2026 Contesting Related Events
Dayton Hamvention
May 13th – Wednesday night
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM Dayton Contest University 2026 Registration at the Hope Hotel
7:00 PM Contest Super Suite at the Hope Hotel opens hosted by the Mad River Radio Club (MRRC), Frankford Radio Club (FRC) North Coast Contesters (NCC), and Kansas City DX Club (KCDXC).
10:00 PM Pizza Party at the Hope Hotel sponsored by Q5 Ham Radio. http://www.contestsupersuite.com.
May 14th – Thursday daytime
7:00 AM Dayton Contest University 2026 Registration opens at the Hope Hotel. Must sign up in advance – http://www.contestuniversity.com.
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Dayton Contest University 2026 at the Hope Hotel.
May 14th – Thursday night
6:00 pm Digital Contest Dinner – at the Hope Hotel in the Mustang Room. Speaker – Rich Newbould, K3RWN “Little Pistol Contesting”. Tickets from Ed@w0yk.com
7:00 PM Contest Super Suite at the Hope Hotel hosted by the Mad River Radio Club (MRRC), Frankford Radio Club (FRC) North Coast Contesters (NCC), and Kansas City DX Club (KCDXC).
10:00 PM Pizza Party at the Hope Hotel sponsored by the Society of Midwest Contesters (SMC). http://www.contestsupersuite.com
May 15th – Friday daytime
7:00 AM – First Bus Pickup from the Hope Hotel to the Fairgrounds. (Bus runs on a continuous loop between the hotel and the fairgrounds). Friday and Saturday only.
12:30 – 2:00 PM -AM Digital Contest Forum at Hamvention in Xenia, Ohio, Room 4 Moderator: Ed Muns, W0YK
“Automating Digital Contesting to the Max”, Tim Shoppa, N3QE
“Tips for Improving RTTY Contesting Performance”, Ed Muns, W0YK
“Inside Contest Log Checking”, Ed Muns W0YK
2:00 – 5:00 PM – Antenna Forum at Hamvention in Xenia Ohio, Room 1 Moderator: Tim Duffy, K3LR
“Investigating the End Fed Half Wave (EFHW) Antenna & What Makes a Good RF Connector” – Hal Kennedy, N4GG
“The Yagi Turns 100” – Greg Ordy, W8WWV
“Effective antennas Without Towers” – John Vogel, N1PGA
“The C-Match Method of Phasing Vertical Antennas” – Lee Barrett, K7NM
5:30 PM – Final Bus Pickup from the Fairgrounds to the Hope Hotel.
May 15th – Friday night
7:00 PM Contest Super Suite at the Hope Hotel hosted by the Mad River Radio Club (MRRC), Frankford Radio Club (FRC) North Coast Contesters (NCC), and Kansas City DX Club (KCDXC).
7:00 PM 35th Annual Top Band Dinner at the Hope Hotel. Speaker is Jeff Briggs, K1ZM. Tickets in advance from http://www.topbanddinner.com.
10:00 PM Pizza Party at the Hope Hotel sponsored by the Potomac Valley Radio Club (PVRC). http://www.contestsupersuite.com
May 16th – Saturday daytime
7:00 AM – First Bus Pickup from the Hope Hotel to the Fairgrounds. (Bus runs on a continuous loop between the hotel and the fairgrounds). Friday and Saturday only.
1:30 PM – 3:40 – PM Contest Forum at Hamvention in Xenia, OH, Room 1 Moderator: Doug Grant, K1DG.
“WRTC2026 Update” – Mark Haynes, M0DXR
“WWROF – The Contest Foundation” – Tim Duffy, K3LR and Jim Idelson, K1IR
“Integrating Propagation Information with Cluster Spots” – Rudy Bakalov, N2WQ
“Contesting as a Way of Life” Valery Zhitkovich, EW6W/CQ9A and Bill Fehring, W9KKN
“RTC Contest: The New Era of Contesting” – Victor Androsov, VA2WA and Craig Thompson, K9CT
5:30 PM – Final Bus Pickup from the Fairgrounds to the Hope Hotel.
May 16th – Saturday evening
6:30 PM 32nd Annual Dayton Contest Dinner hosted by North Coast Contesters at the Hope Hotel. Dinner speaker is Mark Haynes, M0DXR. Space is limited. Details and tickets in advance are available at http://www.contestdinner.com.
7:00 PM Contest Super Suite at the Hope Hotel hosted by The Mad River Radio Club (MRRC), Frankford Radio Club (FRC) North Coast Contesters (NCC), and Kansas City DX Club (KCDXC).
8:00 PM to 12:00 AM Kansas City DX Club CW Pileup Competition at the Hope Hotel.
10:30 PM Pizza Party at the Hope Hotel sponsored by the Yankee Clipper Contest Club (YCCC). http://www.contestsupersuite.com
