2024 ARRL Youth Rally A Success at Dayton Hamvention

The second day of the 2024 ARRL National Convention, hosted at Dayton Hamvention® was a success and attendee turnout is impressive. The chilly, cloudy morning soon gave way to mostly blue skies and scorching sunshine. 

The heavy attendance was especially apparent in the expo buildings, as hoards of hams flocked to the manufacturer booths – not only to escape the heat outside, but to browse the huge variety of equipment. The aisles are flanked by exhibitors like FlexRadio, ABR Industries, Begali Keys, Icom, GigaParts, DX Engineering, Ham Radio Outlet, and many more big names in amateur radio manufacturing. 

At the ARRL exhibit booths, Eric Stoddart, K8ERS, stands aside the ARRL Momobeam Dual Band Antenna he had just purchased. “Looks like it’s going to be a good antenna! Hopefully it will perform as well as it looks, and that in the next few weeks it’ll be on the air,” he said before disappearing back into the sea of other hams, most of whom were also carrying new purchases. 

The antenna is perfect for hams with limited space who would like to take advantage of the global operating opportunities propagation is affording near the peak of Solar Cycle 25. It features an integrated 10-meter Moxon and a 6-meter yagi. 

Back in Forum Room 2, Carole Perry, WB2MGP, kicks off the highly anticipated ARRL Youth Rally headed by ARRL Education and Learning Manager Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, by thanking all those who helped make the rally possible. She told the audience – made up of young hams, their parents, sponsor representatives, and plentiful volunteers -- “They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, look around this room. It takes a team to support this youth forum.” 

The first youth presenter out of many was sixth-grader Cameron Frey, KD9VGV. In only 2 years since being introduced to amateur radio, he has become a General-class, fully fledged Parks on the Air® fanatic, and that’s just part of his ham radio repertoire. “I’ve done more than 100 central activations, and more than 40 different parks. I’ve also hunted more than 700 different parks,” Frey said with pride. 

The Youth Rally continued for most of the day with a slew of activities planned for the young hams. To break the ice, the young people were encouraged to catch a satellite pass outside of the forum room that just happened to be overhead at the start of the rally’s next phase. 

The Youth Rally was capped off with a forum about the ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Program  www.arrl.org/wewantu featuring speakers from many of the participating colleges and universities. 

Another jam-packed Hamvention Saturday is in the books, and the final day of the event will surely be one to remember.