
DX Engineering to Sponsor 2025 Northeast HamXposition Friday DX/Contest Banquet

We are pleased to have as our special guest presenter a well-known international DXer/Contester, Ned Stearns, AA7A, at the DX/Contest Banquet at the 2025 Northeast HamXposition.
The Radio-In-a-Box (RIB) technology has made a big impact in the DX (and contesting) realm. Its use in high-profile DXpeditions has changed the DXing game forever. The use of RIBs in DXpeditions can provide numerous benefits such as reduced project costs, lower environmental impact and safer operations. The “Remote DXpedition” presentation will provide AA7A’s perspective on the nearly seven-year development effort of the RIB concept and other emerging technologies and how their application to DXing is an exciting step forward in amateur radio.
The DX/Contest Banquet will be held at the Best Western Hotel and Conference Center Marlborough, Massachusetts on Friday evening, August 22, 2025. Tickets for the banquet and other events can be purchased online at https://ticketing.hamxposition.org.
We are proud to feature special guest speaker Dr. Nathaniel A. Frissell, W2NAF, from the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) program who will present “HamSCI: Space Weather We Can Do Together!” at the 2025 HamXposition Grand Banquet. Dr. Frissell will discuss results from a number of recent HamSCI experiments, what’s next for HamSCI in the future, and how you can participate in these exciting projects.
The Grand Banquet will be held at the Best Western Hotel and Conference Center Marlborough, Massachusetts on Saturday evening, August 23, 2025. Tickets for the banquet and other events can be purchased online at https://ticketing.hamxposition.org.
Woodland Hills resident Dr. Tamitha Skov, WX6SWW, reports that she is safe following the devastating wild fires in the Los Angeles area. Skov was the 2024 Northeast HamXposition Grand Banquet speaker.
She writes: “So many unexpected events have happened recently. For me, it’s the devastating fires in the Los Angeles area that are among the most traumatic. Thankfully, our home has remained safe. Several of our friends’ homes were not so lucky. We now face the daunting prospect of helping our community heal, amid uncertainty and change.”
Looking for inspiration?
We’re intentionally soliciting talks at all levels: introductory, general interest, advanced. The ideal presentation is preferably about 45 minutes in length and absolutely no longer than 50 minutes. This will allow time for subsequent speakers to set up. Here are just a few ideas to spark your imagination as you prepare a talk about The Excitement of Amateur Radio. (Don’t worry. You may see an inspiration in one subject group and apply it to another.)
Antennas and Propagation Subjects. Simple antennas for the newcomer. Making antennas out of aluminum, or wire. Antenna projects as club activities. All about transmission lines and connectors. Knowledgeable purchasing. Rotators. Tower safety. When should I get on the air, and on which band? Propagation basics. Beacons. Propagation modeling. Propagation reporting. What are all these sunspot numbers, A, and K factors, anyway? The decibel. What’s next in the solar cycle. Results of your own propagation studies. HamSCI activities.
Operating Activities Subjects.
On The Air. Introduction to fox hunting, to ARDF, to OTAs (Summits, Parks, Lighthouses, Boy Scout Jamborees, Girl Scout Thinking days, etc.). International cooperative efforts. Operating practice and/or ethics. Operating awards. Geography and topography. VHF+ hilltopping and roving. Tips and techniques for your successful activity. Activity travelogues. QSLing. Occupying underutilized bands or modes.
Contesting. Introduction to contesting. Configuring your station. Maximizing your score. Breaking through pile-ups. Tips for the “little pistol” competitors. Logging programs and techniques. Submitting logs. Field day war stories.
DXing. Introduction to DXing. Wallpaper opportunities. Organizing and managing a DXpedition. Amateur Radio demographics around the world. Tips for the “little pistol” DX chasers. Getting started with Logbook of the World. Travelogues.
EMCOM, Public Service, and Traffic Subjects. What happens to “When all else fails” when the Internet fails. EMCOM/PS preparation and training. The Incident Commander concept. Initiating and managing local EMCOM relationships. Case studies of or reports on emergency communications.
Introduction to public service. Public service experiences. Case studies of or reports on public service events. Go-kits/portable/packable/mobile equipment. Portable power. Introduction to traffic handling.
Restructuring of the NTS. Analog and digital repeater systems and networks. Analysis of command, control, and communications during Paul Rever’s 1775 ride.
History, Invention, and Reinvention Subjects. Where did we come from. Historical artifacts. Amateur Radio’s contributions to the art and technology of radio. Amateur Radio demographics. A tank away: radio-related tourist venues. How can Amateur Radio thrive: where are we going, how do we get there. Rejuvenating clubs and club meetings.
League, Division, and Section Activities and News. What’s next, what’s big in Amateur Radio. Rules and regulations. Major operating activities. Supporting scouting activities and college clubs.
Technical Subjects. New signal sources, modes, or modulation schemes. Introduction to the digital modes. Introduction to repeaters, DSTAR, DMR, etc. The analog modes aren’t dead. Unusual modes (video, telemetry, remote control, etc.) Equipment construction techniques. Physical circuits versus programming. The basics of software defined radios. SMD soldering. Parts and programs resources. Hints and Kinks. RFI chasing and fixing. Using clusters, spotters, and reporters. How to remotely control your station. Frontiers in the hobby. The Clean Signal Initiative. Exploring Lightwave communications. Experiences at HF and below, VHF and above. Shack networking and interfacing. Remote operation. Reports of experiments, studies, or significant achievements.
Training and Education Subjects. T&E planning for your club. T&E success (or failure) stories. Demonstrations, and how to present them. Long format versus short format license preparation. Tech Nights. Post-exam, continuing, and remedial training. Finding candidate trainees. Bringing the next
generation on board. Elmering.
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.
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:
It’s never too early to start planning! Contact HamXposition Program Chair Skip Youngberg at K1NKR@hamxposition.org.