Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio

Contest Crew North America and Contest Crew Europe come together for a rare cross-Atlantic conversation just days before the World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC). Chris Hurlbut KL9A, Randy Thompson K5ZD, Filipe Lopes CT1ILT, and Braco Memic E77DX pull back the curtain on the final scramble before one of amateur radio's most demanding competition. The discussion is equal parts technical and en...

How do the world's top contesters prepare for the biggest competition in amateur radio? Chris Hurlbut KL9A, Dan Craig N6MJ, Randy Thompson K5ZD, Bill Fehring W9KKN, and Tim Duffy K3LR discuss the preparation, strategy, and mindset behind competing at the World Radiosport Team Championship. From intensive CW practice and log analysis to equipment checklists and operating strategy, they explain what...

WRTC is designed to put the world's best contest operators on equal footing, with identical stations, antennas, and operating conditions. But fairness doesn't stop at the station boundary. In this special WRTC 2026 clip, Randy Thompson K5ZD, Bill Fehring W9KKN, Dan Craig N6MJ, Chris Hurlbut KL9A, and Tim Duffy K3LR discuss the role spotting, operating ethics, and community behavior play in maintai...

WRTC was created to remove the biggest variable in contesting: the station. What happens when the world's best operators compete with equal stations, equal power, and equal opportunities? I'm joined by Randy Thompson K5ZD, Chris Hurlbut KL9A, Dan Craig N6MJ, Bill Fehring W9KKN, and special guest Tim Duffy K3LR, for a deep look at the World Radiosport Team Championship just weeks before competition...

I'm joined by Violetta Latham KN2P, Leon Hellmich DL3ON, and Megan Lorenz EI5LA, the youth members of the VP0SG South Georgia DXpedition team, as they gather in Norway for a full-scale shakedown of one of amateur radio's most ambitious upcoming operations. From assembling tents and antennas to testing radios, networking gear, and emergency procedures, this weekend is about far more than equipment....

James Cribbs N0WRL is the founder and CEO of World Radio League, and in this special episode he unveils—publicly for the first time—the live scoring platform being developed in collaboration with the World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) 2026. With WRTC now just weeks away in England this July, James walks the Contest Crew through a working demonstration of a new operator experience designed t...

Tom Suggs N4MTE is a longtime amateur radio operator, Parks on the Air board member, and one of the program’s dedicated activators. His journey into radio began as a teenager inspired by an uncle’s ham radio station, where a simple contact with Norway sparked a lifelong fascination with geography, communication, and the magic of radio. After earning his license in 1985, Tom spent decades chasing D...

Contest Crew Europe returns with a post-WPX debrief and a look ahead to WRTC 2026. I'm joined by Kris Kass ES7A, Filipe Lopes CT1ILT, Braco Memic E77DX, Sven Lovric DJ4MX, and Dave Kucelin 9A1UN as they unpack CQ WPX CW from a European perspective. At the center of the discussion is ES5TV’s ambitious eight-month multi-multi project. Kris shares the numbers behind the effort: 46 operators from 15 c...

Mike Giannaccio W5REZ is the owner of REZ Antenna Systems and the driving force behind a unique project marking America’s 250th birthday. In this conversation, Mike shares the story behind a limited-edition run of commemorative Recon 40 II antennas—just five in total—created to honor the nation’s founding and support the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). What began as a REZ Antenna conve...

The Contest Crew is back. Randy Thompson K5ZD, Dan Craig N6MJ, Bill Fehring W9KKN, and Chris Hurlbut KL9A join Kevin Thomas W1DED for another deep dive into the biggest stories in competitive ham radio—from Dayton Hamvention and CQ WPX CW to the mounting pressure surrounding WRTC 2026. Fresh off a packed Hamvention weekend, the crew recaps CTU, the crowds in Xenia, memorable presentations, and why...

The Contest Crew is back following the recent CQ WPX CW weekend, with a look inside their individual efforts, a glimpse at the inevitable Murphy moments, and their usual humorous take on the world of serious contesting. Dan Craig N6MJ, Randy Thompson K5ZD, Chris Hurlbut KL9A, and Bill Fehring W9KKN break down a contest that began with record-level expectations but quickly turned into a battle agai...

I’m joined by Randy Thompson K5ZD, Chris Hurlbut KL9A, and Bill Fehring W9KKN for a Contest Crew conversation that starts with one of the most humbling experiences in amateur radio: opening your CQ WPX log checking report. Note: this episode was recorded before Dayton Hamvention 2026, and another brand-new Contest Crew episode—recorded after Dayton—drops tomorrow. Randy breaks down what contesters...

