Indiana Ham Radio Events & Calendar
What's happening in Indiana amateur radio — hamfests, license exams, on-air events, and the yearly operating calendar. Dates for one-off events change, so we link the official, always-current sources rather than hardcoding them.
Coming up in Indiana: the summer hamfests have wrapped, and the fall run opens with the MARC Tailgate in Edinburgh (Sep 12) and the ARANCI Hamfest in Winfield (Sep 26, moved off its usual August weekend), followed by the Shelbyville Tailgate (Oct 3), the Hoosier Hills Hamfest in Mitchell (Oct 10), Hamtober Fest in Lynnville (Oct 17), the Fort Wayne Hamfest & Computer Expo (Nov 21) and the Wabash Valley TurkeyFest in Brazil (Nov 28). Looking further ahead, two spring 2027 dates are already on the books: the Wabash Valley club's spring hamfest, back at the same Brazil fairgrounds (Mar 27), and the Columbus Hamfest (Apr 3). On the operating side, JOTA lands Oct 16–18 and the next Winter Field Day is Jan 23–24, 2027. See the Hamfests page for the full dated list.
Find dated events
- Hamfests & swap meets: see our Indiana Hamfests page and the live ARRL hamfest calendar (filter to Indiana / Central Division).
- License exam sessions: see Exam Sessions, or search live on HamStudy and the ARRL exam finder. Both let you search by ZIP code or by state, and Indiana teams post new sessions every few weeks, so a live search beats any fixed list. The ARRL finder will take a state filter straight from a link — jump to the Indiana-only results, which stood at 58 scheduled sessions when we last checked (24 August 2026). The nearest ones still ahead on that list were Evansville and Lafayette on Aug 29, Bloomington and Greenfield on Sep 5 and Goshen on Sep 10, then a busy Saturday on Sep 12 with Bluffton and Boonville among the teams testing. That count drifts by a session or two from week to week as teams post and close dates, so open the live search rather than trusting the number here. Always check the individual listing to see whether the team takes walk-ins or wants you registered ahead, and what it charges, before you make the drive. Several hamfests also run exams on site — the Hoosier Hills Hamfest in Mitchell registers candidates at 9:30 a.m. and tests at 10 for $15, and the Columbus hamfest starts testing at 9 a.m.
- On-air nets (weekly): see Nets for statewide nets and each county page for local nets.
- Club meetings & events: most clubs post these on their websites and Facebook pages — browse the clubs directory.
The yearly calendar
Popular operating events Indiana hams take part in every year, listed in the order they come around next:
| Event | Typically when | More |
|---|---|---|
| Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) | 3rd full weekend of October — Oct 16–18, 2026 | JOTA-JOTI |
| ARRL School Club Roundup (fall) | October — Oct 19–23, 2026; a second running follows each February | ARRL |
| Winter Field Day | 4th full weekend of January — Jan 23–24, 2027, confirmed by the organizers. Like Field Day, it's one national event that individual clubs take part in | winterfieldday.org |
| Indiana QSO Party | First Saturday in May — that points to Sat, May 1, 2027 (2026 ran May 2). The Hoosier DX and Contest Club posts the year's rules and the exact UTC window; its site was still refusing connections when we re-checked on 24 August 2026, so treat the date as the usual pattern rather than a confirmed one and check hdxcc.org before you operate | Details |
| ARRL Field Day | 4th full weekend of June — next up is Jun 26–27, 2027, 1800 UTC Sat to 2059 UTC Sun (ARRL's page hasn't rolled over from the June 27–28, 2026 running yet). Indiana clubs all operate this one national event — ask yours where its site will be | ARRL · Projects |
| Parks on the Air (POTA) | Year-round | POTA in Indiana |
| Skywarn spotter training | Late winter–spring | EmComm · your local NWS office |
| ARRL HF contests & operating events | Throughout the year | ARRL contest calendar |
Add your event
Running a hamfest, class, special-event station, or club meeting in Indiana? Send the details and we'll list it: campbell@indianahamradio.com.