Okay, it’s freezing at DX Engineering headquarters near Akron, Ohio. If it’s equally frigid at your QTH, here is some hot news that will get you psyched for sunnier days in May.
Registration is now open for Contest University (CTU) 2025—the annual full-day educational seminar featuring insights you can use to take your Radiosport activities to the next level.
The 16th edition of this information-packed event will be Thursday, May 15, 7 am to 5 pm at the Hope Hotel on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Fairborn, Ohio. It’s just a short path (about 35 minutes) from the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, the site of Dayton Hamvention® (May 16-18).
Register for the event here. Also see what’s included with the $85 registration fee and details on making reservations at the Hope Hotel.
CTU scholarships (registration fee paid) are available through a grant from the Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF) for those students ages 25 and younger. Please use the “contact us” button on the CTU website to get more information.
Hosted by Tim Duffy, K3LR, DX Engineering CEO, CTU allows participants to choose from a selection of sessions presented by experienced contesting professors who cover a diverse range of topics.
For both new and experienced contesters, the event offers valuable learning and camaraderie for everyone. Last year, subjects included HF propagation tips, making the move to SO2R, using automation in your contest station, and optimizing the use of waterfall displays, to name a few. The 2025 course outline will be posted as soon as its available. Check the CTU website for updates.
Eight different locations have hosted CTUs over the past 16 years: Australia, Brazil, England, Finland, Germany, Italy, Russia, and the U.S. More than 10,000 students have attended these CTUs with over 100 CTU professors sharing their contesting experiences.
To give you an idea of the quality of CTU content and activities, watch videos and view PDF presentations from past years on the CTU website. Also visit DXEngineering.com for Contest University Textbooks, including the 2024 edition.
Save Money on Your Registration Fee
Individuals who have given a talk about amateur radio to any club, hamfest, or group since May 17, 2024 (or will be giving a talk by Dayton Hamvention 2025) qualify for a $10 registration fee discount. Please choose the “Registration with Club Talk Discount” option to get the $10 discount.
Tim, K3LR, who has been chairman of CTU since its inception, said a very special thanks goes to the organizers and sponsors who help to make CTU possible, including Icom America, DX Engineering, NCDXF, the YASME Foundation, the Amateur Radio Digital Communications foundation, and the Radio Club of America.
“CTU would not happen without the leadership of Teri, K8MNJ,” Tim, K3LR, continued. “Also, thanks to KC3UCJ, N8AMY, and K1SO for all of their help with CTU. Special thanks to Scott, KA9FOX, from QTH.com for hosting, constructing, and maintaining the CTU headquarters website.”
