East Central
Indiana Hamfest
The live video streams of our 2025 event are available here.
We are in the planning phase of our 2026 event, scheduled for Saturday, July 25, 2026!
Latest News
📅 Next Meeting
Saturday, February 14, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Google Meet (invitation only)
We are holding most of our planning meetings online since we can practically guarantee participation and it saves us a lot of driving.
When we do have our in-person meetings, they are typically held at:
Winchester Street Dept Building
191 North Middle School Rd, Winchester, IN 47394
📻 2025 ECI Hamfest Recap
Another Hamfest in the books! Despite a gloomy forecast, the weather held — humid, but manageable. Forecast called for thunderstorms which just didn't happen during the event. Attendance dipped a bit, possibly due to the forecast, and that could affect future door prize packages. Time will tell but we'll still have some great giveaways!
Still, we saw plenty of wins:
✅ Technical hiccups from last year were resolved.
📢 One tailgate area had trouble hearing announcements — we’ll fix that.
🎥 Live streaming with four cameras proved too much for our setup. Switching cams was nearly impossible, so we’ll try a different approach next time.
🛍️ Vendor turnout was fantastic — a big plus for everyone.
We didn’t bring in as much money as usual, and that may impact grand prizes in 2026. But we’ll play it by ear — and hope for great weather and perhaps some donations to our event for 2026. We also live streamed this event but there were plenty of glitches. The best part of that is the fact that we knew what went wrong and have plans as to how to solve those issues. The next one should be much better.
🙌 Thank You, Volunteers!
From setup to teardown — and especially those who camped overnight to keep the building secure — your dedication makes this event possible. We appreciate you!
📡 Frequencies We Monitored
Repeaters:
145.210– (144.610 MHz input) – PL 97.4 Hz – Pennville, IN (Talk-in - currently off-line)
443.475+ (448.475 MHz input) – PL 100.0 Hz – Portland, IN (Talk-in)
Simplex:
147.540 MHz
GMRS Channel 1
Note: While 147.540 MHz and GMRS Channel 1 aren’t typical talk-in channels, they’re handy for Hamfest info and guiding folks to the event.
💸 Is It Really Free?
Yes — and we plan to keep it that way as long as possible! Donations are welcome but never expected. Save your cash for extra door prize tickets if you're at the event, or contact us at inhamfest@gmail.com.
Big thanks to our generous donors and vendors who contribute prizes — your support keeps the fun going without cutting into the prize pool. We’ll make sure attendees know where to find you!
🧾 Donations & Tax Info
While we’re not tax professionals, both the ECI Hamfest and the Jay County Amateur Radio Club are registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. That means your donations are not only appreciated — they may also be tax-deductible.
A Few of Our Sponsors and Organizations Click here for that page on our website. (subject to change for 2025...watch for updates)
Corporate Sponsors:
4TC Corporation
Arrow Antennas
Belden Wire
Biennopower.com
DX Engineering
Fastenal
GigaParts
Heil Sound
Times Microwave
TNT Electronics
Tower Electronics
Listed in alphabetic order
Supporting Radio Clubs:
Adams County ARC
American Radio Relay League
Blackford County ARC
Darke County ARC
EmComm ECI
Grant County ARC
Jay County ARC
Muncie Area ARC
Randolph County ARC
Whitewater Valley ARC
If you'd like to see the flyer that we used for the 2025 Hamfest, it can be found in our 2025 archives by clicking here.
Below is a copy of our club logo for those who requested it.
