The ARRL will join 20,000 or more of its closest friends this week, as the Amateur Radio world turns its attention to Dayton Hamvention® 2015, Friday through Sunday, May 15-17. Hamvention is the world’s largest Amateur Radio gathering. As it has for the past several years, ARRL will showcase its products and activities at the ARRL EXPO in the Hara Arena Ballarena. This year, the League will celebrate the centenary of its flagship membership journal QST.

“To help celebrate 100 years of QST, ARRL will introduce a commemorative reissue of the first QST — the December 1915 issue — during Dayton Hamvention®,” said ARRL Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R. “The special reprint is free when you join, renew, or extend your ARRL membership at ARRL EXPO.” Inderbitzen said ARRL Life Members may obtain a free copy just by stopping in at the ARRL EXPO store. Those unable to attend Hamvention may obtain copies directly from ARRL for $9.95 each.

The League will conduct several forums during Hamvention weekend. On Friday, 2:30 until 3:45 PM in Room 2, the League will present “Ham Radio and the Law: Getting Antennas Up and Keeping Them Up,” moderated by ARRL Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND. Speakers will include ARRL Volunteer Counsels Jim O’Connell, W9WU, and Barney Scholl, K3LA, plus ARRL Ohio State Government Liaison Nick Pittner, K8NAP. Discussion will focus on legal issues of interest to hams, including how to avoid or work around restrictive covenants, presenting your case for a tower permit, and the latest court rulings on PRB-1 and towers.

Henderson will provide an update on The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 — H.R.1301 — which has been introduced in the US House of Representatives. The measure would direct the FCC to extend its rules relating to reasonable accommodation of Amateur Service communications to private land use restrictions.

The League’s membership forum will take place on Saturday, 9:15-11 AM, in Room 5. ARRL Great Lakes Division Director Dale Williams, WA8EFK, will moderate.

The “doctor” will make a house call this year for the “The Doctor is In” forum on Saturday, noon until 1 PM, in Room 3. Joel Hallas, W1ZR, will field questions from visitors. Hallas edits the popular “The Doctor is In” question-and-answer column in QST.

NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, will be the guest of honor at a meet-and-greet opportunity on Saturday, 1:45 until 3 PM, in Room 5. Fincke was part of the International Space Station expedition 9 and 18 crews and, through the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, he was among the more active radio amateurs to serve on station. In June 2004 he delighted many radio amateurs by taking part in ARRL Field Day from the ISS.

The spotlight will be on youth on Sunday, 10:30 until 11:30 AM, in Room 3, when the ARRL presents “Engaging Youth in Ham Radio through Informal Education Opportunities.” ARRL Teachers Institute Larry Kendall, K6NDL, will share some best practices and resources, including experiences from participating in Scouting’s Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) through his involvement as a board member of the Victor Valley Amateur Radio Club.

Thanks to a Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF) grant, students and advisors from Bloomington High School South (K9SOU) in Bloomington, Indiana, will attend Dayton Contest University (CTU) on a full scholarship. The sessions are aimed at teaching proper Amateur Radio operating techniques. Ham Nation youth correspondent Christian Cudnik, K0STH, will be covering the event.

AMSAT‘s Hamvention theme this year will be “The Year of the Fox,” and the satellite organization plans to preview the Fox-1A satellite at Dayton. Visitors will be able to work each other through the Fox-1 engineering unit repeater at the AMSAT Engineering booth. AMSAT expects to launch both Fox-1A and Fox-1C in 2015. The latest news on the five Fox satellites, as well as the geosynchronous rideshare opportunity, the International Space Station, other current and future satellites, and more will be covered during the AMSAT Forum, Saturday, from 11;15 until 1:30 PM.

If you can’t make it to Hamvention, some forums will be streamed on the Internet via Ustream. Planned coverage includes both the DX and Contest forums.

Those heading to Dayton by car might want to check the Ohio Department of Transportation website for any traffic advisories.