DX Engineering to Sponsor 2025 Northeast HamXposition Friday DX/Contest Banquet (UPDATED)

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DX Engineering 25 logoDX Engineering (“DXE”) has graciously agreed to be the official sponsor for the Northeast HamXposition Friday evening DX/Contest Banquet. Featured guest and world-reowned international DXer/Contester Ned Stearns, AA7A, will present on the Radio-In-a-Box (RIB) technology.
 
DX Engineering will donate six $100 gift certificates toward purchase of products from the company, along with a major prize of an Icom IC-7610 with a retail value of $3,250.00. 
 
Tickets to the Friday DX/Contest dinner, as well as the convention, are available online.
 
The HamXposition Committee wishes to express its sincere appreciation to Tim Duffy and the DX Engineering team for their generosity! 

2025 HamX Call for Talks

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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.

  • How we generate and transmit Amateur signals. (our bands, equipment, remote systems, antennas, propagation, etc.)
  • How we modulate our signals. (CW, phone, digital, image, etc.)
  • The uses we make of our signals. (on-the-air activities, EMCOM and public service, DXing, contesting, traffic, repeaters, EME. etc.)

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:

  • January through April – Individuals propose presentations. The Convention’s Programs Committee also solicits presentations. Speaker Login webpage active.
  • By 30 April – Solicited presenters reply.
  • By 1 June – Potential presenters commit to speaking if scheduled.
  • By 30 June – Closeout: presentation curation complete. Presenters notified.
  • By 30 June – Presenters finish populating database with personal information, talk title, and talk summary. (Minor grammatic and spelling edits are permitted until the database is locked.)
  • 15 July – Database locked. No further editing by presenters.
  • 31 July – Scheduling resolved, locked, and provided for brochure preparation.
  • 10 August – Brochure submitted to printer.
  • 21-23 August — HamXposition 2025!

It’s never too early to start planning! Contact HamXposition Program Chair Skip Youngberg at K1NKR@hamxposition.org.

HamXposition 2024 Kicks Off With Comedy!

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Juston McKenny
Juston McKinney

Start your convention visit off on a laugh with the newest addition to our HamXposition line up! We’re pleased to announce that the 2024 Northeast HamXposition will kick off with a comedy at by world-renowned comedian Juston McKinney.

Juston has starred in numerous Comedy Central shows including his half-hour Comedy Central Presents and his one-hour special “Juston McKinney-A Middle-Class Hole.” He has multiple appearances on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien as well as a Showtime Special with Rob Gronkowski. He has also appeared twice at Denis Leary’s, Comics Come Home at the TD Garden. 

Tickets are just $35, and also available as part of our “Convention Plus” package.

Seating will be limited to 250 persons, so don’t delay!

We Welcome Your Feedback!

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We’ve received much feedback and constructive criticism of this year’s HamXposition. We will try to incorporate as many ideas as possible to improve HamXposition in 2024. You may email the individual committee members, or visit our testimonial page to leave feedback.

KD1CY Honored for 20 Years of VoIP Hurricane Net Service at HamX

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kD1CY holding 20 Year VoIP AwardARES SKYWARN Coordinator and Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY, was awarded with a surprise plaque for 20 years of service to the Voice over IP (“VoIP”) Hurricane Net.

District Emergency Coordinator Jim Palmer, KB1KQW, arranged for HWN Net Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, to be present via Zoom during Rob’s SKYWARN talk. Graves presented the award “virtually” in front of the attendees. 

“I was aware of the award because it was mentioned [earlier in the year] at the National Hurricane Conference Amateur Radio Workshop, but I did not attend in person this year due to work commitments,” said Macedo. 

Trip to W1AW

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Maxim Memorial Station W1AW
W1AW Tour

Jim Irby, WB4EJR, writes:

On August 22nd at around 10:00 AM, twenty-one amateur radio operators who were attending the Northeast HamXposition in Marlborough, Massachusetts boarded a bus for the 90-minute trip to ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut (https://www.arrl.org/inside-w1aw). The trip was organized by Bob DeMattia (K1IW, HamX) and Bob Inderbitzen (NQ1R, ARRL).

Once on site, the group was given a tour of the station by Bob Inderbitzen and John McAuliffe (W1DRF). They pointed out early transmitting equipment used by ARRL founder Hiram Percy Maxim, and they discussed the history of the ARRL. Equipment used to send code practice training transmissions throughout the world was seen as well as new conferencing facilities. Vintage Collins and Drake line equipment was also on display. One or two of the attendees made QSOs from W1AW.

For lunch, Bob DeMattia organized delivery of more than enough subs to feed the tour group. Lunch was taken outside the W1AW building on picnic tables under a beautiful stand of trees. The tour group returned to Marlborough by mid-afternoon.

