Hamvention® 2026 in Xenia, Ohio, officially begins on Friday morning, May 15. But several hundred hams arrived early to take part in pre-Hamvention activities. ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® was already on site at the Greene County Fairgrounds, exhibitors were busy setting up their booths. We snapped a few late afternoon photos of setup work at several booths, including Carlson Roof Towers, Heil Ham Radio, Buddipole, and HamStudy/ExamTools, plus a few flea market tables. All of the vendors were looking forward to the opportunities once the show opened to connect with current and potential customers, with several of them noting that the relationships built or strengthened at Hamvention were at least as important as making sales.

There were also several ham-related events outside the fairgrounds. Two of the biggest were the QRP Amateur Radio Club International’s (QRPARCI) “Four Days in May” (FDIM) meetup for low-power enthusiasts and the 19th annual running of Contest University. 

QRPARCI’s David Cripe, NMØS, said this year’s FDIM drew a record 325 attendees to listen to 9 speakers and visit with vendors in the evening on Thursday, which he said was the main day of the event. One first-time attendee is a relatively new ham who is already making a contribution to the QRP community. Jonathan Kayne, KM4CFT, says he got interested in ham radio through a friend in high school, leading to an electrical engineering degree from Virginia Tech and a job with Lockheed Martin. On the ham radio side, Kayne said “I couldn’t do radio from my apartment, so I got into QRP. That led my learning – and loving – CW. I started building kits, then designed one. Kayne had his CFT-1 5-band QRP CW transceiver available at vendor night. Another FDIM attendee was ham legend Roy Lewallen, W7EL (best known as the author of EZNEC antenna software), who had with him the “Optimized QRP Transceiver” that he designed and was featured in the August 1980 issue of QST! The two rigs are about the same size! Lewallen said that after a quarter century of coming to Dayton as a vendor, then retiring four years ago, this was his first trip back as “just another person” enjoying the show.

Contest University, held in a hotel on the grounds of Wright Patterson Air Force Base, drew 280 attendees this year, according to spokeswoman Amy Leggiero, N8AMY. Organizer Tim Duffy, K3LR, noted that nearly half the “students” were first-timers. Among them was 23-year-old Tyler Schroder, NT1S, a first-year Ph.D. student at Dakota State University in South Dakota, studying data privacy. “When I first signed up,” he said, “I had no idea what I was getting into,” noting that many of his ham friends told him that “Contest University is where you really learn the techniques to succeed in contesting. I’ve learned a lot but more important is the people, getting to meet the top people in the field … and that’s all before Hamvention!” Shroder also noted that, as a ham under age 25, DX Engineering had covered all of his costs for attending Contest University. During Hamvention, he will lead the exhibit for the ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Program.

Finally, among the pre-Hamvention activities, ARRL hosted its annual Donor Recognition Reception on Thursday evening to thank members who had made donations to ARRL and the ARRL Foundation. Remarks were shared by Director of Development Kevin Beal, K8EAL; CEO David Minster, NA2AA; and President Rick Roderick, K5UR.

Beal noted that the red, white, and blue-themed reception reflected ARRL’s partnership with America250, joining the nationwide celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He said that amateur radio’s technical innovation and volunteer service have contributed to the American story.

The evening concluded with recognition of new ARRL Maxim Society donors, including those whose commitments moved them into higher giving classes. President Roderick and his wife, Holly, were recognized for their lifetime giving, which elevated them to Founder Class.

Follow ARRL News for our Facebook photo album throughout Hamvention weekend as we add new images from the ARRL exhibit area, and from throughout the event. If you’re attending Hamvention, be sure to stop by the ARRL booths in Building 2 – Tesla.

Hamvention opens officially at 9:00 AM Friday and runs through 1:00 PM on Sunday, May 17. For more information visit hamvention.org.