Hamfests & Conventions

Tim Duffy, K3LR, writes on the Contest Reflector:

Attention Contesters and DXers! Contest-related activities that have previously taken place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel during the Dayton Hamvention® are moving to the Hope Hotel beginning in 2022.

In May 2022, official Contesting activities will be at the Hope Hotel, including four nights of the Contest Super Suite, Contest University, The Top Band Dinner, The Contest Dinner and the KC DX Club CW copying competition. There may be additional related events as well.

The Hope Hotel is an excellent facility, well suited for Contesters and DXers. There is plenty of parking and it is located closer to the Hamvention than the downtown Dayton hotels. The Hope Hotel is adjacent to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Guests do not go through the security gate.

We have spent almost two years working on this project and we believe you will enjoy the change of venue.

Room reservations will be taken by the Hope Hotel starting on Tuesday June 8, 2021 at 9 AM EDT. Do not call them before that time. You can get room reservations by phone only. If you try to book on line you will see that there are no rooms for those dates. Every room in the Hope Hotel has been blocked for Contesters and DXers for Hamvention week.  Starting Tuesday June 8, 2021 at 9 AM EDT, you can call 937-879-2696 and ask for a reservation in the Contest University 2022 room block. There is no minimum night commitment. The room rate is $143 per night plus tax and that includes a hot buffet breakfast each day of your stay. The room rate is the same for a single queen, two queens or a single king with a pull out.

If you have 2022 reservations at the Crowne Plaza (now the Radisson Hotel Dayton) you can contact the Radisson  at (937) 224-0800 to cancel and obtain any refunds. The Radisson is aware of the venue change for our activities.

Please spread the word to all Contest Club reflectors, etc.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday night, May 18, 2022, for the first night of the 2022 Contest Super Suite at the Hope Hotel.

https://www.hopehotel.com/ 

73,

Tim K3LR

For the Contest Hotel Committee

Bob DeMattia, K1IW, writes:

HamXposition September 10, 11, and 12, 2021 at the Best Western Royal Plaza in Marlborough, MA

You’ve probably heard by now that all COVID restrictions in Massachusetts are lifted as of May 29, and the state of emergency is lifted as of June 15.

What this means is we are a go for HamXposition 2021!

Phil, K9HI, our forum chair has already begun seeking out guest speakers – You can sign up to be a speaker here: 2021 Early Speaker Signup.

In the coming weeks, we will be enabling volunteer signup, and will begin announcing program details, so come visit this website often.

Online ticket sales will begin on August 1.

Discounted room rates of $99 are available now by calling the hotel directly – (508) 460-0700. Tell them you will be attending the HamXposition. This rate is only available through the local hotel phone number and will not work with their online reservation system or their national reservation number.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Bob DeMattia, K1IW
President, FEMARA

ARRL New England Division Director Fred Hopengarten, K1VR, has approved the application from organizers of the Northern Berkshire Amateur Radio Club to host a sanctioned ARRL hamfest in Adams, Massachusetts (Western Massachusetts Section) on August 22, 2021. 

ARRL New England Division Director Fred Hopengarten, K1VR, has approved the application from organizers of the Hermon Hamfest in Hermon, Maine, to become a sanctioned ARRL Hamfest.  The event, sponsored by the Pine State Amateur Radio Club will be held on June 5, 2021.

For additional information, visit <https://n1me.org/home/hamfest_2021.php>.

KU1U and W1SK write on the Maine ARRL Members List on February 27, 2021:

The Maine Virtual Hamfest is 1 week away! SATURDAY MARCH 6, 2021, 9 AM to 4 PM Eastern.

If you have not yet registered, please register now so we will know how many people will be attending. You can go here to register: http://mainearrl.org/MVH.

Talks will be via Zoom and are limited to 500 people.

There will be other rooms available using FreeConferenceCall.com which allow up to 1000 people per room. FCC will have video conference rooms for “Eyeball” QSOs and a Swap/Buy/Sell room for people to showcase items they want to sell.

There will also be an IRC webchat in the room #mainehams for people who might be mic/camera shy.

We understand this hamfest is taking place during a major contest weekend. We wish that we could have had it on another date, but the fester was moved once already and to ask our keynote speakers to move a third time did not seem fair. To all of the contesters, we wish you luck in representing the State of Maine well in the contest.

