Please check back here frequently for updates as we approach the Convention weekend!
The Convention fee was set on 30 January, 2026. The fee is $100 per person for Full Registration and includes registration, the Saturday night happy hour, the Saturday night banquet and the Sunday breakfast. It does not include the Friday night Contest Dinner. There is also an option for a $10 per person Registration which does not include any meals nor the Happy Hour at the Convention. REGISTRATION and PAYMENT ACCEPTANCE is now CLOSED.

CONVENTION PROGRAM LIST
Click here for a printable / downloadable Program List.
Click here to register for HF University if you are planning on attending it. HF University attendees will receive a free HF University sticker.

Santa Maria Room (SM) - seating limited to about 200 persons
Hancock Room (Han) and Polo Room (Polo) - seating limited to about 50 persons each

FRIDAY

08:00
SM1) Drone Field Strength Measurements by W6NBC
Han1) RTE 66 by N6KLS
Polo1) HF University by K8TE - Better DX Chasing

09:00
SM2) Antenna Models vs Real World by N6BT
Han2) YL Forum by K6GO
Polo2) HF University by K8TE - Antennas & Propagation Overview

10:00
SM3) Caribbean Holiday by KP4MD
Han3) Headset Design by WI6R Polo3) HF University
Polo3) HF University by K8TE - Know Your Radio

11:00
SM4) Antenna Manufacturers Specs by N6BT
Han4) RTTY by W0YK
Polo4) HF University by K8TE - Computers/Programs

13:00
SM5) FT4/FT8 by W0YK
Han5) IOTA by WC6DX
Polo5) HF University by K8TE - Advanced Antennas

14:00
SM6) ZD7VI by N6VI
Han6) W1AW/6 by NZ6Q
Polo6) HF University by K8TE - DX Spotting

15:00
SM7) SOTA by N6AN
Han7) K4 Update by WA6HHQ
Polo7) HF University K8TE - USB, Friend or Foe?

16:00
SM8) Remote Radio by W1VE and K6ZO
Han8) E51MWA by KN2P
Polo8) HF University by K8TE - Potpourri and Q&A

18:00
Contest Dinner at Far Western Tavern with presentation by K3LR
Pre-registration for the Contest Dinner closed on March 31.
We cannot accept registration or payment at the door...sorry.

SATURDAY - SANTA MARIA ROOM

08:00 Welcome and Introductions by N6AA and N6TJ

08:15 New Product Showcase by K3LR, WA6HHQ, N6BT, WI6R

08:55 DX History Presentation by N6WS

09:15 DX Forum by N6WS

10:15 Contest Update by K1DG

10:50 Contester Forum by N6TV

13:00 (SM) The FCC and Ham Radio by K3ZJ

14:00 New Hams of Any Age and/or Youth Forum by KN2P and N6AA

15:00 ARRL Forum by N6AA and NZ6Q

17:30 Happy Hour
Full Convention registration required in advance. We cannot accept registration/payment at the door.

18:30 Dinner Buffet with presentation on Bouvet Island by KO8SCA
Full Convention registration required in advance. We cannot accept registration/payment at the door.

SUNDAY - SANTA MARIA ROOM

08:00 Breakfast
Full Convention registration required in advance. We cannot accept registration/payment at the door.

09:00 Presentation on JT5DX by K1ZM
09:45 Presentation on VY2ZM by K1ZM

12:00 Convention concludes

ARRL, CQ and IOTA AWARD CARD CHECKING

Card checking will be in the Cabanas Building outside by the pool. N6KZ, K6ZH, W6OUL, WA5VGI will be available for your DXCC, VUCC and CQ card checking. WC6DX will be available for IOTA checking for W5, W6 and W7 hams. (See below for IOTA details.) This will take place Saturday 13:00-15:00 at the Cabanas (look for the far end tables).

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3Y0K Bouvet Island Presentation

We are excited to announce that Adrian, KO8SCA and James, KB2FMH will do a presentation on what will then be a recently completed (and anxiously anticipated) 2026 3Y0K DXpedition to Bouvet Island! Saturday evening at the Buffet Dinner.









Saturday Night Happy Hour partially sponsored by our generous vendors

A Saturday night happy hour will take place at the Santa Maria Inn from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. There will be beer, wine, soft drinks and water available.







Saturday Night Banquet partially sponsored by our generous vendors

A Saturday night banquet partially sponsored by our registered Convention guests will take place at the Santa Maria Inn after happy hour. Menu and additional details tbd.






Contest Dinner Last day to register and pay for the Contest Dinner is March 31.
Seating limited to 150 advance paid registrants.

The Contest Dinner will take place Friday, April 10 at 6:00 pm at the Far Western Tavern, 300 E. Clark Avenue, Orcutt, CA 93455. Tel 805-937-2211.
Venue opens at 5:30 pm with dinner service commencing at 6:15 pm.

