E1696: Hamcation 2026 Interview with Hamfest Admins

Hey guys, good evening, Happy Sunday, Comember Wednesday. Get started here in just one night.

All right, let's see, let's think we're going to.

Bring it in right here. Good evening, Happy Sunday to everybody. Uh, you know what, I don't even know what the temperature is here right now, but it's been raining for like the past two days, and I've been talking to people in Discord. That's you know, they're getting temperatures of twenty degrees ten degrees minus fifteen degrees, some crazy numbers out there. So I want to know how warm or not warm it is where you are right now. Put it in the chat. How warm is it or how warm is

Now.

Let's just go now. And twenty six in North Carolina. Negative twenty the last three days in the morning, Jake, where the heck are you man? Negative seventeen in Minnesota, No, thanks, twenty four in Arkansas, fifty one in Savannah, Georgia, fourteen dropping to six by morning. Wow, that's crazy. Twelve degrees Colorado Springs, twenty five in Roanoke, Virginia. Bill says, good evening, Bill, all right, Wow, okay, so that's a thing that is

I hear you here.

Yeah, all right, my fault, guys, sorry about that. Yeah, I see the lost audio, Thank you very much. My fault. My fault. This scene that I had right here, I didn't have the new microphone added to it, So we're good. So sorry about that. That that's my fault. We got it, we got it. So yeah, I was talking about the one forty six five to two stickers on the website. That's right there. I think you should be able to hear me now right here. Yeah, okay, enabled CTCSS, that's good,

I'm good, Jason, thank you for having me on the show tonight.

Absolutely so. Tell us what's the temperature in Orlando right now?

Right now?

It is?

Let's see, let me give you an accurate reading alight, seventy.

Four seventy four? Wow, you guys need to break out the park. Is I guess seventy four degrees out there in Orlando right now? But you're gonna get some cold temperatures here coming up in the next few days.

I think, Yeah, tomorrow night, tomorrow sometime. We got a cold front coming through posted to drop us down to near freezing for almost a week. They're saying, this's gonna be like thirties in the morning and fifties during the day for about a week. Wow.

Okay, Well, at least he's get it's up above freezing during the day, so that's not too bad, I guess.

So true.

Good, good, good, Okay, Well, Kyle is my Frank tonight, Good evening, Kyle.

How are you hello?

How are you good? Man? How'd it go with the I Share Radio?

That thing is awesome. I cannot wait to them come out out of beta and there's a need they're scratching the itch.

Yeah, total are they going to be a ham Cashion.

I don't think they're gonna be at Ham Cason, but they're going to be at ham Vention anvention.

Yeah.

I remember seeing him at Hamvention last year, but I was hoping they'd come to Orlando as well. Yeah, so okay, cool man, thanks for being here.

Yeah, thank you. Hi, Michael, how are you?

I'm good? Kyle? Are you good?

Good? Good?

Good? All right? Michael. Well, the floor is yours. Tell us what we can expect from twenty twenty six hamcash what I'd like to know. I mean, I know you've got some new stuff to tell us, and there's some awards items I've been getting some emails about. But yeah, yeah, the floor is yours. Go ahead with whatever you got for us.

Yeah, our biggest thing this year. Lots of new stuff, a lot of sighting stuff. So yeah, earlier we did announce all of our award winners, but we did have a new award this year that we did give out, which was the Radio Hero Award. A gentleman from India

Handcasion totally good.

So other things that's happened, of course, our awards banquet, which we do have, but this year we're changing it up a little bit. We're actually doing our first ever actual banquet open to the public on Saturday night, so you can come to it. It's a farm to table dinner at Rosen Plaza all of our info is on the website table at the top that says banquet. Just click on that. All the info is there for it. So we will do awards ceremony to start with, then

That's a great idea. That's a fantastic idea. Okay, okay, good, good to know. What's the name of the place again.

It's going to be Rosden Plaza Plaza Okay okay, yep, yeah.

