Hamfests & Conventions
2025 HamX Call for Talks
HamX is the largest annual gathering of Radio Amateurs east of Dayton and north of Huntsville. And it fields more talks and workshops than any other ham convention in the world. We’re not just a trade show, we convene to exchange ideas. Here’s your chance to participate. Locally, 2025 will be celebrated as the 250 th anniversary of “the shot heard ‘round the world.” But we all know that for over a century Amateur Radio’s signals have been heard ‘round the world.
Every year’s talks pretty much run the same gamut of subject areas—Antennas and Propagation, Contesting and DXing, EMCOM/PS, League, Operating Activities, Organization and Innovation, Technical, and Training. This year we’re emphasizing “signals heard ’round the world.”
So, consider volunteering to speak on signals.
- How we generate and transmit Amateur signals. (our bands, equipment, remote systems, antennas, propagation, etc.)
- How we modulate our signals. (CW, phone, digital, image, etc.)
- The uses we make of our signals. (on-the-air activities, EMCOM and public service, DXing, contesting, traffic, repeaters, EME. etc.)
Even if you can’t speak, you must have some ideas regarding what you or others want to hear about—elementary topics for the newcomers among us, intermediate-level topics for the general attendees, even advanced topics to challenge and educate us all. Pass them on as a
request.
Here are this year’s planning and preparation milestones:
- January through April – Individuals propose presentations. The Convention’s Programs Committee also solicits presentations. Speaker Login webpage active.
- By 30 April – Solicited presenters reply.
- By 1 June – Potential presenters commit to speaking if scheduled.
- By 30 June – Closeout: presentation curation complete. Presenters notified.
- By 30 June – Presenters finish populating database with personal information, talk title, and talk summary. (Minor grammatic and spelling edits are permitted until the database is locked.)
- 15 July – Database locked. No further editing by presenters.
- 31 July – Scheduling resolved, locked, and provided for brochure preparation.
- 10 August – Brochure submitted to printer.
- 21-23 August — HamXposition 2025!
It’s never too early to start planning! Contact HamXposition Program Chair Skip Youngberg at K1NKR@hamxposition.org.
Chowdercon, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, September 21, 2024
Carl Achin, WA1ZCQ, writes on the New England QRP mailing list:
* “Chowdercon” is a full day of eating (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and operating on Four Tree Island, New Hampshire. Get to Four Tree Island before 8AM to get a good parking spot in the Four Tree Island parking lot. As usual, lunch is at Geno’s and our farewell dinner/banquet will be at a New restaurant this year, due to the closure of our usual eatery closing/closed.
Four Tree Island can get cold, even on a warm day so bring a windbreaker and hoodie/sweatshirt. And don’t forget your favorite low-power Field-Op rig, wire antenna, etcetera.
* More information to follow in another upcoming email next week.
We’re touching on 3 decades now (2000’s, 2010’s, and now the 2020’s) of this Annual Celebration of the end-of-Summer / beginning-of-Fall convention/conference of low-power radio enthusiasts operating on, Four Tree Island, New Hampshire.
Come join-in on the, Fun, Excitement, and, Camaraderie, of “Chowdercon 2024”!
* * * DATE: Saturday, September 21st, 2024, … the Equinox Weekend. – (Rain date is the following Saturday, the 28th.
7 3 . .
P.S. – Read about, and, check-out past pictures of Chowdercon here:
ARES, POTA “Go Box” Show and Tell at Nutmeg Hamfest, Meriden CT, October 13, 2024
Douglas Sharafanowich, WA1SFH, writes on the ct-ares mailing list:
WHAT: ARES and POTA “GO BOX” Show and Tell
DATE: Sunday, October 13, 2024
HOURS: 8:30 am – 10:30 am
WHERE:
NUTMEG HAMFEST 2024
Maloney High School
121 Gravel Street Meriden, CT 06450
Open to ALL Hams
A Perfect excuse to “Get Organized” to “Go Portable”!
– Make Portable operations less of a hastle and chore.
– Eliminate the last minute hunting for gear before leaving.
– Banish the frustration of not having what you need at the operating site… because it is still back at the home QTH.
Note: For many hams on a budget, their “Go Box” does “double duty” as their Home Station.
The “Go Box” is probably the best way to organize your radio equipment for those times when you want to (or need to) “Grab-‘n-Go” for Portable Operations such as:
– Public Service Events
– ARES Drills/Exercises
– Real World Disasters
– Parks On The Air activations
– Day Trips to: the Park, Beach, Woods, or… the In-Laws.
– Weekend Get-Aways
– Vacations
Don’t Have a “Go Box”? BUILD ONE!
You can build/assemble your own “Go Box” in less than one day, and it will probably better than my Proof of Concept example.
See: www.ctaresregion2.org/forum/prepared-to-go-go-go
BE CREATIVE!
Your creative design and build may be exactly the thing that get someone else to build his own “Go Box”… or modify their existing “Go Box”.
BRING IT!
Come with your “Go Box” to the Nutmeg Hamfest for Display, Judging, and Awards or Show & Tell
AWARDS
– Best ARES VHF/UHF “Go Box”
This will include Voice and Digital/Data capability (Winlink, “Classic” Packet Radio)
– Best ARES HF “Go Box”
This will include Voice and Digital/Data Capability (Winlink/HFVARA)
– Best ARES VHF/UHF/HF “Go Box”
This will include Voice and Digital/Data capability for each radio as appropriate.
(VHF/UHF Winlink, VHF/UHF “Classic” Packet Radio, Winlink/HF VARA)
– Best POTA 100w (max) radio “Go Box” *
– Best POTA QRP “Go Box” *
* Where POTA “Go Box” includes: Cases, Backpacks, Camera Bags, etc.
Entry DETAILS @
Want to Help Out at the Biggest Ham Event in the Northeast?
The Northeast HamXposition boasts a cadre of dedicated volunteers who make this convention possible. But we can still use more volunteers. Your smiling faces and eagerness to help makes a difference to the attendees. From selling tickets, assisting presenters, supervising the flea market, setting up the rooms, handling parking signage, supervising the flea market, and taking it all down and packing it up for next year— you make it happen!
If you’d like to help us at the 2024 Northeast HamXposition, please register at https://registration.hamxposition.org/volunteer/ or contact our Volunteer Chair Barbara Irby, KC1KGS, at kc1kgs@hamxposition.org.
[See also: https://hamxposition.org/2024/07/23/meet-hamxposition-volunteer-chairperson-barbara-irby-kc1kgs/]HamXposition Photographer Sought
Larry Krainson, W1AST, writes:Good Morning All,
I am looking for someone who will be at the 2024 Northeast HamXposition closing ceremony where the raffle prizes will be drawn to take pictures of the winning person of door prizes.
If you are available, please contact me.
Many Thanks,
Larry, W1AST