BBS: TELESC.NET.BR Assunto: Hamvention 2026 Friday -- Let the Fun Begin! De: ARRL de WD1CKS Data: Sat, 16 May 2026 15:04:19 +0000 ----------------------------------------------------------- 05/16/2026 Hamvention[1] 2026 in Xenia, Ohio, is officially under way, with large crowds filling the five exhibit halls, four forum rooms, and the giant flea market. Here's a summary of Friday, May 15. In the ARRL Expo area, attendees interacted with program representatives and volunteer leadership officials, including ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA, and President Rick Roderick, K5UR. Emergency Communications and Field Services Director Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, and several volunteers promoted ARRL's "Year of the Club" program and the organization's participation in the America250 celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. In the ARRL Lab booth, Senior Lab Engineer Rick Ciervo, W1CIE, tested handhelds for spurious emissions while Digital RF Engineer John McAuliffe, W1DRF, demonstrated the new QSTProduct Review Comparison Tool that - starting June 1 - will allow ARRL members to access Lab measurements on various aspects of reviewed radios and amplifiers online and compare them with each other. They will also be able to bring up a copy of the published review of each radio of interest. The Lab staff also highlighted CSI, the Clean Signal Initiative, which will create benchmarks and standards for transmitted signals and indicate in reviews whether a radio has met those benchmarks. In ARRL's membership and sales area, this year's big themes are Field Day, America250, and a handful of new ARRL book introductions includingSalty Walt's Next Level Portable Antenna Sketchbook[2],Satellite Operating for Amateur Radio[3], andDigital Networking for Ham Radio[4]. At the radiosport booth, the main focus is on helping people navigate the Trident, Triple Play, and 10-Band DXCC awards. Next door, the ARRL-VEC's Stephanie Borden, W2MAU, was helping hams with license renewals and answering questions regarding the question pools, as well as helping Volunteer Examiner teams continue the transition to all-digital exams and reporting of session results. Young hams are being treated to supervised soldering practice and opportunities to decipher Morse code messages and answer the question, "What advice would you have for older-generation hams?" At the adjacent College Amateur Radio Program (CARP) booth, student leader Tyler Schroder, NT1S, and volunteers Ally Brawner, KR4GVZ - a Ph.D. student at Clemson University - and recent Clemson graduate Cade Braxton, KO4VDX, greeted visiting college students and offered them the opportunity to get on the air using one of two remote stations hooked up inside the booth. Representatives were also on hand from the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), the Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL), the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC), and the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB). JARL's Ken Yamamoto, JA1CJP, said coming to Hamvention offers a good opportunity to communicate in person with radio amateurs from America and other countries, to show off their presence to hams here, and to promote the annual Ham Fair held each summer in Tokyo. RAC President Allan Boyd, VE3AJB, talked about his organization's "reciprocating working relationship" with ARRL, noting several shared concerns, including membership retention, getting more youth involved in amateur radio, recruiting more hams, and keeping current hams active. RSGB General Manager Steve Thomas, M1ACB, said what makes Hamvention special is the fact that there are so many people here from so many countries, and that his biggest reason for being here is to meet people, whether or not they are RSGB members. There were also book signings by ARRL authors Glen Popiel, KW5GP (Digital Networking for Ham Radio), and "Salty" Walt Hudson, K4OGO (Salty Walt's Next Level Portable Antenna Sketchbook). Walt's forum drew nearly 200 fans, packing the Hamvention's largest forum room. Hudson said he was mostly an "HF propagation geek" and that antennas "are just tools to explore propagation." He also encouraged greater study of the effects of ground conductivity on propagation, saying that "It's all about the surface below and near me, the ionosphere above me, and most of all, the antenna!" Outside, Chris Knox, KI1P, was showing off his shack-in-a-van, with radios and antennas covering 1.8 - 902 MHz, along with an analog 2-meter repeater, a DMR repeater, and a VHF public service band repeater for use during emergencies. He says the station is set up mostly for contesting and that he can run up to 1,200 watts, operating either remotely or from the van. Knox notes that this is his "one and only ham shack" and that he even has a sleeping area in the back of the van. ARRL Senior Director of Marketing and Innovation Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, gave the keynote at the FlexRadio Banquet on Friday night. "...all of us in this room have a role in ensuring that innovation continues by creating an environment that welcomes and nurtures the next generation," he said. He highlighted the efforts of ARRL and the wider amateur radio community to encourage pathways for youth that lead to further education and careers in wireless technology. "You do not need to create a new technology to make a lasting contribution. Sometimes the most important innovation is simply creating an opportunity for someone else," said Inderbitzen. At the Southwest Ohio DX Association's (SWODXA's) 39th annual DX dinner, ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA, was the keynote speaker. Minster spoke on "radio sportsmanship," challenging the DXers in the room to pay serious attention to questions about excessive power, remote operating that uses stations in multiple locations, "pay to play" for getting confirmations from some DX stations, whether certain stations really need to work DXpeditions on all possible bands and modes while others are trying to make just one contact, the future of the DXCC Honor Roll and deliberate QRM. "The most important aspect of radiosport," he concluded, "is to have a good time, but not at the expense of others." Several awards were also given out at the DX dinner. Longtime QSL manager Charles Wilmot, MOOXO, and DXpeditioner Elvira Simoncini, IV3FSG, were inducted into the Heritage CQ DX Hall of Fame, now administered by the International DX Association; Yuris Petersons, YL2GM, was named SWODXA DXpeditioner of the Year for his operation from Marion Island as ZS8W, during which he made more than 30,000 QSOs; the Russian DXpedition Team, which included Hal Turley, W8HC, earned the club's DXpedition of the Year award for the 9U1RU expedition to Burundi, in which the operators made nearly 180,000 contacts. Finally, the Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF) bestowed its Excellence Awards to the PJ6Y expedition to Sable Island for its emphasis on youth participation, and to Otis Vicens, NP4G, and Ezequiel Prado, HI3R, for their 100% solar-powered, 100% remotely operated KP5/NP3VI DXpedition to Desecheo. Vicens is also this year's Dayton Hamvention Amateur of the Year. FollowARRL News[5]for ourFacebook photo album[6]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. 2026 Hamvention runs through 1:00 PM on Sunday, May 17. [1] https://hamvention.org/ [2] https://home.arrl.org/action/Store/Product-Details/productId/2094335552 [3] https://home.arrl.org/action/Store/Product-Details/productId/2089712339 [4] https://home.arrl.org/action/Store/Product-Details/productId/2080295689 [5] https://www.arrl.org/news/the-ham-radio-world-heads-to-ohio [6] https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1416590120503298&type=3 --- Synchronet Whiskey Lover's Amateur Radio BBS ----------------------------------------------------------- [Voltar]