Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio

Skill Development: Contest with K1RX (Episode 5 of 7)

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, and deliberate “stress tests,” operators can sharpen timing, listening, and decision-making. Whether it’s CWOps sprints or month-long award programs, the goal isn’t just points—it’s building confidence and predictability on the air. What stands out is how quickly growth can happen. Mark shares the story of a Welsh operator he mentored who, with modest equipment, logged over 2,700 QSOs in a single event—discovering along the way her best band, improving her pileup skills, and even curing mic shyness. That’s the throughline: contesting compresses learning. It forces you to hear better, think faster, and adapt in real time. But Mark is equally blunt about what holds operators back. Bad habits—like repeating exchanges, over-talking, or failing to identify—quietly destroy efficiency. Contesting, at its core, is about transmitting maximum information in minimum time. The operators who thrive are the ones who strip communication down to its essentials and learn to match the cadence of whoever they’re working. Perhaps the most original idea here is “parallel play”—a kind of shadow operating where you practice logging real QSOs by listening to top operators, even from an SDR or hotel room. It’s a reminder that improvement doesn’t require perfect conditions—just intention. From search-and-pounce fundamentals to the adrenaline of running a frequency, Mark frames contesting as a discipline built on awareness, repetition, and small, compounding gains. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. DX Engineering continues to be a driving force behind operators pushing their limits, whether chasing DX, activating parks, or competing at the highest levels. Their support helps turn learning into performance across the global ham radio community.

Ontario QSO Party: What Matters This Year | Q5 Briefing

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 and SSB span 160 meters through 2 meters, with straightforward exchanges tied to Ontario’s 50 counties. This year brings a meaningful change. Phone contacts now earn the same points as CW, a shift designed to encourage more SSB participation and broaden the tent for operators of all experience levels. There is also a renewed emphasis on mobility and participation. The rover category continues to draw strong interest, with operators covering significant distances across a province that is larger than many expect. Schedule changes reflect that reality, with less late-night operating and more time on Sunday to support safer and more effective rover activity. Add in five bonus stations tied to major Canadian amateur radio organizations, and the contest rewards some additional effort. This conversation is part of the new Q5 Briefing format. It is short, focused, and built to deliver useful insights without unnecessary filler. Expect more of these concise updates highlighting what is happening across amateur radio right now. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. DX Engineering supports the operators who make events like this possible, from contesters chasing multipliers to POTA activators bringing parks on the air. Their ongoing commitment helps keep the bands active and the community growing.

Looking Ahead to Dayton Hamvention: Tim Duffy K3LR

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: operators under 25 attend free, thanks to foundation support, an intentional investment in the future of the hobby. This year’s lineup blends fresh voices with seasoned leadership stepping into new roles on stage, figures like K1AR, long a pillar of the contesting world, alongside rising operators like Violetta Latham KN2P, who brings both DXpedition experience and a sharp perspective on how to keep young people engaged. The message is clear: Contest University isn’t just for elite operators, it’s for anyone trying to get more out of “a hundred watts and a wire.”
 
The Contest Dinner, born in 1992 from a simple desire to make the “cool kids table” accessible, now draws over 500 attendees and serves as contesting’s cultural centerpiece, complete with Hall of Fame inductions and a global keynote tied to WRTC. Tim’s storytelling here lands: what started as exclusion became one of the most inclusive traditions in ham radio.
 
At Hamvention itself, DX Engineering operates less like a booth and more like a hub. Their massive, interactive space invites operators to gather, ask questions, and get hands-on with new gear, backed by a team that actually operates in the field. It reflects Tim’s broader philosophy that customer support and real operating experience should go hand in hand.
 
