05/15/2026
Hamvention¿ 2026 in Xenia, Ohio, officially begins on Friday morning, May 15.
But several hundred hams arrived early to take part in pre-Hamvention
activities. ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio[1]¿ was already on
site at the Greene County Fairgrounds, exhibitors were busy setting up their
booths. We snapped a few late afternoon photos of setup work at several booths,
including Carlson Roof Towers, Heil Ham Radio, Buddipole, and
HamStudy/ExamTools, plus a few flea market tables. All of the vendors were
looking forward to the opportunities once the show opened to connect with
current and potential customers, with several of them noting that the
relationships built or strengthened at Hamvention were at least as important as
making sales.
There were also several ham-related events outside the fairgrounds. Two of the
biggest were the QRP Amateur Radio Club International's (QRPARCI) "Four Days in
May" (FDIM) meetup for low-power enthusiasts and the 19th annual running of
Contest University.
QRPARCI's David Cripe, NMOS, said this year's FDIM drew a record 325 attendees
to listen to 9 speakers and visit with vendors in the evening on Thursday, which
he said was the main day of the event. One first-time attendee is a relatively
new ham who is already making a contribution to the QRP community. Jonathan
Kayne, KM4CFT, says he got interested in ham radio through a friend in high
school, leading to an electrical engineering degree from Virginia Tech and a job
with Lockheed Martin. On the ham radio side, Kayne said "I couldn't do radio
from my apartment, so I got into QRP. That led my learning - and loving - CW. I
started building kits, then designed one. Kayne had his CFT-1 5-band QRP CW
transceiver available at vendor night. Another FDIM attendee was ham legend Roy
Lewallen, W7EL (best known as the author of EZNEC antenna software), who had
with him the "Optimized QRP Transceiver" that he designed and was featured in
the August 1980 issue of QST! The two rigs are about the same size! Lewallen
said that after a quarter century of coming to Dayton as a vendor, then retiring
four years ago, this was his first trip back as "just another person" enjoying
the show.
Contest University, held in a hotel on the grounds of Wright Patterson Air Force
Base, drew 280 attendees this year, according to spokeswoman Amy Leggiero,
N8AMY. Organizer Tim Duffy, K3LR, noted that nearly half the "students" were
first-timers. Among them was 23-year-old Tyler Schroder, NT1S, a first-year
Ph.D. student at Dakota State University in South Dakota, studying data privacy.
"When I first signed up," he said, "I had no idea what I was getting into,"
noting that many of his ham friends told him that "Contest University is where
you really learn the techniques to succeed in contesting. I've learned a lot but
more important is the people, getting to meet the top people in the field ...
and that's all before Hamvention!" Shroder also noted that, as a ham under age
25, DX Engineering had covered all of his costs for attending Contest
University. During Hamvention, he will lead the exhibit for the ARRL Collegiate
Amateur Radio Program.
Finally, among the pre-Hamvention activities, ARRL hosted its annual Donor
Recognition Reception on Thursday evening to thank members who had made
donations to ARRL and the ARRL Foundation. Remarks were shared by Director of
Development Kevin Beal, K8EAL; CEO David Minster, NA2AA; and President Rick
Roderick, K5UR.
Beal noted that the red, white, and blue-themed reception reflected ARRL's
partnership with America250[2], joining the nationwide celebration of the 250th
anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He said that
amateur radio's technical innovation and volunteer service have contributed to
the American story.
The evening concluded with recognition of new ARRL Maxim Society donors,
including those whose commitments moved them into higher giving classes.
President Roderick and his wife, Holly, were recognized for their lifetime
giving, which elevated them to Founder Class.
Follow ARRL News[3] for our Facebook photo album[4] throughout Hamvention
weekend as we add new images from the ARRL exhibit area, and from throughout the
event. If you're attending Hamvention, be sure to stop by the ARRL booths in
Building 2 - Tesla.
Hamvention opens officially at 9:00 AM Friday and runs through 1:00 PM on
Sunday, May 17. For more information visit hamvention.org[5].
[1] http://www.arrl.org/dayton-hamvention-2026
[2] https://www.arrl.org/america250
[3] https://www.arrl.org/news/the-ham-radio-world-heads-to-ohio
[4] https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1416590120503298&type=3
[5] https://hamvention.org/
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