I’m surprised no one has reported on the Huntsville Hamfest. It was a good one…the biggest ever. Anyhow, this is my report from our club (Mobile Amateur Radio Club) newsletter… Back safe and sound at Chaos Manor South, W4NNF had a decision to make, “Shall I write a 2026 Huntsville Hamfest article for the Weekly Newsletter, or shall I open some cold 807s and watch YouTube with the felines?” I’ll bet you can guess which choice won out. Next week there will be, as promised, a full account of what may be the biggest Huntsville ever. To tide you over, here are some random observations… o Can the traffic on I-65 get any worse? Can there be even more crazy drivers? I don't see how, but it seems so every year. And I-565, which takes you into Huntsville, ain’t that great either (or maybe NNF is just getting old(er)). o Since the Huntsville Hamfest would be the site of the year’s ARRL National Convention, I expected crowds of hams to be there, including at Embassy Suites, but man alive, we had to drive around the parking garage a time or two before finding a spot. I don’t recall that happening before. o Embassy Suites’ bar/restaurant in is now good enough and reasonably priced enough that we don’t leave the site to go out to dinner anymore–not even to Rosie’s Mexican Cantina (!). o Icom and Yaesu’s recent radios look increasingly alike. That paradigm—SDR, big color displays, and detachable control heads—looks to be the standard now. o I stopped by the Radioddity booth to see if they might have the new “mini-Flex,” the Xiegu G-7250, on display, maybe at least a mockup behind glass. Nope. There wasn’t even an advertising flier for the new rig on the table. I meant to ask ‘em about it, but the up-and-coming vendor’s tables were constantly crowded with happy hams. Like last year, Radioddity had some impressive hamfest prices. o Flex and Elecraft’s folks are just so darned nice. o Numerous vendors offered gear for Parks on the Air operators. Everything from mouse pads to “portable” hex beams. o Bridgecom Systems wasn’t at the hamfest this year. I had hoped to check out their new Maverick DMR HT, but it’s not like I need another HT, anyway! o The Von Braun Center food is OK. Actually, it’s not bad, not bad at all. It is on the expensive side, $20 for a burger, fries, and a drink, but that’s not much different from McDonald's these days. o Boat anchor prices, including for choice stuff like Collins, continue to slide precipitously. o There were no observable trends in used gear other than the above that I could detect. o I was pleased to see plenty of younger hams continue to show up at Huntsville. Hell, there were even a few harmonics in strollers being wheeled around by proud OMs and YLs! o The younger ops tended to crowd booths selling antennas and antenna components, many of those sellers’ product lines having a POTA emphasis. o Some familiar faces from the MARC were missing this year, but we were well-represented anyhow. And how great it was to hang out with y’all! Summing up? It was a great one. Next year won’t be an ARRL convention year, so the numbers will be down a bit, I suppose. That’s OK. While Von Braun was fine, the facilities were not stretched but at least CROWDED this year.
Well, that 20 buck hamfest hamburg wasn't the height of things. Luckily. It was the shrimp and grits in the hotel restaurant (with mucho cold 807s).
Ive been to that hamfest twice, which is about a 5 hour drive from my home in GA. I have always enjoyed it. It seems to be well run and organized. The Von Braun center is a excellent place for a large hamfest, totally out of the weather so no issues with rain, mud, etc... Plus eating some local BBQ and Visiting Rocket city and touring the Marshall Space Flight Center is not bad either!
