Minot Amateur Radio Club Hamfest

Souris Valley Amateur Radio Club will hold its annual Hamfest on Saturday, July 11, at the Minot City Auditorium in Minot, North Dakota, according to the club’s event brochure and the American Radio Relay League listing. The gathering is scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 420 3rd Ave. SW. It is also listed as the 2026 ARRL North Dakota Section Convention, giving the event a wider role than a local swap meet alone. The event is being organized by the Souris Valley Amateur Radio Club, which is based in Minot and uses the call sign K0AJW on its website. A KMOT report carried by MSN said the Hamfest will bring together amateur radio enthusiasts and include gear trading, forums and other activities tied to the hobby. ### What exactly happens at this Hamfest? The 2026 brochure says the Minot event will include an equipment swap, hourly prize drawings and a grand prize drawing at 1 p.m. (k0ajw.com) Admission and registration are listed at $15, and that price includes lunch and the hourly drawings. The club also published talk-in information for radio operators traveling to the site, including a frequency of 146.97 MHz with a 77 Hz tone. (k0ajw.com) ARRL describes hamfests broadly as gatherings for people interested in amateur radio that typically include exhibits, forums and flea markets. That matches the Minot program, which outside listings describe as a mix of equipment exchange and discussion. ### Why is ARRL attached to a local Minot event? The American Radio Relay League lists the July 11 gathering as “SVARC Hamfest, ARRL North Dakota Section Convention.” The Red River Radio Amateurs calendar carries the same designation and identifies Souris Valley Amateur Radio Club as the sponsor. (k0ajw.com) That convention label means the event is serving as North Dakota’s ARRL section meeting point this year, according to the ARRL calendar entry. (arrl.org) The public contact on the ARRL listing is Lynn Nelson, call sign W0ND, of Minot. ### What prizes and equipment are being promoted? The club’s brochure lists several grand prizes, including a Xiegu G90 HF QRP radio, a RigExpert 230 antenna analyzer, a Bienno solar controller and a portable solar panel system. (rrra.org) Those items are separate from the hourly prize drawings included with admission, according to the same brochure. (arrl.org) The KMOT report said organizers are also using the event to draw younger people into amateur radio. That report did not give attendance projections, but it described the Hamfest as an annual gathering for radio enthusiasts in the Minot area. ### Where is the event, and when should people show up? (k0ajw.com) The Minot City Auditorium is the listed venue in the club brochure, the ARRL event page and the Red River Radio Amateurs calendar. The address given in the brochure is 420 3rd Ave. SW, Minot. Saturday’s posted hours are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., although one outside calendar entry lists 9 a.m. (msn.com) Central time. The club brochure is the more detailed event document and also specifies that the grand prize drawing is scheduled for 1 p.m. ### Where can readers verify the details? ARRL’s hamfest database includes the Minot listing under its sanctioned events, and the Souris Valley club’s brochure is posted through the K0AJW site. (rrra.org) A KMOT television report published this week also previewed the event and said it would bring amateur radio operators to Minot next week. Saturday, July 11, is the next key date. The event is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Minot City Auditorium, with Lynn Nelson listed by ARRL as the public contact and the Souris Valley Amateur Radio Club handling the program. (k0ajw.com) (msn.com)