The Contest Dinner speaker will be the esteemed Tim Duffy, K3LR.
LIMITED SEATING is on a first come, first serve basis. Reserve your seat with the Dinner Registration Form. Payment required in advance.





Sunday Breakfast - partially sponsored by our generous vendor sponsor.

DX Engineering is generously contributing to the Sunday breakfast at the Santa Maria Inn at 8:00 am. More information to follow. Click on the logo to the left to visit the DXE website.









Route 66 Special Event Presentation

Tom, N6BT and Vicki, N6KLS will be doing a presentation on the Route 66 On The Air Special Event.







ARRL, CQ and IOTA Field QSL Card Checking

Jim, N6KZ, Jim, K6ZH, Bill, WA5VGI and Jim, W6OUL will be available for ARRL, WAZ (and certain other) Field QSL Card checking. They will be able to perform checks for DXCC, VUCC/FFMA, WAS, WAZ, etc. If you plan to use their services, please review the ARRL card checking page and/or that of other organizations regarding card checking and (importantly!) fill out the ARRL form (or other orginazation's form) on that page prior to enlisting them. FFMA, WAZ, WAS et al have their own forms so please do review and complete as appropriate in advance. It is requested (and strongly encouraged!) that you to use a credit card if you will be paying for any awards. This avoids handling cash or checks. Failure to meet these requirements may cause them to be unable to fulfill your card checking wishes.

Will, WC6DX will be available for IOTA card checking. IOTA has some very specific stipulations that are a bit different than ARRL and CQ. Please be sure to adhere to these.

1) IOTA card checkers are regionalized and can only check cards for those in their assigned call-numbers. Will can only check cards for USA call-numbers 5, 6, 7, plus Alaska, Hawaii, and Pacific islands with U.S. zip codes [KH0-KH9, V6, V7 and T88]. If you do not have one of those call signs, Will cannot check your cards. [W4DKS handles USA call-numbers 1, 2, 3 and N9BX handles USA call-numbers 4, 8, 9, 0 and KP2/KP4].

2) Applicants need an IOTA account (free at www.iota-world.org) and must enter their claimed credits online in a way similar to ARRL's DXCC system. The system allows for LoTW and Clublog electronic matches as well as good old paper cards. A couple days before the card checking session, you can submit your application online at the IOTA website. This will generate a pdf that Will will receive by e-mail. Be sure to pay your fee via PayPal to IOTA HQ (part of the application process). Applicants then bring the paper QSLs for checking as you would for DXCC, WAZ etc. You can find full details on the IOTA web site www.iota-world.org. Any questions, please contact WC6DX directly via his e-mail on QRZ.com .

Please keep in mind that these card checking services are a volunteer service by these three gentlemen. Thank you.

YL Forum

Introducing our interactive YL Forum is Gayle Olson-Binder, K6GO. Gayle has chaired the YL Forum for may years. This year she is most pleased to be in Santa Maria for this annual event. Gayle is very dedicated to getting YLs actively involved in radio as well as creating scholarships for young hams. Gayle is active in: The San Diego DX Club, the YLRL (Young Ladies Radio League, PARC [Palomar Amateur Radio Club,) PARS (Poway Amateur Radio Society,) ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services,) VE (Volunteer Examiner]) for SANDARC, ARRL and W5YI. Of course, K6GO is an ARRL (American Radio Relay League) member as well as ARRLF scholarship participant. Some of the most fabulous experiences of her life involve amateur radio.

Top Band Dinner

We are considering a separate Top Band Dinner but will need a volunteer to organize, take payment and run with the baton for this. Please contact Dick, N6AA if interested in volunteering.

Flea Market

We are not planning on having a flea market at this time. Sorry. If you are interested in leading the charge on one, please contact the Event Director, N6AA as soon as possible.

Other Events/Programs are in the works. Stay tuned...

If you are interested in organizing an event or doing a presentation, please contact the Event Director, Dick, N6AA.
And please...tell us what else you might be interested in by clicking here.

Non-ham things to do in the area

Want to do some non-ham things while in Santa Maria? Check out the Tourist Checklist! Your visit doesn't have to be all about ham radio!

For example, the famed Hearst Castle is just an hour and half (60 miles) north of Santa Maria! (I, can vouch for this as being a fantastic place to visit. I've been there and taken two of the four tours! --NE6I)

Note that the "Danish Capital of America," the small town of Solvang, is about 35 miles/56 km to the south of Santa Maria. It's a fun little tourist spot.

Also, the Santa Inez Valley is home to about 35 wineries! If wine tasting is something you enjoy, you will want to carve out some time to visit many of them!

Tripadvisor has these Top 15 Things To Do in the area!