HamXposition 2024 Kicks Off With Comedy!

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!

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.

“POTA Adventures at the Northeast HamXposition”

POTA Adventures at the Northeast HamXposition: Conrad, Peter, and Brian’s Exciting Weekend
 
The Northeast HamXposition, held in Marlborough, Massachusetts, from August 22nd to 25th, was a weekend filled with ham radio activities, presentations, and special events. For Conrad Trautmann (N2YCH), Peter Cimino (K1PCN), and Brian Horne (N1BAM), it was a memorable event that blended education with the thrill of Parks on the Air (POTA) activations.
 
Conrad and Peter, along with Shawn Warren (KC1NQE), delivered a joint presentation on the evolution of the Connecticut Parks on the Air (CT-POTA) Activators Group on Saturday afternoon. Given the presentation topic, permissions were granted for them to activate some parks over the weekend using the special event call sign W1XPO, the official call of FEMARA.
 
Activating a park is always fun, but using a special event call sign like W1XPO added an extra level of excitement. Conrad mentioned, “Everyone wants to try and get you, which usually means a good pile-up!”
 
Peter and Conrad started early on Friday, mapping out parks to visit before the main event. Their first stop was Bigelow Hollow State Park (US-1648) in Union, Connecticut. With some helpful advice from Shawn, who had activated there before, they set up near Bigelow Pond. Conrad recalls, “The park is wooded with forest right up to the bank of the pond. There’s not much open space, so we set up among the trees.” Peter operated SSB while Conrad handled digital modes, offering hunters different opportunities to make contact.
 
Meanwhile, Brian Horne (N1BAM) also got in on the POTA action during the HamXposition. On Friday, he activated Callahan State Park (US-2424) in Massachusetts using his personal call sign, N1BAM. Setting up a SuperAntenna with a Faraday cloth for HF, Brian logged an impressive 44 contacts in just over an hour, making it his first time activating a Massachusetts park.
 
On Sunday, after the conference wrapped up, Brian activated Moosup Valley State Trail (US-7535) in Connecticut on his way home. Hiking in about a quarter-mile, he found an elevated spot overlooking a river and made 17 contacts in just 20 minutes, using the W1XPO call sign.
 
Conrad and Peter continued their activations with a stop at Quacumquasit Wildlife Management Area (US-11562) in East Brookfield, Massachusetts. Unfortunately, Conrad faced a challenge with his logging software, which refused to cooperate. While Peter had a successful activation, Conrad’s issues reminded them that even experienced operators can encounter setbacks in the field.
 
The duo made one more stop on the way back to Connecticut, activating Wells State Park (US-2462) in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. As rain began to fall during their activation, they quickly wrapped up and headed home.
 
The Northeast HamXposition was a tremendous success for Conrad, Peter, and Brian. The combination of presentations and activations made the weekend unforgettable. The joint presentation on the CT-POTA Activators group showcased their passion for POTA, while the activations using the W1XPO call sign highlighted the joy of working with a special event call.
As Brian, Peter, and Conrad activated parks in New England, they further cemented their love for POTA and the unique bond it fosters within the ham radio community. Until next year’s event, the team is eager to continue their POTA adventures, inspiring more operators to explore the joys of activating parks on the air.
 
POTA on!
 
Shawn Warren
KC1NQE – Keep Creating 1 New Quality Experience
 
N2YCH - Activating W1XPO

MMRA “Turns Out in Force” at HamXposition

The Minuteman Repeater Association, an Eastern Massachusetts-based non-profit organization providing communications infrastructure and volunteers for community and emergency events since 1971, was active at the 2024 Northeast HamXposition on a number of fronts. Their September 2024 newsletter, The Minuteman, contains a nice recap of their activities.

 

MMRA HamX story

MMRA newsletter pg 2

Club Track at Northeast HamXposition

Bruce Blain, K1BG, writes:

Thanks for attending the “Club Track” at HamXposition last weekend.  Feedback has been very positive!

I want to thank the following people for their presentations:

Bruce Blain, K1BG, Nashoba Valley ARC – Guerilla Marketing: Finding contacts, creating email lists mailings / CRM tips.

David Tessitore, K1DT, Providence Radio Association – Marketing your Club.

Chris Ranney, WA1CMR, Falmouth ARA – Getting New Hams Active – How a “radio” library can help.

George Allison, K1IG, PART of Westford – Making Your Club Relevant and Fun.

Phil Temples, K9HI – Overview of WordPress website options.

Brandon Hockle, NQ1W, Cape Ann ARA – Radio Club Rejuvenated: What we did at Cape Ann ARA and what might work for your club.

Nancy Austin, KC1NEK, SM/RI and Rowan Eggert, WO1P, SYC/RI – Leveraging the biannual ARRL School Roundup in the New England Division as a new youth force multiplier follow up to Winter Field Day and JOTA.

If anyone is interest in any of the presentations, reply to this email and I will send you a copy or copies.

Thanks again.  I hope we can do it again in 2025!

 

Bruce

Providence Radio Association Hosts W1XPO “Get On The Air” at Northeast HamXposition

Vic Farmer writes on the Providence Radio Association Facebook page:
 
At the 2024 Northeast HamXposition, [the Providence Radio Association] W1OP hosted W1XPO, an On the Air demonstration with a working  Icom 7300 SSB station, where walkins could get on the air time and coaching help. 
 
On Saturday,  the team additionally operated the WW Digi contest as W1XPO/1. They linked into HQ as a remote client direct from the Best Western Expo Site.   Listed as a multi op single station . . . over 18 operators participated.  They remotely operated via internet, a K3 transceiver into a 135ft Doublet, ladder line fed into a balun. 
 
 
 

Grand Prizes Awarded at 2024 Northeast HamXposition

Congratulations to the grand prize winners at the 2024 Northeast HamXpositon!

Joseph F. Del Guidice, K1CR, of Cranston, Rhode Island, was the lucky winner of the combination SteppIR SDA 100 Controller and PreppIR 20m-6m Portable, Quick Deploy Dipole System by SteppIR. 

2024 1st Grand Prize

 

The 2nd Grand Prize award, an Icom IC-705 QRP all-in-one transceiver 160m to 70cm + D-Star, went to Yuri V. Dogadaev, UT1EE, from Ukraine.

Icom IC-705 image

 

Gary E. Schultzbert, KC1HGC, of North Uxbridge, MA, won the 3rd Grand Prize: a Xiegu X6100 QRP HF/6m transceiver.

Xiegu X6100 Qrp HF/6m transceiver

 

The Fourth Grand Prize was awarded to James E Dalton, II, KB5RBY, of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire. James won a Icom ID-50A VHF/UHF/D-Star HT.

Icom ID-50A VHF/UHF/D-Star HT

 

Congratulations to these amateurs and those in attendance Sunday afternoon who won many, many door prizes given away.