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 at the Convention.

CONVENTION PROGRAM LIST
FRIDAY

F1) All day – HF University by Bill Mader, K8TE, introduction to high frequency ham radio operation.
       Part 1: Basic HF Operating (Skills, equipment, antennas and propagation).
       Part 2: Becoming better HF operators by honing those skills and knowledge.
        Please pre-register if interested. Register here.

        HF University Registrants will receive a free HF University sticker.

F2) Pico Balloons That Travel Around the World: Fun and Teaching Opportunities by Tom Schilller, N6BT

F3) Manufacturer's Antenna Specs, YouTube Claims, Coupling Distance by Tom Schilller, N6BT

F4) Models vs. Real World Testing (Static & Dynamic-drone); Verticals + more by Tom Schilller, N6BT

F5) W1AW/6 Operation by John Litz, NZ6Q

F6) Route 66 on the Air by Vicki Zumwalt, N6KLS

F7) IOTA Program and Some Recent Expeditions by Will Costello, WC6DX

F8) SOTA Integration with Contests by David Hodge, N6AN

F9) Drone Mounted Flying Field Strength Meter by Rudi Wiedmann, K7RAW and John Portune, W6NBC

F10) YLRL Forum by Gail Olson, K6GO

F11) ZD7VI Contest Expedition by Marty Woll, N6VI

F12) Story of VY2ZM 2001-2022, One Ham's Contesting Heaven by Jeff Briggs, K1ZM

F13) JT5DX Multi-op Station in Rare Zone by Jeff Briggs, K1ZM

F14) FT4-FT8 Contesting by Ed Muns, W0YK

F15) RTTY Contesting by Ed Muns, W0YK

F16) Elecraft K4 updates and general Elecraft Q&A by Eric Swartz, WA6HHQ

SATURDAY

S1) New Product Showcase

S2) History of DXCC Entities by Bill Shell, N6WS

S3) DX Forum by Bill Shell, N6WS

S4) Contest Update by Doug Grant, K1DG

S5) Contest Forum by Bob Wilson, N6TV

S6) 2026 FCC Activity Involving Ham Radio by David Siddall, K3ZJ

S7) ARRL Forum by Dick Norton, N6AA

S8) Happy Hour 17:30 – 18:30

S9) 18:30 Buffet Dinner and Presentation on 3Y0K Bouvet DXpedition by Adrian Ciuperca, KO8SCA

SUNDAY

Su1) 08:00 Breakfast Buffet and TBD Presentation






3Y0K Bouvet Island Presentation

We are excited to announce that Adrian, KO8SCA 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 Saturday night from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. There will be beer, wine, soft drinks and water available at no charge to our registered Convention guests.







Saturday Night Banquet partially sponsored by our generous vendors

A Saturday night banquet at no charge to our registered Convention guests will take place at the Santa Maria Inn after happy hour. Menu and additional details tbd.





Contest Dinner

A 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.

The Contest Dinner speaker will be the esteemed Tim Duffy, K3LR.

LIMITED SEATING! Seating is limited and is on a first come, first serve basis. Register early! Reserve your seat with the Dinner Registration Form. Payment required in advance. PayPal strongly preferred. For other options, please contact Jim, N6TJ.





Sunday Breakfast - partially sponsored by our generous vendor sponsors.

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.






Ham Radio Outlet

Ham Radio Outlet is a generous sponsor of the Convention. More information to follow. Click on the logo to the left to visit the HRO 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. K6GO 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.