Hamvention has come to pass once more and our members had a blast! For those not in the know, Hamvention is an annual convention in Dayton for amateur radio. This event is huge, drawing radio nerds from across the globe to convene at a 3 day event with talks, meetups, vendors, yard sale, and even testing for your own license. Here's some thoughts from our members' experiences this year.

brianxr:

Hamvention was a lot of fun this year. Weather was better than usual (not too hot, and rain was limited). I had been looking for a variac and scored one ($20) Friday morning (whether it works is TBD), with intent to use it one day in a restoration project for a pair of 65-year-old tube-type radios. With the same project in mind, I bought a book called "hollow state design" and spent a few minutes chatting with the author. Looking forward to learning more about vacuum tubes! Also, lots of random conversations with random people - it's a convention full of people willing to talk to perfect strangers for 10-20 minutes about whatever strikes their fancy, who knew? :)

Kostas:

After years of playful "bullying", I was finally able to catch Hamvention. I've been on the Meshtastic radio system for two years so seeing the custom Hamvention firmware in action was a lot of fun. As someone with no Ham license, I did feel out of my depth. There is not a lot of beginner information available at the event. I was very lucky for my very knowledgeable and patient friend taking me around and answering my and my friend's newbie questions. The ARRL App and paper maps were a godsend for hunting down booths of interest for me like amateur satellite and Meshtastic booths. I hope to have my license and call sign ready for next year!

How was your Hamvention? Did you take a license test? Did you snag your niche find at the yard sale? Will we see you next year?