Yeah, it's the same place that we usually did the dinner for the award ceremony before. It's just going to be in actually one of their banqwell halls.

This time, gotcha Okay, good, excellent, okay, yeah. Cool.

So other big things. One of the huge things this year, we've got eighteen new vendors that's never been a hamction.

Good.

Yeah, all commercial fenders. A lot of them are spull TENA, Macony's Signals Solutions, Seed Studio, A Mesh Company, UH, National Amateur Radio Alliance, Air met Error, Armate, arm Reate Towers, U s W Magazine, Hamside Radio Club of America, UH three C Hamshack, Bad Dog Tools, LO Mesh, Morris Nexus, UH one Voice of America Museum is actually coming U Maker Nova Aylmore Brand Amateur Radio Directory Radioddity. One of the big ones this year is going to be her

Yeah, good, Yeah, I knew that. I knew that Seed Studios was going to be there. That was Dave who was in the zoom chat a minute ago. Okay, so yeah, yeah, he's I knew that. He said they were they were going to be there. So in fact, I think we're gonna kind of kind of carpool, not carpool. I think we're gonna kind of caravan up there together on our drive. But we still got to hammer that out. But looking forward to that. And then and then low Mesh. You

Yeah, Lo Mesh. It's actually he's actually a local guy here. I think he's like help in Gainesville area. He worked with another mesh company, one of the developing companies, for a while, and he started a his own business.

So good.

So yeah. The other one that many people heard about, Quicksilver, the gentleman actually bought the company. He will actually be at Hamcasion also so good.

Good, not be going nowhere, which is good, good, good, excellent. Kyle, do you have a question.

The Marconi signal systems? That is, I think Marconi makes if I'm thinking of the same people tell me if I'm correct here, Michael. He makes a CW key for remote c W keane and uses an ESP thirty two and communicates over the internet, and it is a really cool product. So if that's the same person I'm thinking of, that would be cool to see him at AMCATIONI.

Mm hmm, I believe that is the same one.

I believe, Yes, it's that Max in five. Uh, this call is he's got an INN five call?

Yeah, I'm not sure on that one, but.

Well, if it is, that's great.

If not, we'll learn about somebody new. Yeah. Good, Well, I've gotta I gotta get a I gotta get a list of those new vendors from you, Michael, so I can uh make sure I visit all those and maybe get a few recordings of interviews with him.

Yeah, definitely, that'd be great.

I don't know if I don't know if gray Man PoTA is oblivious or joking, but he says his wife is so selfless. She is insisting that I go to him vention and not worry about her. Well himvention's in May, so I'm not sure if that was a typo or or if he's just and like, I'm not gonna make it to hamcasion because of Valentie's Day. But okay, good for you, buddy. I don't know the end that his timate could go either way.

So gray Man, Poda, I hope that in February you're not driving to Dayton. I hope that you're coming down to Orlando. How about that?

That is true?

So he made the wrong turn somewhere, right, Yeah, I made.

A left turn in Aberquerque, left turn at Albuquerque.

That's awesome, all right, Michael, go ahead, man? What else? What else you got for us?

Other things? Was? We do have the stuff that the associated items during casion. So we have the Florida Contest dinner of course on Friday night that infos on the website. We have a kit bill with Joe Eisenberg on Wednesday night, and that's gonna be a good one. He's actually doing a vertical like almost like a Poda style antenna. So which is a good one. That'd be a good turnout. You have to sign up for it. There is still

That's yeah, that's good. That's good, okay, sweet, Yeah, under forum speakers down here, we got event infos, a lot of stuff under event info on the website here, so yes, we'll find a lot of stuff.

And then all the forums are upddate on the website. There are lots of forums there were as soon as we get updates, we're actually updating them. So that is a live running for the forums.

Good. Okay, how does the how does the RV reservations look as compared to last year?

It's right on par with last year? So last year I think we hit don't quote me about and fifteen and we're right on part with that. So for RV's it's good. So people still traveling.

So yeah, when is the last day that you can sign up for an RV spot? Do you guys have a cutoff?

