Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio

XOTA: The Case for Portable Ham Radio with Luk DD1LD

Dzianis “Luk” Lukashevich DD1LD is an Alpine mountaineer turned ham radio innovator, leading Germany’s SOTA Alpine Association and reshaping what outdoor portable operation can look like. Introduced to amateur radio as a teenager, he returned in earnest in the mid-2000s, quickly combining two passions: climbing and operating from summits. Since then, he’s been a relentless activator across programs—SOTA (Summits on the Air), POTA (Parks on the Air), WWFF (Worldwide Flora and Fauna), IOTA (Islands on the Air), even LOTA (Lighthouses on the Air). His operating philosophy now runs on a new frequency: “Go Green” portable ops, where every activation begins and ends without a car—by bike, foot, or public transport. The idea of XOTA—“any on the air”—captures Luk’s inclusive style. Why limit yourself to one program when the entire outdoors is your shack? This spirit led him to a record-breaking 10-region SOTA activation across the German Alps in a single day and to summiting Sweden’s highest peak solo during a multi-day trail run—all while operating QRP with rigs the size of a credit card. His gear has evolved, but his ethos remains: lightweight, ecological, and always up for a challenge. Luk’s not just a climber with a key. He’s a contest-caliber operator attempting SO2R in the woods, mentoring his young sons in CW before they can read, and imagining a future where ham radio overlays like “Go Green” become standard. Whether it’s a picnic table POTA run or an ascent to a summit, he’s always looking for the next edge—and the next QSO. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. Thanks to Icom for sponsoring Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio—because legendary QSOs deserve legendary radios.

World Wide Award Introduces the First YL Program

The World Wide Award for YLs is new—and it launches March 9. Designed to increase visibility, participation, and on-air activity among women in amateur radio, the program creates a clear, structured path for operators around the world to make contacts with YLs and earn recognition. Marion W1GRL and Carlo IK1HJS explain how the award works, who can participate, qualification details, and why this initiative matters right now. If you want to be part of the inaugural run, now is the time to register, review the rules, and get ready. Early participation will shape the momentum of this program from day one. Q5 is proudly supported by Icom—building radios that inspire operators to push the boundaries of what’s possible.

Inside the New POTA Board’s Vision: Mark K8MST

Mark Torigian K8MST is a retired attorney, former general counsel for Hyundai Motor Company, and now a driving force behind establishing strong governance principles with the newly formed Parks on the Air board. Licensed in 2021 after decades of putting off the hobby, Mark dove headfirst into ham radio—and POTA—during the pandemic, first as a hunter, then as an activator with hundreds of parks under his belt. In just a few years, he went from newcomer to board member of one of the fastest-growing programs in amateur radio. With nearly 50 million QSOs logged, 84,000 registered operators, and 85,000 parks across 236 DX entities, POTA isn’t just thriving—it’s reshaping the hobby. Mark brings something different to the table: four decades of legal and corporate governance experience. At Hyundai, his mission was program integrity—building rules, systems, and internal controls that could withstand explosive growth. Now he’s applying that same mindset to POTA. Not to burden activators and hunters with red tape, but to strengthen the foundation behind the scenes: bylaws, board structure, financial oversight, data privacy protections, and clearer rules that eliminate ambiguity. “If ten hams interpret a rule and you get twenty-five answers,” he says, “we need to fix that.” Behind the curtain, a 21-person volunteer development team led by James Linden, VE3JLN, is rewriting the IT backbone—modernizing a decade-old cloud-based system that now processes more than a million QSOs a month. Add to that the financial reality: roughly $5,000–$6,000 per month just to keep the servers running. No corporate sponsor bankrolls this operation. It’s volunteers, modest book royalties, and community donations keeping the engine alive. And yet, the spirit remains intact. Mark tells the story of operating Winter Field Day at minus 15 degrees—three antennas up in an hour—proving that POTA is more than a game. It’s training. It’s readiness. It’s community. His pledge? Make it better without breaking what already works. Stronger governance. Greater transparency. Seamless improvement. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. A special thank you to DX Engineering for standing behind operators everywhere—from Parks on the Air activators to dedicated DXers and contesters—with equipment and expertise that keep stations on the air. Your support helps ensure this global community continues to grow and thrive.

