W5KUB.com has been webcasting hamfests for over 11 years.

The webcast has viewers in over 150 countries, and pulls an audience of approximately 50,000 viewers during the Dayton Hamvention.

Every year that W5KUB.COM has been webcasting they have been making improvements to the equipment and the technology. Today you can watch near HD quality video of these events in full screen on your computer.

There are several different aspects which make the webcast enjoyable.

First the webcast page has a chat room where hams around the world can log in and chat directly with the W5KUB.COM group at the event.

In addition to being able to ask real time questions and receive answers from vendors such as MFJ, ICOM, Yaesu and more, online viewers are able to chat with other hams, some located on the opposite side of the world.

Secondly, and this is the fun part, W5KUB.COM gives out prizes to online viewers. There is no cost to anyone! Viewers just have to be logged in to the chat room and winners are randomly picked from the list of logged in viewers.

The winner must claim the prize within the allotted timeframe (usually 2-3 minutes) to win it. Prizes vary from magazine subscriptions to high end equipment such as D-STAR radios, wattmeters, HTs, dual band radios, antenna tuners, microphones, and more. In the last two years, over $26,000 in prizes have been awarded to viewers. Many hamfest don’t award this much!

And thirdly, viewers get to virtually make the trip and ride along during the drive to and from the hamfest. The webcast usually starts one or two days before the ham event. Viewers are 'virtually' in the passenger seat and experience the entire drive, even getting pulled over by the police for speeding! Viewers also get to see the scenery while APRS on the W5KUB.COM page identifies their exact location and driving speed on the map.

W5KUB.COM plans to expand the next Hamvention show with new and special guests, in addition to regular interviews with manufacturers. To assure the best quality video, a dedicated Ka band satellite uplink will be installed for our internet connection.

The 2014 Dayton Hamvention schedule:

Wed. May 14 th 1300 UTC - go live beginning with the drive from Memphis, Tennessee to Dayton, Ohio -550 Miles and 10 hours of driving
Thurs May 15 th 1400 UTC - Webcast booth setup at Hamvention
Friday May 16 th 1300 UTC -Hamvention webcast begins
Saturday May 17 th 1300 UTC - Second day of Hamvention webcast
Sunday May 18 th 1300 UTC - Third day of Hamvention webcast
Sunday May 18 th approximately 1800 UTC - begin the webcast of the drive from Dayton, Ohio back to Memphis, Tennessee

W5KUB.COM has a Facebook group for viewers to follow the webcast and to provide suggestions throughout the year and discuss all aspects of ham radio.

W5KUB Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/w5kub/ .

To join the webcast - http://W5KUB.com