somewhat organized (a challenge, I know!) in my thoughts for next year...
Things To Keep The Same:
1. The location. I know, it's a long trip for many, but the truth is that the population center of the US is somewhere in Missouri, and Michigan isn't that far away. There's a heck of a lot more members in Michigan than in Missouri, and no matter where else we go, we'll be getting farther away from more members than we'll be getting closer to.
2. The hotel. As long as you didn't get sent to the 800 number, reservations were very easy. The price can't be beat. There's no way we're getting two floors all to ourselves anywhere else, at least for less than $150 per room. Having the listening/demo floor above the sleeping floor kept the rest of the guests (and the management) happy. They got us a nice big room for lunch and the swap meet.
3. Everybody getting together for lunch. It really makes it feel like a group with some friendliness and some history behind it.
4. Lots of small listening/demo rooms, instead of partitioning the ballroom into sections. If we run into a problem with not enough rooms for listening plus vendors, I really wouldn't want the vendors to end up in the ballroom area. They'd really feel "banished", and that's not right. We'll just need to balance room allocations between members & vendors, because they're really part of this effort.
5. The team!! Kam & Grumpy and all the extended family members who pitched in really give it a close-knit feel.
Things To Add/Change Next Year:
1. A scheduled "Welcome" function, like meetings frequently have a cocktail reception, except ours would be more tailored to the group. Beer & wings on Saturday night from 5:00-6:30! We'd need the big room. I really think it would be great for everybody to get together all at once, with a beer in your hand and your nametag on! End no later than 6:30 so people can head off for dinners, etc. I really think this would add to the feeling that we're really part of a group.
2. Make the announcements and awards that take place during lunch scheduled. For example, lunch from 11:30-1:00, and everyone has to be in the room at 12:30 for important announcements. Lots of folks had finished lunch and were going back upstairs and missed Glenn and Dave getting their plaques. Everyone should get to share in these awards. Plus, more very much deserved recognition for a job well done for the recipients.
3. Perhaps a little more organized opportunity for people to get together in small groups for dinner on Saturday night, especially for the many members who don't really know that many other members well. Maybe two or three sign-up sheets in the check-in area for groups going to different kinds of restaurants, blues clubs, etc. Or an anonymous list for the ballet later in the evening! Some of the local members who know the area well could chaperone/lead each group.
4. Scheduled how-to/diy events throughout the two days. It's really important that members who are interested in a certain topic know what room and what time. It's also not fair to the members doing the demo to expect them to just "hang out" waiting for somebody to ask them to do something. They want to visit all the other rooms, too. We might even make the list of demonstrations final before the week of the fest so members can sign up for what demos they want to attend, and we know how many people will sign up to see each one. We may have to get a big room, like the lunch/swap meet room, just for some of the demos! Some ideas, most of which have already been mentioned:
a. Turntable cartridge mounting/setup.
b. Speaker surround replacement.
(Just those two could be standing room only! Or, maybe once each day to spread out the crowds.)
c. Overview of basic test equipment. Speaker holds up DMM..."This is a digital multi-meter. It is the most basic piece of test equipment that you need. Here are the key functions it needs to have...This is the price range you will find...etc., etc. Types of soldering irons/stations. Perhaps a brief discussion of more advanced equipment, such as scopes, sig/function generators, distortion analyzers, etc. Maybe 30 minutes total.
d. Basic troubleshooting, with a walk-through of the most commonly encountered problems, like fried output transistors, leaky caps, testing tubes & transistors, etc.
e. Something that actually shows soldering would be really informative and interesting for the beginners. Maybe Craig could replace a selenium rectifier and coupling caps in a tube amp or receiver. It would be a reasonable 30 minutes or so, and would generate a ton of great discussions and Q & A.
f. Maybe a room or two with some A/B'ing set up. No, no I'm not talking about getting into cable wars, but it might be really interesting to hear the difference between 86 dB speakers and 98 dB speakers, or the difference between SET & PP amps with identical speakers & source components. Identical artist/album on CD and vinyl. Lots of opportunities without getting controversial!
g. This one may not be easily doable, but I was thinking of something on acoustics. Perhaps showing changes in speaker placement, against the wall, not against the wall, toe-in, spacing between speakers, long wall, short wall, on stands, not on stands, etc. Just an idea!
5. I think it's really, totally, absolutely reasonable to charge a small fee for attending. For all of the members that work for companies that are in industries with national meetings/conventions/seminars...how often are those free? I'm talking about bumping it up to something very nominal, like $50, to help cover expenses, prizes, pizza for lunch and beer & wings on Saturday night, etc.
Hope this helps with the discussion. We've got lots of time 'til next year!
Clay