We do so on the website on January thirty first, all sales will end for anything on the website other than the banquet. You can still buy banquet tickets after that, but for anything after that point, tickets, RV swaps, all that will be shut down and then you would have to actually buy it at the the gate basically, but we've never ran out. We still have swap tables available, so tailgate of course is available, so yeah, we can accommodate yet the gate.

Gotcha good?

Okay, do you get your reservation yet, Kyle?

No, That's why I was asking the question.

I know you posted the chat a couple of weeks ago and You're like, I haven't even made my reservation yet. I'm like, well, I'm gonna think about it.

January thirty. First, I'm gonna make my RV reservation. I guarantee you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that sounds about right.

Okay. So the other big thing too this year, every year we've been able to use W one aw Strop four Slash four for our special event station. But actually this year it is falling in the ARL two hundred and fifty America contact all fifty states contests, and actually ham Case will count for one of those contacts. So if you contact W ONEAW Slash four deering him, it will count as a Florida contact for the contest.

Nice. Okay. I think I worked Dash four like a couple of weeks ago when we were on PODA.

Did you. Yeah, it started probably about a month ago. I think different areas, but they have a schedule on their website and it shows each operator and where they are and then the time they're actually scheduled that will count toward the contact.

Okay, good to know. Yeah, that'd be a fun thing to do, I think. So all right, well, how how did ticket sales look?

Ticket sales are good. So pre sales is right on par with last year, if not a little better. So yeah, really good. And I do know also with all the new vendors we have for the first time this year, if you remember, the North Building which is where the ticket booth is, that whole center is all boosts this year, so we actually totally filled up the North Hall with denders this year, which is good.

Nice.

Yes, So, and then the other thing that's going live this coming week, the ARL Events app is actually going live, so that will have all the information pretty much it's on our website, on all the forums. Everything there will actually be on that app. Also during ham Cashion if you want to track who wins prizes stuff like that, all that will be on there also for the hourly winners.

Yeah, Michael, what was the do you remember what the attendance was last year?

Tendess last year I believe was twenty three thousand and something.

Gotcha, that's a lot of people. That's a lot of hamds.

Yeah, yeah, that sounds that sounds right.

I was.

I mean, that's that's not that's not a record, but it's getting up there close to being a record, right.

Right Prior to the year, prior to COVID was actually our record than after COVID when we come back in twenty twenty one, we were down, but we're starting to grow back up toward that record again, right. I think twenty five thousand, six hundred, seven hundred was actually our record in twenty twenty.

Yeah, twenty seven thousand, Okay, okay, good good. So a couple of questions from the chat. Dave is asking, now, you may not know about this, and that's okay, we may need to ask somebody else about this. But have you heard anything about a custom mestatastic firmwhere I don't think? Okay, okay, tell.

Us about they are working on it. We will put out more information once it's there, but I do know we will have different they're working on I think three different meantastic nodes to be put around the pairgrounds. So, but it is in the works.

Yes, I remember there were two three last year. I can't. I can't remember if we had custom firmware last year or not.

I don't think we did, but this year there is. They are working on it.

I think we just changed from from long fast to like short fast and change one other change it to like two hops instead of three, and I think that was it. But yes, but I mean we get custom firm where for him mentioned, so I'm excited to see what custom fermwhere they come up for him. Casions so good. I'm looking forward to try to trying that out. Good. The other thing is uh and prep Paan Paul is asking is it r V only or can you tint camp?

It has not. Unfortunately, in the city of Orlando, you're not allowed to camp from a tent. Uh. It's not our rules, it's not the fairgrounds rules, it's a city ordinance. Okay, so yes, you cannot do that, even on private property.

But you could can't. You could camp in a tent if the tentp is attached to your vehicle. Is that still correct?

Correct? So if you have a pickup truck, you can put a tent in the back of the pickup truck. The tent just cannot be on the ground.

Gotcha, Okay, good to know? Good to know? Okay, sweet, Okay, any more questions in the chat you guys, go ahead and let us know. Michael, what else.