Beyond Dayton, the conversation widens into a state-of-the-hobby snapshot. AI in contesting is a natural evolution. Parks on the Air is exploding. Youth engagement is stronger than many assume. Tim’s philosophy is pragmatic and optimistic, innovation belongs in amateur radio, and the real challenge is ensuring spectrum protection and continued relevance. Underneath it all is a consistent theme: the hobby thrives when technical excellence meets human connection.
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Europe’s Top Ops Battle Brutal Conditions in CQ WPX SSB

The Contest Crew Europe returns to break down a CQ WPX SSB contest that promised records but delivered something messier. Filipe CT1ILT pivoted midweek from a planned multi-two to a single op effort—and still topped Europe. For a day and a half, 10 meters was electric; North America poured in until late evening. Then Sunday hit like a switch flipped. Signals vanished, beams pointed the “wrong” way, and what felt like a record run dissolved. It’s a reminder that even at the highest level, contesting is still at the mercy of propagation. Around him, the stories stack up.
Emir “Braco” Memic E77DX battled literal ice—antennas frozen, noise surging—yet stayed in the fight, glued to live scores in a transatlantic duel. Kris Kass ES7A fielded a youth-powered multi-multi, where a high school operator stole the show by relentlessly QSY’ing stations like a seasoned closer. Meanwhile, Dave Kucelin 9A1UN and crew clawed back from a brutal start to nearly overtake ES9C in one of the tightest finishes of the contest—fractions of a percent separating them.
And then there’s the undercurrent: something is changing. AI voices are creeping into SSB in ways that feel both inevitable and unsettling. Is this evolution—or erosion? Even among elites, there’s no consensus yet.
The episode closes far from Europe, with Sven Lovric DJ4MX recounting a grueling Bangladesh DXpedition: 24-hour travel legs, improvised generators, relentless noise hunting, and fleeting propagation windows. The payoff? Tens of thousands of QSOs, rare all-time new ones for many, and a reminder that the spirit of amateur radio still thrives far beyond the contest scoreboard.
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DX Engineering continues to power the passion behind efforts like these—supporting operators from rare DXpeditions to high-stakes contest weekends. Their commitment helps keep the bands alive, whether you're chasing multipliers or building the next generation of contesters.

Inside a Caribbean Contest Battle: K5ZD vs 8P5A | Contest Crew

The Contest Crew is back—and this time, it’s all about a CQ WPX SSB weekend that didn’t quite go to plan.
Randy Thompson K5ZD is operating from V47T, where preparation starts strong and immediately go sideways: a shack full of amplifiers, and only one survives. What follows is a stripped-down station—one radio, one amp, and a relentless chase against Tom at 8P5A. The result? A second-place North America finish, just 800K behind, and a quiet revelation: even in a hyper-optimized, two-radio world, a disciplined single-op can still hang on if the decisions are sharp.
The contest itself was a study in contrasts. Solar numbers promised magic, but northern operators struggled while the Caribbean and North Africa thrived. Randy finds gold on 15 meters in the dead of night—an hour and a half of uncontested Europe—while Kevin Thomas W1DED, operating ZF2KT, battles the eternal beginner’s dilemma: is it me, or the band? His breakthrough comes not in raw Qs, but in confidence—holding a frequency, trusting his setup, and pushing through the low-band grind he once avoided.
And then there’s the future creeping in. AI voice keying isn’t fringe anymore—it's here, controversial, and effective. Some call it innovation; others, a step too far from the human element. But as Chris KL9A puts it plainly: “It’s not going away.” The subtext is clear—contest strategy is no longer just about propagation and endurance, but about how far you’re willing to lean into automation.
Underneath the tech and tactics, though, the human moments still win. A last-minute headset scramble. A footswitch handoff at an airport. A wife wondering what kind of hobby involves strangers delivering gear at baggage claim. In contesting, logistics can be as intense as the pileups—and just as rewarding when it all clicks.
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DX Engineering continues to show up where it counts—whether it’s overnighting critical gear or backing operators chasing every last multiplier. Their support keeps contesters, DXers, and portable ops in the game when it matters most.

