New Mexico TechFest

Rocky Mountain Ham Radio, New Mexico is pleased to announce the 2026 New Mexico TechFest, an ARRL-sanctioned operating specialty event, on Saturday February 28, 2026 at the UNM Continuing Education Conference Center in Albuquerque, NM (1634 University Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102).

New Mexico TechFest is a hybrid event: Both in-person and, for those unable to travel or attend in-person, online via Zoom’s professional webinar platform.

Join fellow amateur radio operators from around the Land of Enchantment (and beyond) for a day of quality presentations, demonstrations, and instruction provided by some of New Mexico and Colorado’s most experienced technical hams on a variety of emerging and relevant technical topics within amateur radio today. The New Mexico TechFest is designed to provide a unique opportunity for all hams interested in the technical aspects of our hobby to advance and expand their technical knowledge and to facilitate technical discussion, collaboration, and discuss ideas with one another.

Ham-specific and presentation-related prizes will be drawn throughout the TechFest event. Coffee, water, and light snacks will be available for in-person attendees.  An optional, catered lunch will be provided to in-person attendees who purchase one.

Mark your calendars, spread the word, and join us for TechFest 2026!

TechFest Presentation, Posterboard, and Demo Lineup and Schedule

(Times shown are MST.  Schedule times and order of presentations are subject to change. TechFest presentation titles/speakers will be posted on/about January 17 when the full TechFest lineup is announced.)

  • 8:00am: Doors open, in-person registration check-in (no walk-ins permitted)
  • 8:30-8:45am: TechFest kickoff, welcoming comments
  • 8:45-9:00am: Overview of presentations
  • 9:00-9:50am: TechFest presentation #1 
  • 10:00-10:50am: TechFest presentation #2
  • 11:00-11:50am: TechFest presentation #3
  • 12:00-12:50pm: Lunch, attendee collaboration, demonstrations, and posterboards
  • 1:00-1:50pm: TechFest presentation #4
  • 2:00-2:50pm: TechFest presentation #5
  • 3:00-3:50pm: TechFest presentation #6
  • 3:50-4:15pm: Final prize drawings, closing comments
  • 4:15-5:00pm: Open forum for TechFest attendees to collaborate

DEMONSTRATIONS:

  • Live demonstrations will be posted here when the full TechFest presentation lineup is released.
  • Interested in providing a demonstration at TechFest? Please contact us at techfest@rmham.org

POSTERBOARD TALKS:

  • Posterboard talks will be posted here when the full TechFest presentation lineup is released.
  • Interested in providing a posterboard talk at TechFest? Please contact us at techfest@rmham.org

»»» Presentation, posterboard and demonstration abstracts and speaker biographies will be posted here when the full TechFest presentation lineup is released on/about January 17.

Register to Attend the New Mexico TechFest

TechFest admission is $15, payable via online registration. Pre-registration is required to attend (sorry, walk-up registrations cannot be accepted).

»»» Online registration for the 2026 New Mexico TechFest will open on/about January 17.

  • IMPORTANT: Walk-in registrations at the event will not be accepted.  All attendees must register online, in advance.
  • In-person attendees may purchase an optional catered lunch until 10:00PM MST Monday, February 23.
  • Online registration — both in-person and virtual — will close at 5:00PM MST Wednesday, February 25 (in-person registration will close earlier, if/when venue capacity is reached).

2026 TechFest Prize Lineup

We are excited to give away a number of purchased and donate prizes at this year’s event. Because TechFest is a hybrid event (in-person and virtual), we will ship/deliver prizes to lucky winners as needed.  NOTE: This prize lineup is subject to change.

  • ARRL gift certificates ($50 and $25)
  • Additional prizes will be added here.

2026 TechFest Prize Donors

Rocky Mountain Ham Radio and the New Mexico TechFest wishes to recognize and thank the following prize donors.

Interested in donating a prize to the New Mexico TechFest?  Please contact us via email at techfest@rmham.org.  Rocky Mountain Ham Radio is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization and donations are tax-deductible.

  • ARRL
  • Additional prize donors will be added here.

What are New Mexico TechFest proceeds used for?

      • Cost of all-day venue rental
      • Cost of license for professional Zoom webinar license to enable hybrid format
      • Purchase of coffee, water, and light snacks
      • Purchase of prizes (donations are increasingly hard to come by for many businesses given economic and supply chain challenges)
      • Cost to ship/deliver prizes to their lucky winners, as needed
      • Remaining proceeds are applied directly to the continued expansion of RMHAM’s 5-GHz multi-megabit amateur radio microwave network/backbone, an infrastructure that enables partnered amateur radio clubs to expand their repeater capabilities.

Event Flyer

A printable event flyer is available for posting on ham listserves, within your club’s newsletter, or on your club’s website. Please help us spread the word across the amateur radio community about this unique event.

»»» Download and help pass around the New Mexico TechFest flyer.

Important Dates & Deadlines

  • December 1 thru January 10, 2026: Call for TechFest presentations, posterboards, and demos
  • Saturday January 10, 2026: Deadline to submit summary/abstract of proposed presentation, posterboard, or demo
  • Sunday, January 11, 2026: Summaries/abstracts reviewed by TechFest committee, presentation lineup finalized
  • On/about January 17, 2026: TechFest presentation lineup announced and posted on website
  • On/about January 17, 2026: TechFest online registration opens

Call for Presentations, Posterboards, and Demonstrations

The New Mexico TechFest is seeking presentations, posterboards and demos on emerging and relevant amateur radio technical topics, techniques, and applications. If you’ve been working on a special project, are researching a technical topic, or have discovered or adopted a technology or technique that you’re applying within amateur radio, TechFest is a great venue to share your knowledge with the amateur radio community in a casual and friendly environment. Presentation slots are 50 minutes in length, including all anticipated Q&A. Posterboards and demonstrations are more casual, shorter in length and occur during time slots during the day. Hams interested in providing a presentation, posterboard or demonstration are asked to submit a summary/abstract of their proposed topic for consideration by January 10, 2026. More than one presentation/posterboard/demo proposal may be submitted for consideration. Sales and promotional presentations are not permitted. For inquiries or to submit your technical presentation abstract, please email us at techfest@rmham.org