On May 16th, Fred, AB1OC and I traveled to Dayton, OH for the annual Hamvention, held at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia, OH for the 2nd year.
The Hamvention opened on Friday, May 18th, but we attended Contest University, held at the Crowne-Plaza in Dayton on Thursday. We attended some great presentations there including one on VHF Contesting with JT modes – FT8 and MSK144 by W5ZN, Joel Harrison and one on Learning from your Log-Checking Report by Doug Grant, K1DG. We also got to hear Rob Sherwood, NC0B, report on transceiver performance.
NARS Member Dave Michaels, N1RF recently moved to Indianapolis, which is not far from Xenia. Fred and I met up with Dave on Friday at the Hamvention. It was great to see him again.
Since our Tech Night show and tell on portable and mountain-topping equipment, I have been interested in the KX2. Our first stop on Friday was the Elecraft booth where we purchased the KX2 “Shack in a Box” and some accessories to go with it. I am looking forward to using it during our upcoming SOTA activations to operate using FT8 and other digital modes.
We also purchased some PAR EndfedZ wire antennas from LNR Precision.
Next, we visited the AMSAT booth, where we chatted with NARS member, Burns Fisher, WB1FJ.
We also met Dave Jordan, AA4KN, who is the ARISS Mentor for the upcoming ISS Crew Contact with Hudson Memorial School.
We saw a few newly announced items while visiting the vendor buildings. Yaesu announced the FTdx101D.
Kenwood announced the TS-890S, which is pictured above.
We also saw SteppIR’s new controller, the SDA-2000 OptimizIR
We also saw the FlexRadio Power Genius XL 1500 Watt Amplifier, which recently started shipping.
We also visited Chris Drummond, W6HFP from Buddipole and he showed us their new MastWerks Mast/Tripod system.
We attended a few forums at the Hamvention including one from FlexRadio on SDR Technology. Especially interesting was the AMSAT forum, where we learned about upcoming Satellite launches, including the GOLF Program (to follow the FOX Program). Satellites in the GOLF program will have higher orbits resulting in larger footprints and also will incorporate new technology.
Overall, we had a great time at the Hamvention and we’re looking forward to going back in 2019!
Anita, AB1QB
Another great Hamvention despite the rain. My 38th (in a row) and 5th Contest University. For me probably the best Hamvention I’ve been to yet.
Enjoy the new KX-2. It’s a great rig.
Mike – KI8R
Hello Anita & Fred:
It was grand seeing you both at Hamvention 2018! Thanks for the imbedded photo; send me the pic with Fred as well. I’ll post them in my new QTH in Brownsburg…when it’s up and running!
Enjoy the KX2. Maybe we can log a contact via my HF mobile station.
Say Hi to all the old gang for me and Good Luck on Field Day.
73,
Dave (N1RF)