Shelby Hamfest

Call Directions Website Contact the organization

Shelby Hamfest Shelby Hamfest page. Grandaddy of them all. The Shelby Hamfest is held every Labor Day Weekend at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds.

Shelby Hamfest is an annual event that is sponsored by the Shelby Amateur Radio Club, Inc. This event has been sponsored by SARC (Shelby Amateur Radio Club) since 1957.

09/23/2026

Mark your calendar for our OPEN HOUSE 🛺

09/07/2026

THANK YOU FROM THE SHELBY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB!
The 70th Shelby Hamfest has come to a close, and we want to take a moment to say THANK YOU to everyone who helped make this year's Hamfest such a tremendous success!
A very special thank-you goes to the thousands of amateur radio operators, families, and visitors who came out to support the Shelby Hamfest. Your enthusiasm, friendship, and continued support are what make this event so special.
Most importantly, thank you for being part of the Shelby Amateur Radio Club family and helping us continue the tradition of one of America's great amateur radio gatherings.
73 from all of us at the Shelby Amateur Radio Club!
We look forward to seeing everyone again at the 71st Shelby Hamfest!
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THE 70TH SHELBY HAMFEST ONE TO REMEMBER!
Russell / KE4GTQ
Hamfest Chairman 2026

Some of the door prize winners.
09/07/2026

Some of the door prize winners.

09/06/2026

🎈📡 **WHERE ARE THE SHELBY HAMFEST PICO BALLOONS NOW?** 📡🎈

The balloons have launched, but the adventure isn't over!

If you joined us for the **Pico Balloon launches at the 2026 Shelby Hamfest**, you can continue following their journey from home and see where their travels take them.

We had **two launches**, and each balloon has its own amateur radio callsign:

🎈 **First Launch:** W4NYR-1
🎈 **Second Launch:** N4TVV-4

# # # 🗺️ HOW TO TRACK THEM

You can follow the balloons using either of these online tracking services:

📡 **SondeHub Amateur**
https://amateur.sondehub.org/

Enter the balloon's callsign in the search box:
**W4NYR-1** or **N4TVV-4**

SondeHub Amateur is designed for tracking amateur high-altitude balloon flights and can show you the balloon's reported location and telemetry.

📡 **APRS.fi**
https://aprs.fi/

Enter **W4NYR-1** or **N4TVV-4** in the **Track callsign** box and select Search.

Then keep checking back! Depending on where the balloons travel and where their signals are received, you'll be able to watch their progress as their journey continues.

🌎 **How far will they go?**
🎈 **Where will they travel next?**
📡 **How long will we continue hearing them?**

That's part of the fun!

We especially encourage all of the **young people and families who participated in the Pico Balloon program at the Shelby Hamfest** to keep following along. The launch may have happened at the Hamfest, but the experiment continues long after the balloon disappears from sight!

Save these callsigns:

**🎈 W4NYR-1**
**🎈 N4TVV-4**

Follow along and let us know in the comments where you see them!

**73 from the Shelby Amateur Radio Club!** 📻🎈

09/06/2026

📻 **THANK YOU FROM THE SHELBY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB!** 📻

The gates have closed on the **2026 Shelby Hamfest**, and we simply want to say…

**THANK YOU!**

To everyone who attended — whether you came from just down the road or traveled hundreds of miles to be with us — thank you for choosing to spend your weekend at the Shelby Hamfest. Seeing old friends, making new ones, swapping stories, finding that piece of equipment you’ve been looking for, and sharing our love of amateur radio is what this event is all about.

To all of our **vendors, dealers, tailgaters, and exhibitors** — THANK YOU! You are a huge part of what makes the Shelby Hamfest what it is. We appreciate the time, travel, preparation, and investment it takes to set up and be part of our event.

To our **sponsors and prize donors** — THANK YOU for your generosity and support. Your contributions helped us provide an incredible lineup of prizes and added something special to the weekend.

And to the many **volunteers and club members working behind the scenes** — parking cars, selling tickets, working gates, helping vendors, making announcements, handling prizes, answering questions, setting up, cleaning up, and doing countless other jobs — THANK YOU. An event like this simply does not happen without people willing to roll up their sleeves and help.

For **70 years**, the Shelby Hamfest has brought amateur radio operators, families, friends, vendors, and clubs together. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who helped us continue that tradition in 2026.

We hope you enjoyed your time with us, made some great memories, found a few bargains, and maybe even went home with a new radio or two!

From all of us at the **Shelby Amateur Radio Club**, thank you for being part of the **2026 Shelby Hamfest**.

We look forward to seeing everyone again next year!

**Until then… 73! 📡**

**Shelby Amateur Radio Club**

09/06/2026

🎉 **CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR SATURDAY PRIZE WINNERS!** 🎉

Another great day at the **2026 Shelby Hamfest!** We want to congratulate Saturday's prize winners and once again say a huge **THANK YOU** to all of the businesses, organizations, and individuals who donated prizes and helped make this year's Hamfest special!

🎁 **QRZ Platinum Subscription**
**Michael Mahan — KB4WJA**
Sponsored by QRZ

🎁 **HEiL Ham Radio Handbooks — 2nd Edition**
**Alex Norwood — K4BAN**
Sponsored by HEiL Ham Radio

🎁 **DX Engineering $100 Gift Certificate**
**Kevin Holt — KO4CWD**
Sponsored by DX Engineering

🎁 **QRZ Platinum Subscription**
**Stephen Zajac — KB4DOC**
Sponsored by QRZ

🎁 **ARRL $50 Gift Certificate**
**William G. Moss — KR4AZB**
Sponsored by ARRL

🎁 **ARRL $25 Gift Certificate**
**Chris Meseke**
Sponsored by ARRL

🏆 **2026 SHELBY HAMFEST GRAND PRIZE — ICOM IC-7300** 🏆
🎉 **Chris Lipp — WD3B** 🎉
Sponsored by the Shelby Amateur Radio Club

👏 **Congratulations to all of our winners!**

Several additional door prizes were drawn throughout the day but were not claimed. As announced, **door-prize winners were required to be present to win**.

We also want to give another BIG **THANK YOU to all of our prize sponsors**. Your generosity and support are a big part of what makes the Shelby Hamfest possible year after year.

And most importantly, **THANK YOU to everyone who attended the 2026 Shelby Hamfest!** Whether you traveled across town or across the country, we appreciate you spending your weekend with us.

**73 from the Shelby Amateur Radio Club!** 📻

09/05/2026

Live streaming of Kevin Todd Blanton

Address

Shelby, NC
28152

Telephone

(980) 295-5151

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Shelby Hamfest posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Shelby Hamfest:

Shortcuts

Share

Category