Dayton Hamvention® 2026 Wrap-Up—What a Show!

Nearly 38,000 hams representing more than 40 countries and every U.S. state took the trip to slightly chilly, sometimes rainy, and occasionally sun-drenched southern Ohio for Dayton Hamvention® 2026, a gathering worthy of a Cecil B. DeMille epic (so let it be transmitted, so let it be done).

The total of 37,924 visitors set a new attendance record. Watch the video of Hamvention chairman Brian Markland, N8UDQ; spokesperson Michael Kalter, W8CI; and DX Engineering CEO Tim Duffy, K3LR, providing a recap of another great year in Xenia.

An enormous debt of gratitude goes to the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) and the more than 600 volunteers who worked tirelessly to make an event of this scope and complexity possible. The sheer number of hams traversing the buildings and grounds of the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center once again give us pause to reflect on the ongoing impact amateur radio has on our communities and world.

Group of people at Hamvention 2026 — (Image/DX Engineering)

DX Engineering Booth Crowds at Hamvention 2026 — (Image/DX Engineering)

The OnAllBands team talked with a long list of manufacturers and amateur radio’s movers and shakers. We’ll be getting to those interviews in future posts. While our attention has shifted to helping hams prepare for ARRL Field Day (June 27-28), OnAllBands thought a wrap-up of Hamvention 2026 was in order.

Here are a few quick impressions about this year’s mega-celebration of everything amateur radio.

DX Engineering Booth Fills Up Quickly

It didn’t take long for the DX Engineering booth to become “ham radio central” after gates opened at 9:00 on Friday, May 15. Operators flooded in to check out the latest gear, make eyeball QSOs with the DX Engineering team, get their technical questions answered, and purchase upgrades for their stations.

DX Engineering Counter Line at Hamvention 2026 — (Image/DX Engineering)

coaxial cable assemble demonstration table — (Image/DX Engineering)

man speaking with attendees of hamvention 2026 — (Image/DX Engineering)

men looking at tower masts at hamvention — (Image/DX Engineering)

man showing computer screen to group of people — (Image/DX Engineering)

2 men talking during hamvention — (Image/DX Engineering)

dx engineering hamvention 2026 group photo — Friday morning before crowds arrived—the DX Engineering team was ready to go! (Image/DX Engineering)

DX Engineering Goes Portable

Extending the “Adventure on the Air” theme highlighted in the 2026 DX Engineering Amateur Radio Products Catalog, DX Engineering devoted an entire section of its booth area to portable operating.

vertical masts on display at hamvention booth — Taken before crowds arrived Friday, this photo highlights some of the portable telescopic masts available at DX Engineering, including **19- and 23-foot DX Engineering Nomad masts** (red and black in the center) and **masts from WiMo**. (Image/DX Engineering)

man working at DX Engineering Booth — Portable ops specialist Bobby Debevec, W6IWN, helped customers in the DX Engineering POTA area, which included a range of new DX Engineering equipment designed for successful outdoor operating. Check out the **Tactical Protective Armor (TPA) Modular Radio Mounting Frames from Armoloq** on the table. (Image/DX Engineering)

FlexRadio/DX Engineering Aurora Transceiver Announcement

Shortly after the opening bell, FlexRadio announced that DX Engineering would be selling the company’s new Aurora transceivers.

DX Engineering is an exclusive distributor of Aurora 500-Watt HF/6-Meter SDR Transceivers in the U.S., extending its role within FlexRadio’s network of international distribution partners. In 2025, DX Engineering joined that network as an exclusive U.S. distributor of FlexRadio’s FLEX-8000 Series Transceivers, Maestro Control Console, and accessories.

two men shaking hands at a trade show — FlexRadio’s Andy Mitchell, VA3CW, and DX Engineering’s Scott Jones, N3RA, shake hands before the big announcement. (Image/DX Engineering)

Flex Radio Aurora on Display — (Image/DX Engineering)

Watch this video featuring FlexRadio’s Michael Walker, VA3MW, explaining why the all-in-one Aurora is a true game changer for hams:

Manufacturer’s Galore

Here are just a few of the amateur radio manufacturers who helped to make Dayton Hamvention® 2026 memorable:

REZ Antenna Systems founder Mike Giannaccio, W5REZ, discussed several of the company’s latest offerings on display, including a 17-foot carbon fiber whip and upgraded Ranger 80 II antenna system with integrated radial ports. DX Engineering is the world’s exclusive retailer of REZ amateur radio products.