Thank you, Bob DeMattia, Bob Inderbitzen and John McAuliffe, for this wonderful trip. It was beautifully organized, and it fulfilled a dream many of us have had for many years!

miniCTU Door Prize Winner

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miniCTU Door Prize winner
Photo courtesy Doug Grant, K1DG

Here is DX Launcher S/N 001 being presented to miniCTU door prize winner Charles Gantz, K3WJX, of Hollywood, MD.

“Antennas for Backyard, Balcony, Attic, or Wherever” Slides Available

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The slides from the 2025 HamX presentation, “Antennas for Backyard, Balcony, Attic, or Wherever” by Bob Glorioso, W1IS, are now posted on the Battery Eliminator Store website.

Talk Description:

We have found that many new hams and retiring hams are living in apartments or condos where they have limited ability to get on HF while others have constraints like HOAs or family concerns about the aesthetics of wires, masts or beams hanging on the house. It takes more than reading an add or buying a mobile antenna to get on HF. First, they must understand the basics of antennas or they are stymied. This presentation covers the principles needed and examples of successful HF antennas in a restricted environment.

 

 

 

Grand Prizes at HamXposition

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 Over $15,000 of door prizes were awarded at the 2025 Northeast HamXposition.

According to HamX Prize Chair Larry Krainson, W1AST, “Our top prize, the Yaesu FT-891 mobile with the ATAS-120a mobile antenna, was won by Arthur Weeks, Jr., W1AGW, Rollinsford, New Hampshire. The Elecraft KH1 Edgewood—a POTA/SOTA dream radio—was awarded to Gay Nelson, KC1WQI, Old Lyme, Connecticut.”

Yaesu FT-891
Yaesu FT-891
Elecraft KH1 Edgewood
Elecraft KH1 Edgewood

Make WRTC 2026 the Best One Yet!

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Mark Pride, K1RX, writes:

On behalf of the entire group of speakers at this year’s miniCTU, both Doug, K1DG and I wish to thank you for your interest and enthusiasm for one of the most exciting aspects of our hobby! It really does bring all of the elements together! We trust you found it educational and motivational.

Additionally, the WRTC 2026 UK event is striving to be the best one yet. Even in this aspect, it is competitive. Each host country tries to be the BEST one yet. And in support of this goal, we continue to look for your help through donations of any amount.

For those that did provide a donation during the Ham Expo – my thanks! Remember it is July 8-13 next year and we will look for your “audience participation”. In the meantime, please follow this link, and help close the gap.

Donate | WRTC 2026 UK

HamX Fox Hunt Results

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W1MJ fox logEliot Mayer, W1MJ, writes:

At the last minute, the MMRA transmitter used for the HamX hidden transmitter hunt, AKA fox hunt, developed a problem.  Phil K9HI contacted me and asked me to bring my fox as a replacement, set to the announced fox frequency.  I did so, and deployed it behind a fallen tree next to the far side of the hotel building.  A total of 8 people signed the notebook next to the fox to let us know they found it, and a few emailed me about their hunting experience. 

One ham, who shall remain nameless to protect their innocence, didn’t spot the direct path to the fox, and instead used a challenging route through thorny bushes! 

My fox cycles though a set of voice messages, so if I am asked to bring the fox next time, I will customize the messages for HamX.  

UPDATE: Minuteman Repeater Association’s “Fox Box” Deployed at 2025 HamX

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fox huntingThe Minuteman Repeater Association (MMRA) Fox Box will be active somewhere on the convention grounds. Join the fun! Bring your DF gear and find the hidden transmitter.

The MMRA Fox Box be in place sometime Thursday afternoon, then moved on both Friday and Saturday evening around 5:30 PM. It will operate on 145.63 MHz, PL 146.2.

If you find it, be sure to add your call sign to the “mailbox” on the box.

 

UPDATE 8/21 at 1:30 PM

MMRA FOXBOX DEAD. NOT IN PLACE AT HAMX!

Kevin Paetzold, K1KWP, writes:

I tested it for 3 days a wk ago.  When I was about to put it in place and tested it was not transmitting.
Actually the xmit light on the 2AT comes on for about 0.1 seconds and it did make my receivers hear that sometimes.

btw: I think there was some flakiness last year when I initially tested it but it went away and continued to work and I decided that I imagined it.

 

UPDATE 8/21 at 7 PM:

Eliot Mayer, W1MJ, writes:

Per our conversation today, I have programmed the W1MJ fox per https://hamxposition.org/2025/08/17/minuteman-repeater-associations-fox-box-deployed-at-2025-hamx/, 145.63 MHz, PL 146.2.  It will be on the air at HamX from approximately 10:00 AM on Saturday until 1:00 PM (at least) on Sunday.  It will sleep from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM unless you want me to change that setting.

“Board Games and Social Hour” at 2025 HamX

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picture of "Go" board gameJoin facilitator Seth Kendall, KC1PZY, and friends and play some games with your fellow hams! “We’ve got everything from party games, to strategy games, to classic games like Chess and Go.” Saturday, August 23 at 5 PM for 90 minutes in the Atrium.