Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio

Chris Tate N6WM is a late-blooming force in amateur radio who discovered the hobby in his forties—and never looked back. A lifelong technologist and adventurer, Chris quickly made his mark in both contesting and DXpeditioning. He's the founder of the K6LRG hilltop contest station and station coordinator for the powerhouse N6RO Superstation, where he helps drive multi-multi operations in the West. With marquee wins in Sweepstakes, R...

John Dorr K1AR and George Gross N3GJ are fresh off a record-setting run at K3LR during the CQ Worldwide SSB contest, logging 406 QSOs in a single hour on 10 meters. This wasn’t luck or brute force—it was a masterclass in synchronized contesting, 21 years in the making. From a clean frequency above 28.500 MHz, the duo operated in seamless coordination: John on the run station, George working multipliers, backed by K3LR’s unassuming ...

Braco E77DX, Filipe CT1ILT, Sven DJ4MX, Chris ES7A, Mike SJ2W, and Dave 9A1UN - Contest Crew Europe - return from the CQ Worldwide SSB contest with stories that stretch from the Canary Islands to the Arctic edge of Europe. This isn’t just a recap—it’s contesting at its most competitive, collaborative, and chaotic.

Braco E77DX may have rewritten the record books at EF8R, logging 11,000 QSOs and 27 million points over 48 relentless h...

Jose CT1BOH is back on Q5 Worldwide—and just in time for a historic showdown. The ten-time CQ World Wide CW winner, one of the most respected voices in high-stakes contesting, returns for a masterclass in operator performance, propagation edge, and psychological warfare. This isn’t just another contest preview—it’s a forensic breakdown of who might claim the crown in the most prestigious CW event of the year.

With Dan N6MJ and Chri...

CQ World Wide SSB strategy & station plans with the Contest Crew—Dan N6MJ, Chris KL9A, Bill W9KKN, and Randy K5ZD—who break down final preparations for the SSB Super Bowl of radiosport. Operating from the elite CQ9A station in Madeira, Chris, Dan, and Bill are diving into a high-intensity, six-radio, 24/7 multi-single effort hosted by EW6W Valery Zhytkovich, joining forces with top-tier European ops. The fusion of American and ...

A few days ago, we heard from Contest Crew North America. Now it’s Europe’s turn. Braco E77DX, Dave 9A1UN, Mike SJ2W, Kris ES7A, and Sven DJ4MX—collectively Contest Crew Europe, and five of the continent’s most respected operators—join Q5 with their war stories and final prep before CQ Worldwide SSB. Dave recaps the standout Istra Conference, a magnet for serious ops and next-gen tech, with attendees flying in from across Europe an...

Rich Smith N6KT is a quiet titan in the world of radiosport. With ten CQ WW SSB wins to his name, an ARRL DX Phone record that has stood since 1993, and multiple WPX titles, Rich heads into this weekend’s contest from PJ4K with a legitimate shot at another world title. He’s not just a competitor—he’s a legacy builder. His rivals know it. Braco E77DX is mounting a massive effort from the Canaries (EF8R) with hopes of a win and a pos...

Dan Craig N6MJ is one of three world-class operators aiming to shatter world records in the CQ Worldwide CW contest this November. From Magic Mountain in the Canary Islands, Dan will operate as EF8R—joining a global showdown where perfect propagation, cutting-edge engineering, and elite operator skill might converge to make history. He’s teaming up with Braco E77DX, who will run SSB from the same site, in a rare and strategic colla...

Braco Memic E77DX hosts this special edition of Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio, stepping in after Kevin W1DED encountered technical issues. Contest Crew Europe gathers to unpack the 2025 Worked All Europe SSB contest, recent IARU VHF, and plans for the upcoming CQ Worldwide SSB contest.

Kris Kass ES7A opens with a cautionary tale: a lightning strike took out his station, frying everything from rotators to computers. With WAE off the table ...