We will be recording the talk sessions for those to view at a later date in case you are not able to attend the hamfest.

There will also be a phone call-in option for those who may not have the ability to get online. Phones numbers will be shared this week on various nets. We kindly ask that you use only one option per conference room since tuning in via the web AND calling by phone will take up 2 seats in the limited seating available.

We look forward to “seeing” you next Saturday between 9AM and 4PM. Please visit mainearrl.org for more information, click on the hamfest button at the top which will take you to the Maine Virtual Hamfest website. If you have already registered, please do not submit duplicate registrations.

73 DE KU1U and W1SK
Cory and Joe
Maine Virtual Hamfest Co-Chairs

New England Division Director Fred Hopengarten, K1VR, has approved the applications for sanctioning for two New England hamfests and one convention:

• 29th Annual Southern Berkshire Amateur Radio Club Hamfest in Goshen, Connecticut, on May 22, 2021
• Windsor Hamfest (Maine) on Saturday, September 11, 2021
• Northeast HamXposition  a.k.a. New England Division Convention in Marlborough, Massachusetts on September 10, 11, 12, 2021

The events will be publicized on the ARRL website’s Hamfest and Convention Calendar as well as the appropriate upcoming issues of QST.

Paul N Gayet, AA1SU, writes on the ARRL Vermont Members list:

Same great forums, flea market and attendees as the live show, with the exception that you don’t have to drive in winter! And it costs ….. nothing!

If you are planning to attend, please go to the HAM-CON site and register to attend and to be in the running for door prizes. While there, you can check out the lineup of forums running all day.

You will need a free Zoom account on your computer to fully take part in all the activities. But if you are not set up for this, you can still see many of the forums on YouTube.

HAM-CON is different than other On-Line events in that we have selling rooms and chat rooms where you can do some shopping or else meet up with pals you haven’t see in a while. Oh, and if you have stuff to sell, please consider being a vendor. All you need is a table full of stuff and a camera.

So far, we have a couple hundred folks from all over the country registered. We’d like to see more of those rare Vermont hams too!

So go to http://www.ham-con.org and register. Also, if you check this site Tuesday night after 6PM you can join our HAM-CON discussion where you can test out your Zoom settings and ask questions. If you are already registered, that’s GREAT!

Please pass this information to other hams and potential hams you know.

Hope to see many of you at HAM-CON!

Mitch
W1SJ@arrl.net

——————————————————————–
ARRL Vermont Section
Section Manager: Paul N Gayet, AA1SU
aa1su@arrl.org
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For full details, visit <https://sites.google.com/view/mainevirtualhamfest/home?authuser=0>.

It may be bitterly cold outside, but things are starting to heat up in Maine on the hamfest front! We are long overdue for one. Joe Grace (W1SK) and I [Cory, KU1U] have been feverishly working to put together a virtual hamfest since all of the in-person events are still being cancelled due to the CoronaVirus. 

We hope this will be a successful event that can capture the interest of hams in Maine. I am pleased to announce that Dr. Bob Heil (K9EID) will be presenting at this event! We will also have various stateside talent providing talks on SKYWARN, FT8, Antenna discussion and an ARRL Forum so folks are aware of what is going on around the State and at the New England/national level at ARRL. 

There will be an opportunity for clubs and groups to have their own meetings during talks as well. If your group is interested in reserving a virtual room to have a meeting please follow this link to fill out the form. Hamfest Meeting Room Request Form. 

This event is FREE. I know that price pleases many people and why wouldn’t it? Please understand that the conference talks will be limited to 1000 people. We are asking that people register so that we can have a headcount of how many people to expect to attend virtually. 

Beyond conference talks and meetings, there will be an “Eyeball QSO” room to visit. 99% of hams typically go to a hamfest to socialize and chat with others. Why should this virtual event be any different? One additional feature that we have included is an IRC chatroom for those who may be mic/camera shy. Joe has put his technical know-how to work and embedded the Freenode #mainehams IRC chat room into the hamfest website so it will be easy for people to access and say hello. 

We are excited to provide this opportunity for knowledge and camaraderie and look forward to seeing everyone soon! Please be sure to register for the FREE Maine Virtual Hamfest!

Maine Virtual Hamfest Registration Form

73 DE KU1U & W1SK

Maine Virtual Hamfest Co-Chairs