What to Do at Dayton?

May is fast approaching, which means it is time for the biggest amateur radio event of the year: the Dayton Hamvention® (May 16-18). I managed to attend last year and had a great time, including meeting astronaut Bill McArthur KC5ACR. So it is time to finalize plans for this year.

What to do at Dayton? Last year, I decided to really focus on the forums, including AMSAT, D-STAR, Frequency Coordination and weak-signal VHF. I'll repeat that again this year, since there are quite a few interesting forums listed on the Hamvention® web site. The second priority is the vendor displays throughout Hara arena. It is a unique opportunity to see lots of equipment in person, rather than in a catalog. I'll probably spend some time in the flea market, as you never know when a precious treasure (read: someone else's junk) is sitting there with my name on it. Years ago, I thought the flea market was the main attraction but lately I don't have the passion for wandering up and down the aisles for hours on end.

The QRP Amateur Radio Club International seems to think that 3 days of Dayton are just not enough, so they sponsor a fourth day focused on QRP. They call this event Four Days in May (or FDIM). I will probably spend most of Thursday hanging out with the QRPers. (I write the VHF column for the QRP Quarterly, the official publication of QRP ARCI.)

Then there are the banquets....the QRPers, the Contesters, AMSAT/TAPR and weak-signal VHF, just to name a few. Not sure which ones will make the short list this year. Perhaps, I'll just skip them.

What do you like to do at Dayton?

73, Bob K0NR