On 3/17/2026 12:52 PM, Hopkins, Justin via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Yeah, I was going to chime in. Space is very tight on Saturday and it can get very loud. Sunday is much fewer attendees and not nearly as loud. But make sure that whatever you are exhibiting has the information printed out so it can be read by the attendees (like a 15 point font)
Echo this and Bill's response. That said, in spite of the din, some folks will want to converse, so prepare to talk loud and often. A drink to stay hydrated and not get hoarse would not be a bad idea. :-) Food options might not be plentiful for lunch (last few shows there's been an on site vendor, but don't think you can just pop out for a lunch somewhere, most stuff is quite a ways away) Some people will want connection info (to contact you later about some OBD-I or II item they discussed or want you to know about, etc.). Determine what you are comfortable sharing and make it easy on yourself to share (cards, a QR code, etc.) If you need power, bring some cords for it. I've not exhibited in all the rooms at VCF-E, but they all vary on hookups and number of outlets. If your exhibit uses an external display, bigger is better, within reason. I echo Saturday being just pandemonium. Try to find time to visit the other exhibits at the show, and also the museum exhibits, if you can. Lots of cool stuff at InfoAge. Don't assume folks know anything about your topic. I know what OBD is, since my parent was a mechanic, but I bet a good chunk of the attendees have no idea their car has a common diagnostic port mandated by regulations (and that it was not always that way, and before that, we had to buy new adapter plugs for our pre-OBD scanner every year, what a monumental time and money waste) It may be too late to consider something like this, and maybe you've already got another solution, but I know it'd be neat to see a scanner running on a real vehicle at some predefined time (watch OBD-II in action on this vehicle at 3PM in the side parking lot, red honda civic...) There's more (can you tell I've exhibited for a while? :-), but others no doubt have good guidance. Jim
Also, on an unrelated note is there any appetite for a class on wiring/repairing ethernet cables, similar to the soldering one? I have a bunch of non-pass through RJ-45 jacks, and using pass-through versus non-pass through is night and day.
From: Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2026 1:45 PM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Bill Degnan <billdegnan@gmail.com> Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Re: First exhibitor advice.
People don't like to spend a lot of time at an exhibit, they'd rather take pictures. Too loud to be heard. So, good visuals is the best way to communicate. b On Tue, Mar 17, 2026 at 1: 18 PM Marco Iapicca via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@ lists. vcfed. org> ZjQcmQRYFpfptBannerStart This Message Is From an External Sender This message came from outside your organization. Use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. Report suspicious emails by clicking the "Report" button in your Outlook toolbar or forward to SIRT@Broadridge.com<mailto:SIRT@Broadridge.com>. ZjQcmQRYFpfptBannerEnd
People don't like to spend a lot of time at an exhibit, they'd rather
take pictures. Too loud to be heard. So, good visuals is the best
way to communicate.
b
On Tue, Mar 17, 2026 at 1:18 PM Marco Iapicca via vcf-midatlantic
<vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org<mailto:vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org>> wrote:
Hi It will be my first exhibitor , at VCF east This coming April , I have bin practicing setting up my table exhibit. I will be showing the evolution automotive diagnostics scanner OBD1 , OBD 2 On board diagnostics. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. This message and any attachments are intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If the reader of the message is not the intended recipient or an authorized representative of the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail and delete the message and any attachments from your system.
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