Let's see here, there's I to think of other stuff that's coming up. I do know there will be a big announcement coming out. I was hoping to have it by the night. I just can't talk about it yet. So, but that will be coming out here probably with the next couple of days. We'll be doing a huge social media blast on it, so keep your eyes open for that. So and that will be one of those affiliated event type of things also for that one, so it'd be huge.

Good. So, is there some you guys have a mailing list of people can sign up for to keep up with that?

Yes, we do. So if you go to the front page of the website, scroll all the way to the bottom, there's a spot there that says hamcas for the latest information. You can sign up there for our mailing list. So, and we don't send out stuff all the time to it more. It's like a newsletter, so we wait until we get several items to send out, then we'll send it out that.

Away, gotcha, okay, yep, hamcation dot Com. I just put the link in the chat scroll down to the bottom. That's where you'll see this form right here.

Yep.

Okay.

And lots of sponsors this year, gigaparts, rivetus DX Engineering. We're in works up with actually a couple more right now coming on, So lots of stuff going on there. We do have talking so if you're traveling in in a vehicle so you can talk to us, we will be on analog with voice. And also d Star information is on the website for that, okay, So.

Trying to find that.

It's gonna actually be under the info attending hmcasion.

Top on top one there, okay, there we go, and.

Then it should be right there at the top under talking so.

Yeah talk in section yeah, ye okay.

So we'll actually be on that. Then we'll be on the local d Star repeater locally also, so and I believe that one's monitoring thirty seven Charlie thirty.

Seven okay, all right, good, yeah, so cool.

Michael, should they and then we will have the you're still on that page.

The other thing you can listen for is the AM six y ten. We will have that again this year, so it's a radio broadcast that's actually broadcasting on six' ten, am so tune to. That any special announcements anything like. That traffic advisories will put up there for around the fairgrounds if anything changes coming, in plus all the normal information to be up there about the. Show and then another thing further, down if you want Hamd casion, apparel

For The love of Amateur. Radio all, Right, kyle do you have a.

QUESTION i noticed you guys have A twitter. Account do you guys post information on Your twitter or is that something people should? Follow?

Yes, So, Facebook, twitter And.

Instagram it's AT handcasi, okay and we post all three of, them. Gotcha our social media public relations guy posts everything to, it so yes we.

Do, okay very, good.

Good i'm following it. ALREADY i should, be but, YEAH i am, good, okay, Sweet well how far? OUT i don't. KNOW i, mean this is probably the same answer. Everywhere but do they have a weather prediction yet for that? Weekend it's it's two or three weeks, away so it's probably gonna change nine.

Times but, yeah, HONESTLY i haven't looked at. IT i try not to because it just upsets. Me and just LIKE i tell, people the state Of florida is so unpredictable. SOMETIMES i, mean you could be thirty degree in the morning at eighty in the afternoon and it could be raining one, minute and five minutes later the sun can be. Out, yeah so it's one of those. THINGS i try to wait until a little closer to try to even look at that.

INFORMATION i don't blame, you.

Okay my experience is if it LOOKS i, mean if there's any indication of, rain bring a, raincoat bring an, umbrella and just be. Prepared but the nice thing About florida is it only rains for like fifteen minutes and then it's. Done that's, true.

True, True, so and we do have the three large, buildings so there's a lot of stuff you can do. Indoors all the forms are actually inside, also so if it does start, raining there's plenty of area to get and take cover under why the rain is. Happening so, yeah and then the other THING i forgot to mention

Great, yeah that is, awesome good. Deal how many people do you typically test any? Year does it vary or is it the number kind of you, know the?

Average don't quote. ME i think last year they said the average over both days is around one.

Sixty oh my, gosh per day total.

Between both total, okay.

Yeah, Total, yeah that's still a really good. Number that's a very.

Yeah.

Yeah AND i think they said last year about half of them were actually, new so taking.