George Gross N3GJ is the 10-meter backbone of K3LR, Tim Duffy’s legendary multi-multi contest station. For 30 years and 100 contest weekends, George has held the line through solar highs and brutal lows. Whether pulling callers out of static or setting the SSB hourly rate record (390 QSOs) alongside K1AR, George shows up. Every single time. His start was classic: a Hallicrafters receiver in the attic, Morse code copied by hand, and...

As the sun came up this morning over Chebeague Island in Maine, my phone lit up with a WhatsApp call from Braco Memic E77DX. It was 6 a.m.—and within the hour, I was walking with him, virtually and on camera, through the legendary EF8R “Magic Mountain” contest station on Gran Canaria. He and his wife Julia had just landed, and Braco was already sizing up the challenge ahead: broken antennas, a silent generator, and only days to tur...

I'm back with the Contest Crew—Dan N6MJ, Bill W9KKN, Chris KL9A—and special guest Levi Jeffries K6JO, who takes us deep into the guts of serious HF contesting, from antenna stacks in Tennessee to the fine-tuned dance of 2BSIQ phone operation. Levi recounts his recent effort in the Worked All Europe SSB contest, operating remotely from Ron WV4P’s elite Tennessee hilltop contest station. The competition was tighter than expected, wit...

Kylee Shirbroun KE0WPA is 18 years old and a bright young voice in ham radio. Raised in the shadow of a 40-foot tower in Worthington, Minnesota, she made her first satellite contact while on vacation in Canada—the very day her technician license came through. Since then, she’s earned her general class ticket, become a contesting enthusiast, and taken on youth advisor roles with the Minnesota Wireless Association and the North Star ...

Violetta Latham KN2P is a 20-year-old Extra Class ham with more big station experience under her belt than many operators twice her age. A commercial pilot, flight instructor, and aircraft mechanic apprentice, Violetta's days oscillate between runways and radios. Licensed since she was nine—thanks to a sibling competition organized by her father—she’s grown from a childhood in a Mennonite-Amish household with no internet to flying ...

John Dorr K1AR is… one of the most quietly influential voices in radiosport. A WRTC medalist, long-time CQ Worldwide committee leader, CQ Magazine editorial alumnus, and the unmistakable voice of the Dayton Contest Dinner, John has spent more than five decades shaping competitive ham radio—on the air and off. In this interview with Kevin Thomas W1DED, he traces his path from starstruck novice to CW powerhouse to director of the big...

In this episode, Q5 hosts the Contest Crew—Chris Hurlbut KL9A, Dan Craig N6MJ, Randy Thompson K5ZD, and Bill Fehring W9KKN—four of the most methodical and high-performing minds in amateur radio contesting. In this insider roundtable, we pull back the curtain on what it actually takes to prepare for a major contest like CQ World Wide. From physical readiness to log analysis, from code training to grocery lists, this is a masterclass...

Fred Lass K2TR is a legend by reputation and by record—once dubbed “King Fred” during the founding days of YCCC, a title he wears with his usual self-effacing humor. From a modest childhood in Niagara Falls to a career in broadcast engineering, Fred built a life around RF. A licensed ham since the 1960s, he’s revered for his antenna mastery with technical talks that still pack rooms at Dayton Hamvention and Northeast HamX. He’s an ...

Ranko Boca 4O3A is a force in global contesting and amateur radio innovation. From his breathtaking hilltop QTH in Montenegro—accessible only by rugged vehicles or his personal helicopter—Ranko has redefined what it means to build a world-class station. A telecom engineer by training and a contester since the 1970s, his early days were shaped by club stations and soldering irons. Today, he leads SkySat and the 4O3A product line, ho...

HamSCI just completed its first-ever multi-day field exercise at the world-class K3LR contest station in West Middlesex, PA. For four days, students, professors, researchers, and volunteers came together to install components of the Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS), explore the physics behind HF communication, and experience the hospitality of station owner Tim Duffy K3LR. In this interview with HamSCI founder Dr. Nathaniel Fr...