Do you remember the excitement of poring over class selections at the beginning of each semester at college? The learning opportunities seemed endless! I’d be willing to bet that you can remember a professor or two who made a big difference in your life.
Well, you can relive those salad days—and take home a semester’s worth of valuable information on competitive amateur radio—by attending the 2024 edition of Contest University, Thursday, May 16 from 7 am to 5 pm at the Hope Hotel on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Fairborn, Ohio. It’s just a few skips (ab0ut 35 minutes) from the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, the site of Dayton Hamvention (May 17-19).
All Ages Welcome
We’d like to make special mention that Contest University is open to operators of all ages and experience levels, including younger hams. Scholarships to defray the cost of attendance are available for those 25 years old or younger. Please contact Contest University for details.
Celebrating its 15th year, this popular educational seminar will feature another stellar roster of experienced contesters imparting their years of Radiosport wisdom. Representing the next generation of contesters, Katie Campbell, KE8LQR, and Grace Papay, KE8RJU, both of whom participated in the 2023 Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX Encounter at K3LR, will speak on ways to incorporate young operators in multi-op contesting. Here’s the complete lineup of professors:
- Gerry Hull, W1VE
- Frank Donovan, W3LPL
- Ed Muns, W0YK
- Rob Sherwood, NC0B
- Bob Wilson, N6TV
- Anthony Luscre, K8ZT
- Ward Silver, N0AX
- Tim Jellison, W3YQ
- Tim Duffy, K3LR
- Doug Grant, K1DG
- Randy Thompson, K5ZD
- Mark Haynes, M0DXR
- Katie Campbell, KE8LQR
- Grace Papay, KE8RJU
Click here for the online registration and payment form.
The details:
- Registration fee is $85 (extra $10 discount available*).
- You may pay online with your credit/debit card or via PayPal.
- You will receive a Registration Confirmation from us. This email will be your ticket. Print the Registration Confirmation email and bring it with you to the Contest University Registration Desk on Thursday morning.
- No sign-ups at the door
- No refunds or cancellations
- As of this posting, lodging at the Hope Hotel is sold out during Contest University and Dayton Hamvention.
*If you have presented or will present a talk or a paper at any club meeting, or have an article about amateur radio published, between May 17, 2023 and May 15, 2024, you qualify for a $10 registration fee discount.
Registration fee includes:
- Full day of training and knowledge enhancement
- Breakfast buffet and boxed lunch (vegetarian option available) on Thursday
- Coffee and cookies during break
- Printed textbook and class notes, plus access to color slide decks*
- Handouts, catalogs, and CTU carrying bag*
- Personalized “Certificate of Completion” (suitable for framing)**
- Contest University T-Shirt**
- Participants are also invited to the Wednesday night pizza party at the Hope Hotel
*Guaranteed for the first 300 registrants
**Guaranteed for everyone registered by April 12, 2024
Below is the list of scheduled topics. Please note that attendees will be able to choose from several presentations and discussion groups running simultaneously at designated times. To plan out your day at Contest University, visit the 2024 Course Outline for presentation times and Professor Bios:
- It’s our Radiosport Game–Let’s Play Fair, K5ZD
- Optimizing the Use of Waterfall Displays for Contesting, N6TV
- HF Propagation Tips to Improve your Competitiveness in Contests, W3LPL
- Feeding and Detuning Towers, N0AX
- Contesting Fun on that “Other Mode”—RTTY, W0YK
- How to Integrate Youth Operators in Multi-Op Contesting, KE8LQR and KE8RJU
- Station Improvements to Improve your Competitiveness in Contests, W3LPL
- Success Strategies for Remote and Hybrid Multi-Op Contesting, W1VE
- Contesting Fun on that “Really Other Mode”—FT8/FT4, W0YK
- Next Level Contesting: Making the Move to SO2R, K5ZD
- Antenna Improvements to Improve your Competitiveness in Contests, W3LPL
- Using Automation in Your Contest Station—Techniques and Recommendations, N6TV
- Busting Contesting Myths to Get Started in Radiosport, K8ZT
- Are you Considering a New Radio? Is My TX Clean? NC0B
Q&A Group Sessions
- The World of QRP Contesting, K8ZT
- Feeding and Detuning Towers, N0AX
- Remote Station Ideas, W1VE
- Tower Safety, W3YQ
- SO2R and Station Design, K5ZD
- How to Improve Your Station for Better Contest Results, W3LPL
- Digital and RTTY Contesting, W0YK
- Antenna/Tower Reliability, W3YQ
Also, enjoy these activities during “Contest Lunch”:
- 2024 Eyeball Sprint Contest “LIVE,” K1DG
- The Road to WRTC 2026 in the United Kingdom, M0DXR