Rez antenna commemorative antenna coil on display — Above, W5REZ displays a Founders Edition of its Recon 40 II with exclusive engraving and commemorative details in honor of America’s 250th birthday. Five individual serialized units have been produced and will be auctioned online with a portion of the proceeds going to Daughters of the American Revolution to help the organization’s veterans support programs. Get all the details at **REZ’s website**. (Image/DX Engineering)

The team from Carlson Roof Towers (below) launched their new Carlson Tower Lift at Hamvention. The device is designed to provide a safer and faster solution for servicing equipment on light-duty sectional lattice towers. The mechanical elevator system eliminates the need to repeatedly climb towers that require service. The initial release (Model 25) works with ROHN 25G and Amerite 25 towers up to 60-feet tall. It can be installed together with new tower installations or retrofitted onto existing towers. Read more about it at the Carlson website and find the tower lift at DX Engineering.

demonstration of a carlson tower elevator lift — (Image/DX Engineering)

Carlson Antenna Tower Elevator Lift — (Image/DX Engineering)

man demonstration radio control module — DX Engineering’s Michael Murphy, KI8R, handled duties at the Sierra Radio Systems display, which showcased the company’s **station control modules available at DX Engineering.** (Image/DX Engineering)

sierra radio systems control modules on panel — Sierra Radio System station control modules. (Image/DX Engineering)

Alpha Antenna dipole mount box — A nice selection of **Alpha Antenna** portable models were on display. (Image/DX Engineering)

Alpha Antenna dipole demonstration — Alpha Antenna founder Steven Deines, N0TES, discusses the company’s **HexTenna model** with Hamvention attendees. (Image/DX Engineering)

Rocket Machine Worx Bulkhead panels — The Rocket Machine Worx booth featured new color versions of their popular **bulkhead coaxial connector panels**. Look for availability of color models at DX Engineering. (Image/DX Engineering)

morse code cw keys on display at hamvention — A variety of **Chelegance products** were on display in the DX Engineering outdoor ops section, including these keys and (not pictured here) the **MC-599 40-6M Portable Rigid V Dipole Antenna**. We’ll have much more about our conversation with company founder and CEO, Jesse Chen, BD7LLY, in the days ahead. (Image/DX Engineering)

spooltenna booth at hamvention 2026 — We finally caught up with Spooltenna founder Rob Bowser, KO4HUI, (his booth was crowded every time we stopped by!) to talk about the origins of the Cary, North Carolina, company, and their two versions of versatile and easy-to-deploy antennas: the **Parks EFHW4010 End-Fed Half-Wave Portable Wire Antenna** and the smaller Ultra version, which boasts the same features but is perfect for putting in your pocket and hiking up a summit. Look for the full interview coming soon. (Image/DX Engineering)

momobeam antenna on display at hamvention — Based in Sicily, Italy, Momobeam had a prominent spot in the DX Engineering booth. Available from DX Engineering, three of its antennas were featured: **PENTA10 Five-Band HF Yagi**, **DUO7 6/10M Dual-Band HF Yagi**, and **Mono3-6P 6 Meter Yagi**. (Image/DX Engineering)

square antenna boom tubing — OnAllBands will be featuring Momobeam antenna’s advantageous mechanical features, like its use of square booms, in a future post. (Image/DX Engineering)

POTA Pavilion

This spot was once again a hub of activity for the growing contingency of outdoor operating enthusiasts:

POTA booth at hamvention 2026 — (Image/DX Engineering)

POTA Stickers in hamvention booth — (Image/DX Engineering)

Icom Announcement

icom X-026 at hamvention 2026 — OnAllBands fought through the crowds to get a first look at the Icom X-026, a car radio “concept project” billed by the company as a “significant step in amateur radio design.” (Image/DX Engineering)

Focus on DXing

two men posing for photo at hamvention 2026 — Bob Schenck, N2OO, vice president of INDEXA (International DX Association) and Adrian Ciuperca, KO8SCA, prominent DXpeditioner who recently operated from Bouvet Island, both spent time talking about the future of DXing with OnAllBands. More from them soon. (Image/DX Engineering)

young man in hamvention ARRL booth — It was a pleasure talking with Max Freedman, N4ML, who was a member of the 2026 3Y0K Bouvet Island team. N4ML is the youngest operator (21 at the time) to join a top-ten DXpedition and likely the youngest person ever to set foot on Bouvet Island. (Image/DX Engineering)

WRTC UK 2026

Man posing for photo at hamvention 2026 — We were thrilled to spend a few minutes with Mark Haynes, M0DXR, chairman of the organizing committee of the 2026 UK World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) to be held July 8-14 in England. (Image/DX Engineering)

WRTC 2026 banner at Hamvention 2026 — DX Engineering is a proud sponsor of WRTC 2026. (Image/DX Engineering)

Four Days in May

Once again, Four Days in May Vendor Night was met with a frenzy of activity. DX Engineering was on hand, displaying its new gear for portable QRP ops and other equipment.

DX Engineering table at 4 days in may — (Image/DX Engineering)

4 days in may antennas at booth — (Image/DX Engineering)

Contest University

A packed house of contesters once again took home valuable insights at Contest University held May 14 at the Hope Hotel near Dayton. If you missed it, you can watch a livestream of the event from DX Engineering’s YouTube channel. Then make sure CTU is on your calendar for the next edition, Thursday, May 20, 2027. You can get a head start by making early reservations for rooms at the Hope Hotel starting June 15, 2026. Also, view slide decks of all 2026 Contest University presentations here.

We’ll have much more about Dayton Hamvention® 2026 in the months to come, so stay tuned!

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