Hamvention is undoubtly the world’s largest amateur radio event, and for many it is more of a ham radio home coming than a vendor show and flea market. I wanted to know more about what others thought about Hamvention, so as Chris and I wandered around the grounds, asking other hams what the coolest and strangest things that they found at the festival.
You can watch the results of my questioning here in this week’s video: What SURPRISED us most at Hamvention 2025: https://youtu.be/CaCjzGtM5Qo
A lot of youtubers go to Hamvention to chase the latest and greatest things announced at the show. And that’s a good thing. But instead of me focusing on that, I wanted to focus on the attendees; their feelings and expectations. The human side of Hamvention is what appeals to me and I hope it gives you a deeper context into the event.
So what do I think about this year’s Hamvention
There is a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes to make Hamvention a success. I had the opportunity to informally chat with leadership and volunteers and the level of care and commitment they showed is totally amazing. I had first hand experience of that.
The Friday before we where to leave for Hamvention, I received a phone call from Mike, W8CI, one of the Hamvention top dogs. A forum presenter had a last minute cancellation and there were scrambling to fill a time slot. I was asked if I could fill the time. Fortunately, I had a presentation that I had prepared for a local club that week, so as long as they were ok with me doing the same one twice, I could help. They said yes and my presentation titled: Five Years of POTA, what I learned was given on Friday morning at 10:25. Even with last minute notice, the room was full and the presentation went off without a hitch. You can watch the presentation livestream here: https://www.youtube.com/live/MtshxuryHlc?si=UULJY9zGGEGB0ost&t=5750
There’s a lot to see at Hamvention and I think we did a pretty good job of getting the full experience. This year I really wasn’t looking to buy and big ticket items. My plan wasn’t to come home with the new Yaesu FTX-1 and I succeed on that front. Though I was looking for a good deal on a used QRP rig like an Elecraft KX2 or KX3. Unfortunately the couple I saw were more than I wanted to pay. Chris spotting a smoking deal on an 8 inch Meade reflecting telescoping with all the accessories. But that thing was humungous and I wasn’t sure how we’d ever get it home. We let it pass.
I think the best part of Hamvention is just talking to people. I ran into so many people that either watch the channel or who make regular contact when I’m out putting a park on the air, and I cherished each and every one of those meetups. It is so great to put the face to the voice.
I did pick up a few cool items at the show and I will show everything off with a short gear haul video coming this Sunday.
Finishing up
Hamvention tends to be quite the road trip for us. Two days driving out and two days driving back, and then camping for four nights at Caesar Creek State Park. We had some fun stops along the way and next week’s video will feature some of that, along with a bit of POTA.
This weekend is Memorial Day weekend. It’s the official start of summer for us in Wisconsin. I don’t have any camping planned, but we will do a fun day trip this weekend. Listen for me to get on the air Sunday.
Also speaking of Sunday, this day is 5 25 25 or 52.525 Mhz. Celebrate this unique numerology by getting on the air with 6 meter FM. 52.525 MHz is the FM calling frequency for the six meter band. E-Skip is predicted to be good, so this might be a great time to work on that POTA 6-pack award.
Have a great Memorial day weekend and take a bit of time to remember those that made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
I hope to catch you on the air
Michael
KB9VBR
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