Mark Pride K1RX is a seasoned contester who sees Parks on the Air and contesting as two sides of the same coin, sharing skills, instincts, and a natural path between them. In this final episode of the contesting fundamentals series, Mark makes the case that many POTA operators are already doing contesting in all but name. They manage pileups, operate under real-world constraints, and make fast dec...

Kevin Thomas W1DED is one of the newest board members guiding Parks on the Air through its next chapter — but his connection to ham radio stretches back nearly 50 years. Licensed as a teenager in 1977, Kevin grew up around Heathkit gear built by his father, WA1YOA, before life, career, and raising three children pulled him away from the hobby for decades. Yet even after his license lapsed, he carr...

Nick Hacko VK9DX is one of ham radio’s most colorful voices, an elite contester, watchmaker, refugee-turned-builder, and unapologetically opinionated character who somehow manages to be equal parts philosopher and entertainer. Broadcasting from Norfolk Island, a tiny speck in the South Pacific with a population of just 2,000, Nick joins me for a conversation that ranges from Cold War-era Yugoslavi...

Mike Case W8MSC is one of the key figures behind Parks on the Air, helping transform a one-year, ARRL-sponsored park activation event into a lasting global program. Mike’s path into ham radio started later than most. Licensed in 2014 after a chance encounter reignited his technical curiosity, he brought a background in IT and a love for the outdoors. Field Day was the spark, but it wasn’t enough....

Tom Morton K2GO is a Navy fighter pilot turned airline captain turned global aviation mentor—and through it all, a relentless ham radio operator who always found time to get on the air and meet new friends. In Part II, Tom’s story widens from cockpit to command. He rises from top-of-class Navy aviator to instructor, then to carrier-qualified pilot and Landing Signal Officer, racking up nearly 200...

Seth Jones NU1D is a young contester who just got a front-row seat to big-league contesting, operating from J62K in St. Lucia during CQ WPX SSB, and discovering that the view is only half the story. It was also his first trip outside the United States, which adds a layer of awe you can’t fake. The pileups were real, but so was the moment. What begins as an application email turns into a months-lon...

Ron Koenig WV4P is the guy they told “that won’t work.” He built it anyway and started winning. Licensed during Field Day 2017 because he was “bored,” Ron followed his competitive instincts straight into contesting. Alongside his wife Trina NR4L, that drive quickly escalated from wire antennas to a seven-tower station in Savannah, Tennessee. This was not a copy-paste superstation. Ron challenged l...

Mark Pride K1RX is a veteran contester who makes the case that your biggest leap in ham radio might not come from upgrading your station, but from joining someone else’s. In part six of this contesting fundamentals series, Mark shifts the focus from gear to people. For operators constrained by space, budget, or HOA realities, the multi-operator (multi-op) station becomes a kind of accelerator. It...

Nick Hauser, KT0W, is a young contester proving that the future of ham radio isn’t just alive—it’s remote, hybrid, and remarkably competitive. Licensed in 2016 alongside his father, Nick’s early spark came from National Parks on the Air, where rapid-fire pileups introduced him to rate and rhythm. That gateway led naturally into contesting, with mentorship from local operators like W0SD and opportu...

Michael Kalter W8CI is the voice and steady hand behind the Dayton Hamvention, serving on its executive committee and as official spokesperson while also helping lead the Dayton Amateur Radio Association. What he describes is not just a convention, it is a phenomenon. With attendance pushing past 30,000 and every booth and flea market space effectively sold out, Hamvention has become something clo...

Mark Pride K1RX is a veteran contester who believes the real upgrade isn’t your station—it’s you. In part five of this contesting fundamentals series, Mark shifts the focus away from gear and toward operating skill—the subtle, often overlooked craft that separates competent operators from great ones. His message is clear: improvement happens in the chair. Through short contests, special events, an...

Larry Langs VE3LRL is helping lead one of Canada’s longest-running on-air events, the Ontario QSO Party, and this year he’s focused on a simple goal: get more operators on the air and keep them active. Now in its 29th year, the Ontario QSO Party returns the third weekend of April, with activity kicking off Saturday at 1800Z and continuing through Sunday afternoon. The format remains a classic. CW...

Tim Duffy K3LR is the CEO of DX Engineering and one of the central architects behind contesting’s biggest gatherings, from Contest University to the legendary Contest Dinner at Dayton.   In this conversation, Tim lays out the sheer scale and evolution of Contest University, now in its 17th year, with over 20 presentations, global livestreaming, and a growing emphasis on youth. A standout moment: o...