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It was a flurry of activity around the exhibit space for ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio\u00ae and beyond.\u00a0Trucks being unloaded, tables being arranged, boxes being opened and even tablecloths being ironed were among the sights and sounds Thursday at Ohio\u2019s Greene County Fairgrounds as hundreds of ham radio manufacturers, retailers, clubs, and organizations prepared for Friday\u2019s opening of the 2025 Dayton Hamvention\u00ae. To the eye, it was organized chaos, but the word we heard most frequently among vendors and visitors was \u201canticipation.\u201d<\/p>\n
VIDEO: See the exhibits being setup<\/strong> <\/strong>[YouTube]<\/p>\n Inside Exhibits volunteer Rob Lindsay, W5MRL, drew a mental picture for us. \u201cEarly in the day,\u201d he said, \u201cthere\u2019s a flurry of activity from hundreds of vendors setting up their booths in anticipation of all the visitors they\u2019ll see on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We\u2019re already seeing visitors from around the world, including Japan, the UK, Germany and Italy. As a volunteer, it\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n ARRL Great Lakes Division Director Scott Yonally, N8SY, said some of the chaos is internal. \u201cYou know in your mind how you want it to set up but then you get here and say \u2018I can do this\u2019 or \u2018I can do that.\u2019 You have to be flexible to make changes while staying true to your basic plan. It\u2019s utter chaos.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n But for major exhibitors, it\u2019s all part of a well-oiled process. Ham Radio Outlet President Robert Ferrero, W6RJ, said that setup day is \u201cthe 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\u2019re fortunate that we have a great team to make it all happen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Lori Hicks of FlexRadio noted that \u201cWe 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\u2019s more than just setting up our booth, it\u2019s thinking of how our customers will interact with us. There are always weeks of preparation before the event.\u201d She added, \u201cDayton, 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\u2019s all about relationships.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n New products were also on the mind of Icom America National Sales Manager Ray Novak, N9JA. \u201cThe biggest thing at the show for us is having the IC-7760 functional for the first time,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Finally, DX Engineering Sales Manager Scott Jones, N3RA, was also focused on new additions to their lineup, along with something much bigger. \u201cSetup has gone really well,\u201d he said, \u201cwith lots of new products … We\u2019re also pleased to have the \u2018Roamin\u2019 Gladiator\u2019 with us, fully equipped and on display.\u201d He\u2019s referring to a customized Jeep with radios for various services but focusing on amateur gear.<\/span><\/p>\n