Volunteering

HRV is returning to DEF CON, and is looking for volunteers - sign up using the link at the bottom of the page.

Village Staff

Village staff handle running the village itself as well as the fox hunt contest table. Duties vary and include providing demos, talking with and answering questions from attendees, and running the fox hunt contest. During your shifts you may be using your own gear, village-owned gear, or gear from another volunteer (with their permission). This is a great chance to showcase what YOU love about ham radio as ambassadors of the hobby!

Volunteer Examiner

Volunteer Examiners help run the ham radio license exams. To be a VE, you must hold a General or Amateur Extra class license in the US.

Contest Staff

Contest staff handle running the ham radio contests at events, including the Fox Hunt and "Can it ham?" contests.

Can It Ham? Contest

Making Garbage Radiate Since DEF CON 33

Can It Ham? is a live build contest from the Ham Radio Village where hackers, makers, and radio weirdos turn unconventional materials into working antennas—and then prove they actually work.

Tin cans, tape measures, scrap wire, mystery hardware, and questionable engineering judgment are all welcome here.

What Is This?

Can It Ham? is built around one simple question:

Can you turn random stuff into something that actually radiates?

Participants build antennas from unconventional materials, validate that the build functions, and compete on a mix of creativity, performance, and RF effectiveness.

Some builds are clever. Some are cursed. A few are both.

The Rules (TL;DR)

We keep it fun—but not stupid.

• No pre-built antenna kits — if you bought it as an antenna, it’s not in the spirit
• Must be safe — no dangerous builds, no injury risk, minimal “hold my beer” engineering
• No radioactive materials — yes, this needed to be said
• Must resonate on at least one amateur radio band — we’ll help you figure that out
• Must plausibly function as an antenna — we will test it
• Creativity > perfection — this is not a lab-grade competition

You do not need to be a licensed ham to participate.

Not sure what “resonate on a band” means? No problem. The Ham Radio Village and contest ops area are staffed with friendly RF goblins who will help you tune, test, and get your build across the line.

Examples of bands you might target:

• 2m / 70cm (VHF/UHF) — easier builds, shorter elements, good starting point
• HF (20m, 40m, etc.) — bigger builds, weirder physics, higher bragging rights
• ISM / Part 97-adjacent experimentation (e.g., Meshtastic) — bring your mesh goblin energy

If you don’t know what any of that means, that’s fine. Show up with something weird—we’ll help you make it radiate.

Full rules and judging criteria will be published separately.

Suggested Materials (a.k.a. The Junk Drawer)

Looking for inspiration? If it conducts (or kinda does), it might radiate.

• Arrow shafts
• Dryer vents
• Speaker wire
• Tin cans
• Metal trash containers
• Wire shelving
• Cattle panels
• Tape measures
• Random coax you "found"
• That one weird piece of metal you refuse to throw away
• The toilet from a decommissioned prison (we will have questions, but also respect)

If it’s weird, conductive, and you can connect it to a feed point, it’s fair game.

Starter Builds (Coming Soon)

Not sure where to start? We’ll be publishing simple build guides for classic, proven designs to help you get on the air quickly.

Think:

• Tape measure yagi
• Basic dipoles (HF & VHF)
• Ground planes from scrap
• Quick-and-dirty portable builds

Use them as-is or mutate them into something cursed—we won’t judge (we will judge).

Beyond Ham Bands

While the contest focuses on antennas that resonate on amateur radio bands, similar ideas apply elsewhere:

• Wi-Fi / AREDN — directional builds, mesh links, and hacker-friendly networking
• 900 MHz ISM — great for experimentation and practical off-grid comms
• Part 97 experimentation — maximum flexibility, maximum bragging rights

If you’re not sure where your idea fits, bring it anyway. We’ll help you aim it at something useful.

What To Expect

• Live builds and demonstrations
• Validation and test workflows (SWR, on-air, or equivalent)
• nanoVNA testing (first gate) — we’ll use a nanoVNA (a handheld antenna analyzer) to check if your build actually resonates where it should
• Finalists go on-air — top 3 builds on each band will be operated live from the outdoor patio (3rd floor) on Sunday morning at DEF CON 34
• Judging and prizes
• Community chaos
• Radio people encouraging bad ideas for good reasons

Who Should Show Up?

• Licensed hams
• Curious hackers
• Makers and tinkerers
• RF experimenters
• First-timers with a funny idea

No experience required—just curiosity and a willingness to try something weird.

Stay Connected

Questions? Reach out at questions@hamvillage.org.

Want to hang out, ask questions, or share your build ideas? Join the Ham Radio Village Discord.

Can It Ham?

Sometimes the answer is no.

That has never stopped anyone from trying.