Returning to Dayton (Hamvention 2026)

Every year in May, Dayton Ohio welcomes the largest amateur radio event in the United States. It's part trade show, part swapmeet, part conference, part fandom con. You can meet your favorite YouTubers, seek out grant funding, get early demos and datasheets for upcoming products, buy someone's junk out of the back of their truck, and listen to presentations on the latest developments in maximizing your ham radio mileage on Linux. It is the ultimate gathering for and by electrical engineers eligible for medicare.

After grabbing one of the few direct flights out from AUS to Ohio, I rented a car (for the first time, which was less stressful than I expected, but more expensive) and drove a bit over an hour into the Dayton area, bordering Xenia, OH where the convention takes place. The journey was surprisingly gorgeous but I was in too much of a rush to stop and take pictures!

The ARISS booth

The team at Hamvention!

This is my second time attending Hamvention; both occasions were the result of an invite from ARISS. Last year, I spoke on the year's panel about fram2ham, which I might have to reflect on in a different post sometime. This year, I came to table with the group and share some of the engineering org's accomplishments with the community.

Prepping for the panel

I didn't get to talk as much of the year's progress as I had hoped, but the abbreviation was well justified because we got to host an interesting presentation from John Shoffner. John flew to the ISS as the pilot aboard the Ax-2 mission in 2023, and he shared how his experience in space was an opportunity used for STEM education.

There is obvious value of a discussion like this to ARISS, which depends on the cooperation of crew members, space agencies, and commercial space to carry out its activities. It was super awesome to hear someone that had actually been to orbit articulate why this kind of education is impactful and how the fun radio part ARISS provides enhances it.

The ARISS 70cm, 2m, and S-band antenna unit in use on the ISS

Of course, it was also valuable to me, because I am an insane person. I tried to ask John about what it was like to fly on Dragon as an end user. He didn't have much feedback. Given the stakes of any trip taken strapped to a machine capable of generating over 800 tons of thrust, I think that's probably a massive compliment to the team, but who can say.

I was also curious about the dynamics of travelling to the space station after purchasing a seat. Do you get to hang out in the cupola all day? As it turns out, you don't. John told me he was put to work and had his time planned in the same OPTIMIS scheduler as the NASA astronauts.

I still cannot quite wrap my head around being in the right place, time, and extent of wealth to be able to pay for a trip to space, but if I were in that position, I don't think I would complain about needing to work. I think when people dream of going to space, they dream of being able to create some kind of difference for the global community while they're there, like the astronauts before them. Without the work, orbit is just the absence of earth. With it, it's something else.

The ISS radio system, including power supply and TM-D710G

Beyond the table

I spent most of my time at the con chatting with folks at the booth, but occasionally a sidequest found me.

• Libre Space had a good presence again this year. I swear I'll set up a satnogs ground station this year!! I swear!!
• AMSAT presented a hardware model of GOLF-TEE and gave me a cute GOLF-TEE sticker. This project has been in the works for a long time, so I hope it can see qualification and a launch opportunity soon.
• ARDC had a 44net demo running on a VT102 terminal. Why?? For fun! Obviously! I've been following ARDC for quite a while now but only really had a chance to meet their team personally for the first time at this event. It turns out ARDC might be the craziest network of computing OGs that exists. I had a lot of fun talking with them.
• My friend Hope had me do a quick segment about ARISS for her family's YouTube channel that they are reviving this year. It was so good to see you, Hope!!
• I met Conor (Critical_Frequency on YouTube), who was working on a documentary-style video about the power of community in ham radio after getting involved into the hobby a couple of years ago. This dude's production quality is absurd.
• AI4TB from the YouTube channel QRP Life was handing out tiny green UV5R minis. He told me the radios are 20 dollars and he used them to demo a live satellite contact using a whip antenna. This was super good intel and literally the picture of a perfect demo, awesome to hear about.
• I met a gentleman from the JSC amateur radio club (W5RRR). When I told him I had never visited JSC, he laughed and said I would be blown away because by comparison, KSC is child's play. Then he invited me to come visit the club. Sir, I don't know why, but it felt like a challenge. I'll see you there.

The outreach subject

Earlier on, I made a medicare joke. I know some people will take this seriously, so for the record, that comes from a place of love!! There's nothing wrong with Hamvention being an event for predominantly older people. Regardless, I stand out, and I think that's why I am frequently asked at these kinds of events about why I'm there.

As someone that got involved in my teens and is involved in an organization that targets student outreach, the phenomenon bears examining. ARISS is mostly successful at reaching the ham radio community. It is mostly successful at reaching educators. I am not sure it is successful at breaching containment and reaching people under 20, without the assistance of the educational contacts. The contacts are the most important part, but we can likely do more. What is working? What isn't?

Perhaps Hamvention holds a clue. It's not super surprising that most of the folks travelling to this event are those with money to spend. Still, I met several people in my age group at Hamvention this year, and what I observed mirrored what I saw in my community in Chicago and later in university. Overwhelmingly, people getting into this hobby for the first time are on one of two paths: a participatory family member brought them into it, or they discovered it through the internet while exploring the world of hacking, making, and electronics. Regardless of where they start initially, they end up part of amateur radio, particularly online, as experimenters. (Some folks are notably more into contesting and home station building than the electronics components specifically but that is a separate phenomenon/discussion.)

My takeaway is that there is still massively untapped potential in telegraphing the fun of this hobby online through the lens of accessible technical projects. There is so much to do and see, and although there has been much development in this area in recent years, there is still a lot of opportunity in the realm of a 'wireless Youtuber' or 'wireless TikToker' to explore. I think a super effective kind of presence in this space would be one that isn't a "ham radio YouTuber" exclusively (hence extending the audience) but someone that integrates ham radio as one of the many tools in their toolbox. The channel "saveitforparts" comes to mind as a possible example.

I'm hesitant to post photos and footage of myself these days, but I might make an attempt at this anyway. Has the time come for a radio vtuber? I'm joking. Or... maybe I'm not? lol, no current plans.

Point A to Point B

As soon as I woke up Sunday morning, it was back to the airport and off to my next destination. I ended up in a conversation with some pilots while I was waiting for my flight, and they gave me plane trading cards.

Insanely whimsical, made my day. Maybe my week.