05/15/2025

It was a flurry of activity around the exhibit space for ARRL The National
Association for Amateur Radio[1]¨ and beyond.ÿTrucks being unloaded, tables
being arranged, boxes being opened and even tablecloths being ironed were among
the sights and sounds Thursday at Ohio's Greene County Fairgrounds as hundreds
of ham radio manufacturers, retailers, clubs, and organizations prepared for
Friday's opening of the 2025 Dayton Hamvention¨. To the eye, it was organized
chaos, but the word we heard most frequently among vendors and visitors was
"anticipation."

VIDEO: See the exhibits being setup[2] [YouTube]

Inside Exhibits volunteer Rob Lindsay, W5MRL, drew a mental picture for us.
"Early in the day," he said, "there's a flurry of activity from hundreds of
vendors setting up their booths in anticipation of all the visitors they'll see
on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We're already seeing visitors from around the
world, including Japan, the UK, Germany and Italy. As a volunteer, it's
interesting and great to give back to the hobby, but the most important part is
interacting with the visitors and vendors, and making their visit enjoyable."

ARRL Great Lakes Division Director Scott Yonally, N8SY, said some of the chaos
is internal. "You know in your mind how you want it to set up but then you get
here and say `I can do this' or `I can do that.' You have to be flexible to
make changes while staying true to your basic plan. It's utter chaos."

But for major exhibitors, it's all part of a well-oiled process. Ham Radio
Outlet President Robert Ferrero, W6RJ, said that setup day is "the culmination
or a 2-to-3-month process of planning and hard work. This is just 5-to-6 hours
of finalizing all that hard work. We're fortunate that we have a great team to
make it all happen."

Lori Hicks of FlexRadio noted that "We come in as early as Tuesday. We look
forward to setup time, which leads up to the excitement of the opening of the
show. It's more than just setting up our booth, it's thinking of how our
customers will interact with us. There are always weeks of preparation before
the event." She added, "Dayton, for us, is THE venue to do new product
announcements. We hope to come out with a successful new product launch. Also,
the opportunity to meet with customers. It's all about relationships."

New products were also on the mind of Icom America National Sales Manager Ray
Novak, N9JA. "The biggest thing at the show for us is having the IC-7760
functional for the first time," he said. "We're demonstrating it with the PW-2
amplifier with remote software so you can run a kilowatt from anywhere in the
world where you have an internet connection."

Finally, DX Engineering Sales Manager Scott Jones, N3RA, was also focused on
new additions to their lineup, along with something much bigger. "Setup has
gone really well," he said, "with lots of new products ... We're also pleased
to have the `Roamin' Gladiator' with us, fully equipped and on display." He's
referring to a customized Jeep with radios for various services but focusing on
amateur gear.

Doors open at 9 o'clock Friday morning.

ARRL News will feature daily coverage from 2025 Dayton Hamvention.



[1] http://www.arrl.org

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi0Pe11UxMQ


---
þ Synchronet þ Whiskey Lover's Amateur Radio BBS