Subj : ARRL Coverage of 2025 Dayton Hamvention - Friday, May 16
To : QST
From : ARRL de WD1CKS
Date : Fri May 16 2025 11:46 pm
05/16/2025
Friday was opening day at 2025 Dayton Hamvention[1]� and it was a day of
superlatives - huge crowds coming through the gates, standing room only at
"Salty Walt" Hudson's portable antenna forum, and more as hams from across the
country and around the world descended on the Greene County Fairgrounds in
Xenia, Ohio for the first of three days of total immersion in all things ham
radio.
At the many booths that make up the ARRL Expo area, crowds were constant, and
sentiments were similar among the employees, board members, and volunteers who
staffed them. ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA, was in the meet and greet area and
talked with ARRL members nearly non-stop the whole day.
�
At the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES�) booth, ARRL Director of
Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, said "It's busy. I love it!
Hamvention is an awesome opportunity to talk to hams, find out what's going on
in the field, and share ideas," adding, "It's a unique opportunity to hear
about problems and successes and try to help get issues resolved." He also
noted that informal conversations with influential visitors can often have
far-reaching benefits.
�
Across the aisle at the ARRL Foundation booth, Development Operations Manager
Christine Lessard, KC1TDM, said she "enjoyed connecting with clubs that have
received club grants and answering questions about scholarship programs."
Lessard added that "It's exciting to talk about all the good that the
Foundation does for the amateur radio community."
�
Development Director Kevin Beal, K8EAL, noted that the Diamond Club has been
especially exciting this year because of the ARRL Sweepstakes for an Icom dream
station[2] and that a Diamond Club donation results in an automatic sweepstakes
entry. He also pointed out that donors to the ARRL Spectrum Defense Fund
receive a special mug and pin, adding that "It's never been more important to
protect our spectrum."
�
The ARRL Lab booth had a steady stream of visitors who wanted to see if their
handheld radios were up to FCC specs on spurious signal suppression. Engineers
Rick Ciervo, W1CIE; John McAuliffe, W1DRF, and Matthias Zapatka, AJ4BB, had
tested nearly four dozen radios by midday. Their favorite test radio today was
an Icom ID-50 that had been accidentally dropped 14,000 feet and not only
survived the fall in working condition but still passed the spectral purity
test. Overall, noted McAuliffe, "It was nice to have one-to-one with members
who don't normally have direct contact with the lab."
�
The ARRL Youth Lounge was busy all day, and "the kids were loving it,"
according to Education and Learning Manager Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, who pointed
out that the young visitors were building code keys from 3D-printed kits and
testing them out by sending messages. Saturday will feature a Youth Rally with
multiple activities. There is also a raffle for young hams, sponsored by DX
Engineering, Gigaparts, Chatt Radio, Zumspot, and Begali Keys.
�
There were also meet-ups with book authors, including Repeater Book's Garrett
Dew, KD6KPC, whose data now "powers" the ARRL Repeater Directory, and Salty
Walt's Portable Antenna Sketchbook author "Salty Walt" Hudson, K4OGO, whose
book-based forum earlier in the day had drawn a standing-room-only crowd.
�
"What you saw in that forum," said Hudson, "is where hams are today. What I try
to do is simplify things. Go out, try, do, make mistakes. That's what my
YouTube channel[3] is all about."
�
Hamvention 2025 continues on Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM. ARRL The National
Association for Amateur Radio� will provide daily coverage at www.arrl.org[4].
�
[1]
http://www.hamvention.org
[2]
https://www.arrl.org/arrl-sweepstakes
[3]
https://www.youtube.com/@COASTALWAVESWIRES
[4]
http://www.arrl.org
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