Who: David Gates, Cory Edwards, Steve Wilde, Brian Kaplon, and Jeff Welton
What: AntennaFest 2026
When: October 6, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Where: WETA TV & FM - Register Here
Address: 3939 Campbell Avenue
Arlington, VA 22206 United States
Sponsors: Nautel , Dielectric , Cesium Communications , South-Tek Systems , and American Amplifier Technologies

AntennaFest is Back!

Join SBE Chapter 37 for a day long event about antenna systems, combining, and all things RF.

AntennaFest 2026 is scheduled for Tuesday, October 6th from 10 am to 6 pm at WETA Headquarters in Shirlington, VA. Representatives from companies including Jeff Welton (Nautel), Cory Edwards (Dielectric), David Gates (Cesium Communications), Steve Wilde (American Amplifier Technologies), Brian Kaplon (South-Tek Systems), and others will discuss topics ranging from RF basics, grounding, combining techniques, pressurization with dry air vs nitrogen, active transmission system monitoring and protection, interlock best practices, antenna & line sweeps, and system troubleshooting, and addressing the numerous variables and constraints unique to every project.

We'll top off the event with a discussion on AM Multiplexing, moderated by Gary Cavell, Senior Director of the Cavell Mertz Spectrum Division of Capitol Airspace Group. Gary's guest panelist, including Tom King (Kintronic Labs), Kurt Gorman (Phasetek), and others will speak about past and current projects, best practices, and considerations when locating multiple AM broadcasters at the same site. Gary has been involved in the broadcasting industry technology sector for many decades, and was a founding partner of the consulting firm Cavell Mertz & Associates. In 2019 Gary received the NAB’s Engineering Achievement Award for radio, and the IEEE Jules Cohen award for Outstanding Broadcast Engineering. In that same year he was the Editor-in-Chief for the 11th edition of the NAB Engineering Handbook. He is a member of the SBE, a life member of SMPTE and IEEE, and served for many years as President of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society.

Please note that this is a free event, and will be an in-person event only, as our presenters have graciously agreed to travel and come together to make this event a success. Participation will be limited to a total of 80 attendees, so please keep an eye out for registration to open soon.

Special thanks to Dielectric, American Amplifier Technologies, Nautel, South-Tek Systems, and Cesium Communications for sponsoring this event in conjunction with SBE Chapter 37, and providing lunch at no charge to all attendees. Also thanks to WETA for donating the use of their facilities to host the event. Free parking is available in the WETA garage.

SBE Chapter 37 would also like to thank Vertical Technology Services and Sublight Engineering PLLC for their generous sponsorship of the technical costs to keep the chapter running for 2026.