HVRA 2025 Convention

March 27-30
Houston Marriott Westchase
2900 Briarpark Dr. Houston TX 77042

This Year’s Convention Theme is “Stewart Warner”

Convention will be held in the Briarpark and Richmond Rooms

Click here for the Registration form

Click here for hotel reservation at the convention rate of $115 + Tax

General Information

Reservation phone number 800-452-5110 (Ask for the HVRA rate) or go to the reservation link on the HVRA website Double bed and Queen size accommodations
There will not be a formal Awards Banquet. But after the Saturday auction, there will be a dinner in the hotel restaurant at everyone’s own expense. The contest awards will be given out during the dinner. There will not be speaker nor powerpoint presentation for the awards.
Breakfast in the restaurant is $24.95, however, simple breakfast fare is available in the snack area which includes a Starbucks counter.
Lunch will be available in the same snack area consisting of sandwiches, canned drinks etc.
Tech Talk Friday: Speaker and Subject TBD
Sunday morning swap meet in the hotel hallway. There are about 6 tables available from the hotel. You may want to bring a table just to make sure you have one. I will let you know if you get one of the 6 before you come
- There is no charge for swap meet tables

Please Direct All Convention Related Questions To:

Lewis Brittain 713-517-8722; britfaml1228@att.net

Convention and Auction Schedule
Featured Manufacturer: Stewart-Warner

Friday March 28, 2025
8AM — Registration Table Opens (Conference Area Lobby)
8AM-2:30PM — Auctions #1 and #2 Check-in and Drop-off
10AM-8PM— Contest Check-in
11:00AM – 12:00PM —- Tech Session – TBD
12:00 -1:00PM — Lunch (Individual Responsibility)
3:00PM – 9:00PM — Auctions 1 and 2 (Open to Public but Membership and registration required to buy or sell) Paper, Tubes, Speakers, Test Equip, Lesser Wood and Plastic Radios, Misc Parts and other Vintage electronics items. $10 Min. Bid (No Junk, Please)
Dinner (Individual Responsibility)

Saturday March 29, 2025
8AM — Registration Table Opens (Conference Area Lobby)
8AM-9:30AM — Contest Check-in
9:30AM-10:00AM — Contest Judging (Contest Room Closed)
8AM-10:45AM — Auction #3 Check-in
11AM-5PM— Auction 3 (Open to Public but Membership and registration required to buy or sell) Vintage Wood Table and Console Radios, High Quality Plastic Radios, Phonographs, Amplifiers, Computers, Rare or Unique Speakers and other Vintage electronics items. “The Good Stuff”
$20 Min. Bid (No Junk, Please)
Lunch — (Individual Responsibility)
6:30PM — Dinner and Contest Awards in Hotel Restaurant (Order from Menu and Self-Pay)

Sunday March 30, 2025
7:30-10:00 — Swap Meet in Convention Lobby Area

Auction Manifest TBD

2025 HVRA Convention Old Equipment Contest Categories

All displays should be at least 25 years old except where noted
Electronica is Electronic devices or technology, considered collectively (oxford)

Crystal Receivers and Related Crystal Equipment
Pre-1928 Battery Radios
Pre-war consumer radio equipment
Post-war Consumer radio equipment (tube and solid state) (at least 50 years old)
Ugly Radios (by design & those made worse by lame restorations)
Vintage Computers and Computing (at least 25 years old)
Collectible and Historical Electronica post- 1960, at least 15 years old (Examples include newer radio equipment, portable music devices, transistor radios, Solid state CRT TVs, unique electronics, etc)
Vintage / Antique Electronica Pre-1960 (Examples include Telephones, Telegraph, Scientific Test Equipment, Electrical Devices)
Tube type Televisions.
Kit Radios and Equipment
Hi-Fidelity Equipment
Amateur Radio Equipment
Military Electrical and Electronic Equipment
Special Convention Theme: Crosley and all items carrying the Crosley name
Components, including Vacuum Tubes
Open Display

2025 HVRA CONVENTION OLD EQUIPMENT CONTEST RULES

The official rules for the 2025 HVRA Old Equipment Contest are:

All contestants must be registered for the Convention and an member in good standing.
Previous displays winning First Place in the 2023 or 2024 contests may not be entered in the competitive categories of this 2025 contest. These items may, however, be shown as non-competitive displays.
A contestant may have only two displays in any one category, but may enter any number of categories.
A display is eligible for only one category and failure to declare a category prevents competition.
Reproductions must be properly identified.
All entries must be in good, clean, showable condition. Equipment that is entered in un-showable condition may be disqualified and removed from the contest in the judgment of the Contest Chairperson.
The Contest Chairperson will determine the appropriateness of questions or issues regarding entries and any other rule interpretations.
In case of a tie, the judges or Contest Chairperson may request a functional demonstration of the equipment.
No fee will be charged for entering the contest.
All entries must be in place no later than one hour prior to judging, on the day of the contest.
Devices of foreign manufacture may compete in any appropriate category.
Contestants must refrain from discussing entries with judges. If judges have questions pertaining to an entry, they will be voiced to the contestant through the Contest Chairperson.
The Contest Rules may not cover all issues that arise in relation to the HVRA Old Equipment Contest. The Contest

Chairperson has the discretion to make any decisions necessary in relation to Contest to insure a fair and orderly contest. Questions about the contest at any time? Contact Tom Taylor, Contest Chairman, 281-229-2970 IHCRally@Yahoo.com

2025 HVRA CONTESTANT INFORMATION

Dear Contestant: Please review this summary of our contest rules and guidelines that are printed on the back of this sheet and if you have any questions, please contact Tom Taylor, the Contest Chairman.