Their peck Last, okay, wow, good? Okay. Uh jeff is asking when is the early ticket drawing for people who bought tickets. Early i'm not sure what he's talking, about but you probably.

Know, yeah the early bird drawing is done usually the first day of ham cash, uh and THEN i contact the winner at that point for the Early bird.

Prize, Okay, michael remind, me do you have to be present to win a? Prize? What what's the deal with the prizes and being? Present all?

Right so, prizes your Early, bird Your, Friday saturday And sunday grand, prizes we will melt to. You any of the hourly prizes have to be picked up before twelve noon On sunday or we rewraffle them one time at that. Point?

Gotcha?

Good? Okay what is the grand prize this?

Year we're actually still in works on, that so it should be announced this coming.

Week, Okay, okay, right that's.

Fine i'm waiting for you guys to raffle off a d expedition to, like you, know places THAT i see on On windows screen. Savers that's that's WHERE i want to.

Go i'd be done with. That it's not a bad.

Idea you know Those fiji you, know the ones that are on the water right. There, yeah and then you just show up and your antenna has already you, know ran for, you and all you have to do is just set in your your little mosquito hammock and. Operate.

Yeah but some of THOSE dx, EXPEDITIONS i see you really don't want to go to, them that's.

True, yeah, YEAH i remember.

One of them a couple of years. Ago they were like in a boat going across somewhere and they had the issues and all that kind of stuff was happening to. Them i'm, like and it was the only way to get.

THERE i guess you guys won't be raffling off of A d expedition To, bobet. Right that's that that won't be in the.

Mix.

Right oh my.

GOODNESS i was going to say something, political And i'm. NOT i decided against. It so it might be a good time to go To, Venezuela that's All i'm gonna. Say but, yeah, yeah but a the expedition would be. Fun those are quite quite entertaining for. Sure, yeah all, right, uh, okay what anything, Else, Mike that's a lot of really good INFO i appreciate to the only other.

THING i, Got the biggest thing is please thank all the volunteers that. Volunteer there's four to five hundred volunteers that it takes to put on the, show and we always need. Volunteers you can still volunteer for HAMD. Cas so if you don't want to pay for a, ticket you can volunteer for four hours and get a free hand cation. Ticket so, yeah so please. Volunteer we start On, monday the week of hand, cas and run all the

Help what are some of the jobs that people could volunteer?

For all, right so if you go to hammcasion dot com under Event. Info there's a spot there that says volunteer once you click, that so we have commercial volunteer for commercial. Vendors there's forms volunteer which help out at The forbes, area golf cart driver if you want to help with transport and people around, hospitality so for, us like the vendors have a hospitality. Area we do feed volunteers if they work all day, long eight, hours so

A lot of.

Stuff, yep, yeah pick today you want to volunteer and all that on. There so and then once you, volunteer ever who you volunteer for will contact you and actually schedule the time for that day when you would like to. Volunteer, gotcha, okay? Perfect?

Cool, WELL i have lots of fun at Ham cash every, year so this is a really great. Show someone was asking how it compared To dayton in the. Chat it's it's it's a bit, smaller but not so much that you, notice and quite, frankly if you're into R v and camping and uh not tent camping in the traditional sense tent camping on a vehicle camping something like, that the spot here is much much larger than what it is

One. Yeah the paragrounds is actually eighty three acres of. Area we actually use all eighty three.

Acres, YEAH i imagine you. Do, Sheesh, Yeah, cole this is your first year camping, there.

Right, Yeah i've always stayed at The Rosen So i'm gonna attach the the R v and and bring it

Yep it. IS i really enjoyed. That last year was the first YEAR i ever camped, there AND i really really enjoyed. That so look forward to doing that again this. Year it's going to be a fun, time AND i know that there's going to be you And dave and a couple other people are coming for the first year to camp this.

Year, Uh jake is a ck he's, coming but he's he'll be there last. Year, yeah, yeah he.

