Kevin K5KVN and Andy K5PO can now check “Dayton” off of their ham radio bucket list. This was the first trip to Hamvention for both, and it was a memorable one.
Along the way, the guys were on 146.520 using the club callsign WR5P. Several simplex contacts were made while on I-70 in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, including many hams that were also heading to Dayton. WR5P-1 was beaconing on APRS, too. The drive from Northwest Arkansas took about 12 hours.
The Crowne Plaza hotel was base camp for the Noise Blankers. Many DX clubs were also there, holding forums and events like Contest University and the RTTY dinner.
Getting to Hara Arena wasn’t as difficult as one might imagine. There are bus passes and taxis, but there also appeared to be plenty of parking at businesses and residences near the arena. 
Every car dealership, church, strip mall and house driveway near the arena was offered up as a parking lot, for a fee (see pic to the right). Andy and Kevin parked the Tahoe in a yard directly across from the flea market.
And since the flea market was right there, that’s the first thing they visited. It’s massive. So much so, that there were rows of stuff that they never saw. Despite on-and-off rain showers and at least two bouts of hail, the flea market was heavily visited.
Being the media hounds that they are, Kevin and Andy were interviewed by Dayton’s Fox45, HamRadioNow.tv and QSO Radio Show. In the interviews, they talked about HamHijinks.com, emergency communications and general ham radio topics.
The best part of Hamvention? The people. The Friday and Saturday tweetups and Reddit meeting was fantastic. It’s really cool to meet folks in person that you talk to on the air or on social media.
And what did they buy while there? A jumper cable and some powerpole connectors.
After leaving Hamvention on Saturday, Kevin and Andy visited the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton. Judging by the antennae in the museum parking lot, there were many other hams there, too.
Photos and videos:
- Panoramic view from the seats inside the main arena
- Panoramic view on the display floor, with guest appearance by K5PO
- Panoramic view of Yaesu booth
- Panoramic view of vendor booths
- Panoramic view of flea market
- K5PO’s Instagram (pics and videos)
Kevin and Andy were interviewed by Fox 45:
Our Dayton slideshow: (see full gallery at this link)
And this is how it ended at 2:39 a.m. Sunday, after driving straight to Northwest Arkansas from Dayton:
Arkansas! Home from #hamvention. And now we sleep for days and wake up with a beard. G’night. pic.twitter.com/inSFwRwhHx
— The Noise Blankers (@WR5P) May 18, 2014