Florida QSO Party from the Everglades | N3QE, Tina & POTA

Tim Shoppa N3QE is a seasoned contester chasing a different kind of edge, packing a competitive station into a carry-on and heading deep into the Everglades for a Parks on the Air activation during the Florida QSO Party. What began last year as a spur-of-the-moment detour, rebooking a flight, grabbing a painter’s pole at Home Depot, and improvising an inverted V in a remote campsite, turned into one of his most memorable operating experiences. The combination of low noise, strong high-band propagation, and POTA spotting created a surge in contacts and a new appreciation for portable contesting. This year, he returns with intention: a refined setup, a 3-element inverted V Yagi, and a 3D-printed center insulator designed to make band changes less painful in the field. Shoppa’s approach reflects how naturally contesting and Parks on the Air can complement each other in practice. POTA operators bring enthusiasm, real-time spotting, and a welcoming on-ramp to activity, while contesters contribute pacing, structure, and operating discipline. His activation sits right at that overlap, where a casual hunter might stumble onto a contest station and both walk away with a contact that counts. And then there’s “Tina,” his AI-generated contest voice, returning for 2026, eliminating the need for a microphone entirely while pushing the boundaries of how operators interact on phone. There’s also something refreshingly human underneath the technical ambition: a contester from suburban Maryland adapting to life dozens of miles from the nearest power line, relying on a rental car battery, and learning that success sometimes means fewer backups and more trust in your system. His goal isn’t perfection, it’s progress. Better than last year. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. Special thanks to DX Engineering for continuing to support operators wherever they set up, from remote parks to competitive stations around the world. Your commitment to POTA activators, DXers, and contesters keeps the hobby moving forward.

Inside POTA’s Growth Engine: AB0O on the Board

ohn Ford AB0O is a 45-year ham, engineer, and the quiet architect behind Parks on the Air’s North American mapping system. Licensed in Canada in 1981 under a now-defunct “digital” license—years before packet radio was mainstream—John’s path into amateur radio began with curiosity and a willingness to dig into emerging ideas like ALOHA networking. But his operating heart was always in the field. Long before POTA had a name, he was hauling rigs into the woods, setting up on stumps, and chasing contacts under improvised shade. That instinct made POTA feel less like a discovery in 2019 and more like a homecoming. From there, his rise mirrored POTA’s explosive growth. Recruited as a Missouri map rep in 2020, John quickly became the backbone of U.S. mapping before expanding to all of North America. Today, he coordinates roughly 60 volunteer mapping reps—transforming what was once a tightly controlled, single-person function into a scalable system capable of supporting tens of thousands of parks. One striking detail: North America alone involves navigating more than 200 government agencies, each with its own way of defining and managing parks. But growth brought friction. John offers a candid look at POTA’s next challenge: not technology, but clarity. As the program scales past 65,000 parks and 85,000 users, “crowdsourced rules” have begun to creep in—operators unintentionally bending definitions of park boundaries, multi-park activations, and valid QSOs. His philosophy is simple: keep the rules few, clear, and consistently communicated—because that’s what keeps the game fun. With the new board structure in place, John sees the future not as controlling POTA, but guiding it—ensuring it remains simple, scalable, and true to its roots. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. A special thanks to DX Engineering for continuing to support operators worldwide—from Parks on the Air activators to dedicated DXers and contesters keeping the bands alive.

Otis NP4G: Dayton Hamvention 2026 Amateur of the Year

Dr. Jose “Otis” Vicens NP4G is the 2026 Dayton Hamvention Amateur of the Year—a Puerto Rican orthodontist, DXpeditioner, and president of INDEXA who has spent years turning big radio dreams into real-world action. Otis first got licensed at 16 after a CB contact nudged him toward amateur radio, and the hook was simple: the thrill of talking to someone far away. That early spark carried him from Purdue’s W9YB club to emergency communications after hurricanes in Puerto Rico, to major DXpeditions that once felt almost mythical from the audience at the Dayton DX Forum. Now he’s one of the people making those adventures happen. This conversation traces that arc beautifully. Otis talks about getting the call to join the Bouvet team, preparing for the cold from the Caribbean with gym sessions and cold showers, and discovering firsthand how Starlink has changed modern DXpeditioning. He also tells the story behind the 2026 KP5/NP3VI Desecheo operation—a Puerto Rican-led effort that required diplomacy, patience, and a lower-impact operating model to win approval for one of the most coveted nearby entities in DX. There’s also a deeper philosophy underneath all of it: say yes to ham radio. Whether it’s contesting with the La Sierra crew, operating from K3LR, activating St. Barts from a nature reserve, or helping INDEXA support the next rare one, Otis comes across as someone who understands that this hobby gives back in proportion to the heart you put into it. For viewers who enjoyed past conversations with Jose WP3Z and Manuel WP4TZ, this is another great look at the camaraderie and ambition coming out of Puerto Rico. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. DX Engineering continues to back the operators who keep this hobby moving—from Parks on the Air activators to serious DXers and contesters chasing the next signal over the horizon. We’re grateful for their support of stations and adventures across the ham radio world. Welcome to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio.

