Dayton Hamvention 2007

ARRL EXPO 2007 at Dayton Hamvention to Showcase League, Ham Radio
Astronaut Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, speaks during the AMSAT Space Symposium banquet last fall. He’ll be a special guest on Friday, May 18, during ARRL EXPO 2007 at Dayton Hamvention.
ARRL First Vice President Kay Craigie, N3KN, will summarize the work of the ARRL National Emergency Response Planning Committee during the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) Forum, Saturday at 8 AM.
ARRL Membership Manager Katie Breen, W1KRB, will take part in the ARRL Membership Forum Saturday at noon.
The retail counter at ARRL EXPO: Buy a book, join the League or renew your membership. Don’t forget your free Dayton 2007 souvenir pin! NEWINGTON, CT, May 10, 2007 -- In just a little more than a week, all eyes in the Amateur Radio community -- well, most of them, anyway -- will be on Dayton, Ohio. The 56th Dayton Hamvention gets under way Friday, May 18, at Hara Arena and continues through Sunday, May 20. ARRL EXPO will return for a third year in the Ballarena Hall, showcasing the League's activities and membership services as well as topics of interest to the Amateur Radio community at large. ARRL Sales and Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, says ARRL EXPO is akin to taking the entire organization to Dayton.
"Attending ARRL EXPO is a great way to become familiar with many of the programs, services, staff and volunteers that comprise ARRL," Inderbitzen said. "Besides having a fun time, many hams use the opportunity to learn more about the ARRL and about Amateur Radio."
Ham-Astronaut Will Be League's Guest of Honor
On Friday, May 18, International Space Station Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR -- the most active ham-astronaut ever to live aboard the space station and the first to work all states from space -- will be the League's honored guest. McArthur will be on hand at the ARRL EXPO area to meet and greet visitors.
McArthur has been praised for inspiring others by his ham radio activities from NA1SS. Over the course of his ISS duty tour, McArthur, a veteran of four spaceflights and spacewalks, also established a yet-to-be surpassed milestone of 37 ARISS school contacts.
In addition, he put 130 DXCC entities into the NA1SS log and has continued collecting the necessary QSL cards to qualify for an honorary DXCC. He and Expedition 12 Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev also released SuitSat-1 into orbit.
The ARRL Stage Comes Alive!
Live presentations -- mini forums -- on the ARRL Stage at ARRL EXPO 2007 will offer plenty of opportunities to enhance and extend your knowledge about various facets of Amateur Radio. Presentations will take place every half hour throughout Hamvention 2007. Topics this year will run the gamut from ARRL's Logbook of the World (LoTW) to HF digital voice techniques and protocols, radio frequency interference, broadband over power line (BPL), going mobile, clubs, ham radio instruction techniques, Amateur Radio rules and regulations, contesting, public relations, good operating practices and more.
Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, will head up the youth activities at ARRL EXPO 2007.
Amateur Radio Direction Finding, one of the youth activities at ARRL EXPO.
FCC Special Counsel in the Spectrum Enforcement Division Riley Hollingsworth will be among the ARRL Stage speakers.
During one mini forum, McArthur will take the stage to discuss his six-month duty tour aboard the ISS, among other things telling how he managed to rack up more than 1800 VHF and UHF contacts from space. He'll also be featured during the Ham Radio Aboard the International Space Station Forum, Friday, 10:30 AM, in Room 3.
ARRL Forum Participation
ARRL staff members and officers also will take part in Hamvention forums throughout the weekend. For example, ARRL Antenna Book editor Dean Straw, N6BV, will participate in the Antenna Forum, Friday, 2:30 PM, in Room 1, moderated by Tim Duffy, K3LR. Straw also will be among the staff instructors at "Contest University," held a day before Hamvention officially opens, on Thursday, May 17 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Dayton.
ARRL First Vice President Kay Craigie, N3KN, will be among the speakers at the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) Forum, Saturday, 8 AM, in Room 3. She'll summarize the work of the ARRL National Emergency Response Planning Committee (NERPC) and update other emergency communications developments.
ARRL staff members will conduct the ARRL Membership Forum Saturday at noon in Room 2. The complete ARRL Exhibit & Activities Guide is available on the ARRL EXPO 2007 Web site.
ARRL Passport, Internet Café are Back
The popular ARRL Passport scavenger hunt will be back again this year, with an expanded list of possible prizes. Passports are limited to the first 5000 visitors! Also returning is the ARRL Internet Café, which will feature free wireless Internet access. If you don't have your laptop along, ARRL EXPO will have a few computers available to access your e-mail or surf the Web while you're at Hamvention.
Of course, ARRL EXPO 2007 at Dayton Hamvention will feature a huge retail area where the League's most popular products and publications will be on sale. While there, visitors can renew their League memberships or join for the first time.
Youth Welcome!
Younger hams and prospective hams will find a lot to do at ARRL EXPO. Seventeen-year-old Goldfarb Scholarship winner and youth editor Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, will head the team organizing youth activities and hosting the Youth Lounge, as well as the third annual ARRL Dayton Youth Dinner on Saturday evening. Come to the Youth Lounge for the free snacks, stay for the fun activities and to just hang out.
EXPO 2007 to Continue at ARRL National Convention
In August, ARRL EXPO 2007 will return during the League's National Convention, held in conjunction with the Huntsville Hamfest in Alabama. Preparations are in high gear for this year's national, August 18-19, at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville. Preceding the event on August 16-17 will be the Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference. This will mark the first time the GAREC has been held in the US. Stay tuned for more details on the ARRL 2007 National Convention in Huntsville.