Down Under to WRTC 2026: Jacky ZL3CW and Bernd VK2IA

Bernd VK2IA and Jacky ZL3CW are world-class contesters from Australia and New Zealand—operators forged in weak-signal territory who’ve spent decades proving that geography is no excuse. Jacky’s story begins in the French Air Force in 1970, where radio was a job before it was a passion. Stationed in Africa in 1979, he watched amateur operators run pileups through the night and realized what he’d been missing: freedom. Since then, contesting and DXpeditions have been his fuel. From Djibouti to Japan to New Zealand, he chased CW pileups not just for the adrenaline, but to give operators the rare contacts they crave. Bernd’s introduction came through family. As a teenager in Germany, he wrote QSL cards for his blind cousin and memorized call signs from around the world. CQ Worldwide CW hooked him early. By 17, he was operating in a multi-single team decades older than he was. That curiosity became a global operating résumé—and eventually a long-running partnership with Jacky that now leads to WRTC 2026 in England. Operating from VK and ZL is not for the faint of heart. Europe and North America sit 10,000 kilometers away. Daylight brings noise and painfully low rates. When the bands open, they’re competing against locals with S9 signals while they strain to pull S2 whispers from the mud. New Zealand may have five to ten serious CW contesters. Australia, a bit more. It’s not pileup country—it’s persistence country. They’ve felt both fortune and misfortune—like the WRTC in Bologna when a slipping Yagi cost them nearly two hours at peak propagation and sent them tumbling down the live scoreboard. They clawed back. Because that’s what seasoned operators do. In England, they’re looking forward to big signals—but even more to the camaraderie. The shared grind of 24 hours among the world’s best. Running trusted K3s and leaning on fifteen years of partnership, they know competition matters. But friendship matters more. From the edge of the map to the center of the contesting world, Bernd and Jacky remind us that greatness isn’t about signal strength. It’s about resilience. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. Special thanks to Icom, the choice of operators who know that peak performance is never optional

Contest with K1RX: Expectations vs Reality (Episode 4 of 7)

Mark Pride K1RX returns for Episode 4 of the How to Contest series with a timely warning: misplaced expectations can ruin a perfectly good contest weekend. In this episode, Mark and host Kevin Thomas W1DED explore the psychological side of contesting—how to set goals that motivate rather than frustrate, how to factor in location and operating time, and how clubs and communities can ground your ambitions in reality. Mark shares what many new contesters eventually learn the hard way: location matters, participation matters, and physics is not negotiable. Whether you’re working a 48-hour marathon or grabbing a few bursts of time around walking the dog, success comes from matching goals to real-world conditions. That might mean working only the high-band European openings or chasing a top-ten finish in QRP. The right category choice can transform an uphill battle into a personal win. He also reminds us that contest clubs are a force multiplier. As a longtime leader in the Yankee Clipper Contest Club, Mark explains how even small scores can add up to big results—and how surrounding yourself with operators of all levels accelerates learning. For those struggling with noise, location, or time constraints, he offers a simple solution: go where the fun is. Visit another station. Operate with a team. Or jump into high-participation events like WWA or CQWW, where every QSO becomes part of a global conversation. This is Episode 4 of 7 in the How to Contest series. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. Thanks to DX Engineering for supporting Q5 Ham Radio and empowering operators wherever they operate from—from mountaintop DXers to apartment-bound dreamers.