AWARD CATEGORIES: There are 16 contest categories this year. You must designate on your entry card what category you want to enter your exhibit in (for example, #5 Ugly Radios), and you can enter an exhibit in only one category. You can enter one or two displays in any one category. Each of categories will be given a First and Second place ribbon for the winner. We also have three additional categories you can elect to compete in for greater recognition including Best Restorations, Vintage Equipment, and Artifacts and Collections. You must designate on your contest entry card which of these three categories you wish to be considered for if you wish to compete. In addition, each person registered for the Convention can vote on the Peoples’ Choice award and further each exhibitor can vote on the efforts of a peer for the Exhibitors’ Award, worth $50. Ballots for this purpose are available in the contest room. And finally, there will be a New Contestant award for the best exhibit from someone who has not entered our Convention contest previously.

HELPFUL HINTS FOR THE TOP THREE CATEGORIES: In the Best Restorations category the judges will consider the quality of your work along with documentation showing work done, before and after photos, schematics, history relevant to the radio, rarity, and the overall presentation. We are looking for the best restoration entered in the contest. For the Vintage Equipment category, the judging emphasis will include information about the history of the radio or manufacturer, how the equipment was acquired, rarity, photos, information about clean-up or refinishing, original ads and similar information. We are looking for the overall best display of vintage equipment. And finally, entrants in the Artifacts and Collections category can include vintage magazines, software, tubes, toys, signs, photos, fans, radio/tv clocks, books, dolls, boxes, uniforms, mannequins, advertising and similar material related to electronics, radios, and communications equipment. Judges will consider overall quality, information describing history of the items, rarity, how acquired, before and after photos and any other relevant information that help make a good display.

GENERAL INFORMATION: We will set up all exhibits in the 16 contest categories in the same display area as best we can. You can set up your display as you wish but the Contest Chairman reserves the right to adjust displays as may be needed to assist with limited space in some instances. Please be considerate of others who will also need space to display their items. If you have questions or concerns, see the Contest Chairman. Be sure to fill out a contest entry card for each of your entries!! The contest room will be LOCKED when the Contest Chairman or his designee is not present. When the room is LOCKED such as one hour before judging, NO ONE will be admitted. Judging will be conducted beginning at 9:30 am Saturday. NO ONE IS ADMITTED at that time. The Decisions of the Contest Judges are FINAL!

Convention planners have put in a lot of work making sure you have an enjoyable event. Over the next couple of months, we will be looking for volunteers to help

HVRA 2025 Old Equipment Contest

Judge’s Briefing

Dear Contest Judge: As you may know, our members will vote on a Best of Show award as well as Exhibitors will vote on the best Exhibitor award. We have several other award categories for you to help us judge. In addition to the first and second place awards for each of our 16 contest categories, we have three other awards: Best Restoration, Vintage Equipment and Artifacts & Collections. Each contestant will have designated one of these awards for his or her exhibit entry. Please review a copy of the handout we have provided to each contestant. It explains the awards in more detail with significant information about the criteria that will be considered for these new Top Awards. All of our contest rules are also explained in that handout. We also have a best New Contest Entrant award that you will judge.

We use a scoring system for our judging and our briefing will cover this in more detail. We recommend you first take a tour of each exhibit and display together as a group to discuss amongst yourselves the relative merits of the various entries. After that, you would go back and individually finalize your judging score sheets for each contest category. The contest chairman will follow the judging and later collect the score sheets. The Contest Chairperson will then take the score sheets and arrange for totaling the scores. The Contest Chairperson should work with the judges if necessary to resolve any ties in the scoring by majority vote of the judges.

Judging Criteria and Scoring for 16 Contest Categories: We have identified on your score sheet the following criteria for you to use in judging the first and second place awards in each contest category:

Rare, Unique, Unusual or Interesting item(s)

Condition or quality of the item(s)

Documentation and/or Item descriptions

Authenticity

Presentation, Showmanship and Contestant Effort

Our scoring ranges are as follows:

Below Expectations
Minimum Acceptable
Average
Above average
Exemplary; rarely exceeded

Judging for the Best Restoration, Vintage Equipment and Artifacts and Collections awards:

Among the categories to be judged are the Best Restoration, Vintage Equipment and Artifacts & Collections contest entries. After you have completed your score sheets and determined the first and second place winners in each of the 16 contest categories, you should review the exhibit cards and your scoring sheet notations to determine winners for these three awards. Scoring is based upon the following criteria for each category:

Best Restoration: Quality of the restoration; information about electrical and/or cabinet or similar restoration as appropriate; before and after photos; restoration documentation; schematics; history and other relevant information; rare or unusual item; authenticity; working condition; and overall display.

Vintage Equipment: History of radio(s) or other items; manufacturer’s information; how equipment was acquired; rare or unusual or unique item(s); clean-up or refinishing; original ads; photos; overall quality of the display.

Artifacts & Collections: This category can include a wide variety of radio and electronic items including magazine, software, advertising, mannequins, toys, tubes, fans, radio and TV clocks, novelty items, dolls, boxes, uniforms, and almost anything related to vintage communications equipment and the vintage era. Special consideration is given to the quality of the items; authenticity; how were the items acquired; rare or unusual items; documentation, history, and descriptions; and overall showmanship evident in the display.

Lastly, After completing your decisions about these three awards, please see your judging information for a list of the First Time Entrants and select a best entrant or display for this award.

Your decisions are FINAL. Thank you and don’t hesitate to raise any questions to the HVRA Contest Chairperson.