ARRL DX SSB Debrief with Levi K6JO and the Contest Crew

I'm joined by Randy Thompson K5ZD, Dan Craig N6MJ, Bill Fehring W9KKN, and special guest Levi Jefferies K6JO for a postmortem on a gripping ARRL DX SSB weekend. This episode offers a front-row seat to the drama: Bill grinding out an extraordinary 48-hour remote effort from ZF1A in the Cayman Islands, Dan battling from Tariq's N2QV super station in the Catskills, and Levi pushing hard from N1DE in farthest edges of northern Maine. All three spent the weekend in the top six of the SOAB HP category. What makes the conversation compelling is not just the scoreboard, but the psychology behind it—when to look, when to ignore it, and how one glance can turn fatigue into resolve. Bill admits the chase with Ken KP4AA kept him pushing to the end. Dan confesses he took a three-hour sleep break, woke up, checked the scoreboard, and instantly regretted it. Levi, meanwhile, lost crucial hours to a remote-station computer crash and still refused to let it define the effort. There’s plenty here for the serious operator: SO2R compromises, self-spotting as a strategic necessity, Maine’s undeniable edge into Europe, New York’s better angle into Asia, and the sheer brutality of trying to hold a run frequency while three other stations are calling CQ on top of you. But there’s also something deeply human in this one—hallucinations after 40-plus hours, “lucky” frequencies on 160, remote setups made possible by loyal friends, and that familiar contest truth that the line between discipline and madness is often just one multiplier. The episode also gives due respect to the battle at the top of the scoreboard between Tom 8P5A and Manu HD8R, including Manu’s dramatic come-from-behind "scoreboard win." And it closes with a well-earned victory lap: Dan N6MJ is now officially the all-time CQ Worldwide CW Single Operator All Band High Power world record holder. It lands as both celebration and warning—because in this crowd, “retirement” usually lasts only until the next big weekend. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. Icom continues to equip and support the operators pushing the limits—from Parks on the Air activators to world class contesters and DXers chasing the rare ones. Their commitment helps keep the radios on, the signals loud, and the global ham community thriving.
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Parks on the Air Meets Contesting: Dean N6DE

Dean Wood N6DE is a contester asking a provocative question: Can a Parks on the Air activation be competitive in a serious contest?
In this conversation, Dean shares the results of a months-long experiment testing whether a carefully chosen park—combined with smart antenna strategy—can rival traditional home stations. His target site was Fremont Peak State Park in California, selected for two key competitive advantages: a dramatically lower noise floor than most suburban stations and terrain that slopes toward Europe and Asia, creating a naturally low takeoff angle for DX. Dean operated two contests from the park—NAQP CW and ARRL DX CW—bringing portable antennas, battery power, and a willingness to adapt on the fly.
The results were eye-opening. During ARRL DX CW, Dean discovered that antenna orientation mattered far more than expected: after installing a second wire aimed toward Japan, signals jumped roughly two S-units compared with his original European-focused inverted V. That kind of real-time experimentation is exactly what portable contesting demands—and rewards. Over the two contests he logged more than 1,200 QSOs, including 565 DX contacts on 15 meters alone, ultimately “kilo-ing” the park with over 1,000 contacts.
But the bigger story is philosophical. Dean argues that portable operating—through Parks on the Air, SOTA, and similar programs—may be the most promising gateway for the next generation of contesters. With creative contest overlays, outreach from station owners, and collaboration between contest clubs and the POTA community, he believes the hobby can evolve beyond the traditional big-tower model and bring new operators into radiosport.
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Special thanks to DX Engineering for supporting operators everywhere—from portable POTA activators to serious contesters chasing DX. Their continued commitment helps keep radiosport thriving across parks, peaks, and stations around the world.