Contest Crew is Back With NAQP & ARRL DX

Parks on the Air's Explosive Growth and the Next Chapter

Contest with K1RX: You Can’t Hear Them, You Can’t Work Them (Episode 3 of 7)

Mark Pride K1RX returns for Episode 3 of the How to Contest series with one loud, clear message: antennas matter. In this installment, he and Kevin Thomas W1DED move from station snapshots to serious diagnostics—evaluating performance, identifying bottlenecks, and building a strategy for measurable improvement. If Episode 2 was about what’s on your desk, this one’s about how that gear performs when the contest clock starts.
Mark makes the case for thinking like an engineer and acting like an experimenter. Whether you’re running wires in trees or assembling a top-tier station, your success hinges on one principle: build, compare, iterate. That might mean setting up an A/B antenna switch to catch degradation in real time, or doing the unglamorous work of shutting off breakers to track down S9+ noise from a neighbor’s touch lamp. It’s not about luck or luxury—it’s about learning what works, one contest at a time.
This episode also returns to a recurring theme: start where you are. Many contesters have tried to “buy” performance, only to discover that without years of problem-solving and fine-tuning, even a tower full of aluminum won’t carry you. Real improvement comes from wearing out your antenna switch, making smart trade-offs, and being brutally honest about what you hear. Because as Mark puts it, “If you can’t hear them, you can’t work them.”
This is Episode 3 of 7 in the How to Contest series. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio.
Thanks to DX Engineering for supporting Q5 Ham Radio and helping hams of all experience levels make smart, measurable progress with their stations.

Contest with K1RX: What’s on Your Desk? (Episode 2 of 7)

Mark Pride K1RX returns for Episode 2 of our How to Contest series with a deceptively simple question: What’s on your desk? In this episode, we get tactical. Mark and Kevin Thomas W1DED take a close look at your current gear—radios, antennas, tuners, meters, logging software—and explain why a contest weekend is the most honest stress test you can run on both your station and your skill. This is where the rubber meets the bands. You might feel loud on a quiet Wednesday, but when the contest clock starts Friday night, your signal hits a wall. That’s the moment when casual operating gives way to contest reality—and why every serious contester should keep a running to-do list after each event. Prioritize improvements not by prestige, but by ROI: what’s going to bring more contacts, more reliability, and, above all, more fun? Along the way, Mark weighs in on solar conditions, contest calendars, and the subtle psychology of expectation. He reminds us that everyone from new ops to world champs like KL9A and N6MJ are learning every weekend. The secret is participation: don’t wait for the perfect band opening or a massive contest score. Get on the air, build your list, and chase joy—not just points. This is Episode 2 of 7 in the How to Contest series. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. Thanks to DX Engineering for supporting Q5 Ham Radio and standing behind contesters at every stage of the journey—from their first QSO to the final log submission.

How a Youth Team Took on Saba: Inside PJ6Y 2025

The PJ6Y DXpedition to Saba Island in October 2025 was a masterclass in youth-driven excellence. Spearheaded by veteran mentor Gregg Marco W6IZT, this ambitious project wasn't just about racking up QSOs — it was about building the future of ham radio. With a team of young operators from five countries, many on their first-ever DXpedition, PJ6Y delivered a stunning 13.3 million points in the CQ WW SSB contest, operating Multi-Two with minimal gear and maximum spirit. Despite rugged volcanic terrain and weather that flirted with disaster, the team pulled off over 55,000 QSOs across modes, including 8,700 during the contest alone. Their modest station — built entirely on arrival — consisted of a hex beam, a rebuilt A3 tribander, and a couple of wire antennas tuned to squeeze out every last contact. What made the real difference, Gregg noted, wasn’t the infrastructure but the drive and preparation of the operators. Three had never contested before. All left with pileup poise. There’s a technical story here — Elecraft K3s, KPA500s, N1MM for logging, and remote FT8 operations via NexGen2 RIBs located miles from the main site — but the human moments carried the day. Vincent PC2Y’s selfless scheduling, Matúš OM8ATE’s remote training lineage, Ewan N7EWN’s DXCC dreams, and Emilia YO8YL’s SSB passion added soul to the signal. This operation grew from 3D2Y’s remote roots and now continues as a multi-year project training the next generation of expedition leaders. The team left tired, inspired, and already dreaming of what comes next. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. Thanks to ICOM for supporting Q5 Ham Radio and building radios that inspire operators to push the boundaries of what's possible.