Dayton Hamvention - Next Weekend!
If you are an Amateur Radio operator and don't know what Hamvention is then there is a problem! If there is one big event people in Amateur Radio know - it is Hamvention. It is said to be the largest gathering of Amateur Radio operators in the world. It spans three days every May, drawing people from around the world.
I have been going to this event since 2001, so this is my 8th year in a row (and 8th year as a Ham). There is no better event to go to, and close, that has the variety of activities as Hamvention. There are forums spanning the majority of all three days, country-wide and world-wide clubs and organizations that hold get-togethers there, and all the big-name manufacturers (Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu, Flex, Elecraft, Heil Sound, among countless others) all show up to show off the "latest and greatest".
This year I am looking forward most to getting together with the HFPack group again. They are a group of portable operators - people that like to take radios along camping, backpacking, on vaccations, and even go on the extreme side with HF radios on bikes, boats, or even tossed in a backpack for Pedestrian Mobile. There are two big gatherings for HFPack - one at Pacificon in California (the bigger of the two, as there are more members on the west coast) and Hamvention - right here in Ohio! Though there won't be as many members showing up, it is always nice to get together with everyone that does come.
The second big thing I am looking forward to is the new Icom IC-7600 on display. There is supposed to be a few demos throughout the weekend so I will have to check that out. If you read my blog much you will remember I wrote a post back a couple months ago as the IC-7600 was just coming to the market. It is going to replace the extraordinarily popular IC-756 series (which has spanned about 10-15 years of nearly continuous improvements and developments in DSP technology through four versions, eventually leading Icom to spin off with a new approach in the IC-7600). For a radio that has front end roofing filters breaking the $5000 barrier from one of the "Big 3" (Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood), I think the IC-7600 sure has the makings of the next biggest seller. Maybe the future holds one for my shack as well.
The third item on my list - go to a few forums. I haven't been to many, if any really, in the past several years. So I want to sit down, take a load off my feet, and learn some cool stuff. I will have to check the list and see what I really want to go to.
I can't mention Hamvention without saying something about the flea market. If you are a flea market type, Hamvention will have you so content you can meander through the entire operation hours ALL THREE DAYS and still not see it all. There just is no other flea market like it. Some local flea markets/swap meets might get pretty big, but I doubt you will ever encounter a flea market the size of Hamvention's.
I have been going to this event since 2001, so this is my 8th year in a row (and 8th year as a Ham). There is no better event to go to, and close, that has the variety of activities as Hamvention. There are forums spanning the majority of all three days, country-wide and world-wide clubs and organizations that hold get-togethers there, and all the big-name manufacturers (Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu, Flex, Elecraft, Heil Sound, among countless others) all show up to show off the "latest and greatest".
This year I am looking forward most to getting together with the HFPack group again. They are a group of portable operators - people that like to take radios along camping, backpacking, on vaccations, and even go on the extreme side with HF radios on bikes, boats, or even tossed in a backpack for Pedestrian Mobile. There are two big gatherings for HFPack - one at Pacificon in California (the bigger of the two, as there are more members on the west coast) and Hamvention - right here in Ohio! Though there won't be as many members showing up, it is always nice to get together with everyone that does come.
The second big thing I am looking forward to is the new Icom IC-7600 on display. There is supposed to be a few demos throughout the weekend so I will have to check that out. If you read my blog much you will remember I wrote a post back a couple months ago as the IC-7600 was just coming to the market. It is going to replace the extraordinarily popular IC-756 series (which has spanned about 10-15 years of nearly continuous improvements and developments in DSP technology through four versions, eventually leading Icom to spin off with a new approach in the IC-7600). For a radio that has front end roofing filters breaking the $5000 barrier from one of the "Big 3" (Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood), I think the IC-7600 sure has the makings of the next biggest seller. Maybe the future holds one for my shack as well.
The third item on my list - go to a few forums. I haven't been to many, if any really, in the past several years. So I want to sit down, take a load off my feet, and learn some cool stuff. I will have to check the list and see what I really want to go to.
I can't mention Hamvention without saying something about the flea market. If you are a flea market type, Hamvention will have you so content you can meander through the entire operation hours ALL THREE DAYS and still not see it all. There just is no other flea market like it. Some local flea markets/swap meets might get pretty big, but I doubt you will ever encounter a flea market the size of Hamvention's.
posted by Steve at
11:40 AM
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