Special: Hamvention 2026: Recap, Reactions, and a Brewing Showdown

Published: May 22, 2026

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XijWU1D78Y

Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2438895/episodes/19219333

Summary

The dust has settled on Dayton Hamvention 2026, and the crew breaks it all down. Jim and Rory report from three days in Xenia while James holds down the home front (and edits eight Hamvention videos remotely via Starlink). The Icom X-026 mockup divided the community, the Kenwood TM-D750A is FCC approved with a September target, and a real second-half-of-2026 showdown is brewing between the ID-5200 and the TM-D750A.

In This Episode

• Hamvention 2026 attendance, vibes, and cooler weather, with thanks to Ray N9JA (Icom), John Kruk N9UPC (Yaesu), and Don Arnold W6GPS (Kenwood)

• The Icom X-026 concept: brilliant marketing or a warm helping of nothing?

• Hands-on with the Icom ID-5200: native APRS, ambient light sensor, integrated GPS, IC-7300 Mark II-style interface

• Kenwood TM-D750A: FCC approved, firmware still cooking, September target

• The brewing ID-5200 vs. TM-D750A showdown

• Four Days in May highlights, including the new SpoolTenna Ultra (ULTRA-EFHW4010)

• The CW corner: Begali, N3ZN, and Modern Morse

• Yaesu DR-3 repeater series, FlexRadio Aurora AU-510 and AU-520 on shelves

• Flea market report: the junk scale returns, and the same FTM-10R that didn't sell last year

Mentioned in This Episode

• Dayton Hamvention: https://hamvention.org/

• Icom X-026 concept and Icom ID-5200

• Kenwood TM-D750A

• Four Days in May

• SpoolTenna Ultra (ULTRA-EFHW4010)

• Begali keys: https://www.i2rtf.com/

• N3ZN keys: https://www.n3znkeys.com/

• Modern Morse paddles: https://www.modernmorse.com/

• Yaesu DR-3 repeater series

• FlexRadio Aurora AU-510 and AU-520

• Ray Novak N9JA, John Kruk N9UPC, and Don Arnold W6GPS