Camp, yeah he's camped the last two or three. Years, Yeah SO i THINK i think it depends on his work. Schedule he's got to get a certain amount of pictures, taken and the weather has to cooperate with him. First But i'm pretty sure That i'm pretty sure he's he's usually there for him. Casion so, YEAH i DON'T i can't ever keep up with the schedule.

Though but and you, can so remind me you. CAN i, mean you have to buy the, ticket but you can come into the R v section On, wednesday, Right Michael Good.

CORRECT rv opens for RV's to start coming in On. Wednesday. Yeah the official time IS i believe at one. O'clock but as soon as we get everything in, position we try to open the gates as early as possible to start getting the RVs. In so most of the RV's i would probably say half of them come in On, wednesday and you can imagine having one hundred plus RVs sitting outside the fairgrounds lined up trying to get. In

GOOD i want to say we. ARRIVED i met up with a C k on the road in Northern, florida AND i want to say we arrived about eleven am last, year and we just we got we got right. IN i think there was one guy in line in front of us and and we went in there and he had HIS rv AND i had rented one that got delivered a couple hours. Later SO i just drove my truck in and we camped out or scoped out our. Spot and the guy who was delivering MY, rv he called me when he got, there AND i just rode

Coming the canine dog is COMINGG ca nine.

Dog, yeah good, good we'll have. That have some a section for them as, WELL i guess right yea so, good, Okay, well anything?

ELSE i think that's about. It just hope to see everybody In. February it's, thirteenth, fourteenth fifteenth is the dates of. It so for everybody up north come To florida enjoy some a little bit warmer. Weather our average temperature during Ham cashon is usually around seventy, five.

So it was quite. Nice last. Year the weather was. Fantastic it was a little bit warm during the. Day it was a little bit warm if you're From minnesota during the day for tech FOR us In, texas it was it was just almost. Perfect but it was like it was like t shirt, weather like t shirts and shorts weather during the, day and THEN i think it got like, cool LIKE i say, cool like sixties at night something like. That not cold at, All LIKE i don't remember putting on a jacket or. Anything so it

Is it's better than. Here it's twelve, here twelve, one two.

Twelve we asked everyone to put their temperatures in the chat before you got, Here, kyle so somebody said it was negative twenty seven where they, were And i'm, like just stay, there just don't bring that stuff down here at. All sheesh so. Bad, yeah oh, yeah, gosh that's. Insane but all, right, well it's gonna be a fun time if you have an opportunity to travel To orlando a couple of, weeks, two but like three. WEEKS i do highly recommend. It it's it's always a fun. Times one

Everybody so so, really and that's what a lot of the people FROM rv. Does there's lots of there's the R V network radio network that goes. There they have their meetings every, year so there's lots OF rv guys that do the same. Thing it's that's their meeting point every.

Year, yeah, yep, yep don't blame. Them it's it's a good H it's a good place to do it for. Sure well, good, Okay, well we're looking forward to. It definitely going to be there in two or three, weeks And, Michael i'll come find you and we'll talk about some stuff and let me know if you need anything between now and. Then all, right sounds, good and you know THAT i appreciate your time. TONIGHT i appreciate. You appreciate

Too so, yeah, correct we actually have forty one committee members that do this almost year. Round then there's some of us that actually it's almost like a full time job for. Us but, yeah so, yeah on top of the four hundred, volunteers there's still forty one of us that actually run all the.

Committees, Right, well you guys do a great job at. It i've been very impressed with it every Time i've been, there and really appreciate it for the great assets to THE ham radio. Community So i'm really glad that you guys are keeping it.

Going thank. You.

Yep cool, Time, yeah very. Good so all, right, guys we will stop it there for the. Night a little bit shorter than, normal but that's. Okay, PAUL i, Know, paul you're in the. Chat do you, Have, paul if you have a live? Stream paul usually goes live about eight, thirty which is about forty five minutes from, Now So, paul if you have a live stream that you're gonna go live with here in a little, bit feel free

Well thank.

You all, right, guys we will see you next. Time seventy three all hope to see you In orlando in a few. Weeks tell me there right later to

Be three huttott something