Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio

WRTC 2026 ended with one podium. Weeks later, an investigation produced another. The World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) brings together many of the world’s top contest operators to compete from comparable stations under a common set of rules. I'm joined by Randy Thompson K5ZD, Chris Hurlbut KL9A, Dan Craig N6MJ, and Bill Fehring W9KKN to examine the investigation that led to four WRTC teams being disqualified and the final results being rescored. Almost immediately after the competition, operators studying the public logs began noticing multiplier totals that didn’t look right. What followed went far beyond ordinary log checking. The investigation examined suspicious “pirate” multipliers, reverse logs, team recordings, independent SDR recordings, operating patterns, and evidence surrounding how particular teams may have been identified on the air. In one case discussed here, logged QSOs appeared in the record even though investigators could not hear the corresponding stations in the recordings. The revised results put Manfred Wolf DJ5MW and Uli Ann DM5EE in first, Dan Craig N6MJ and Chris Hurlbut KL9A in second, and Randy Thompson K5ZD and Tom Georgens W2SC in third. But this conversation goes well beyond who ended up with the medals. The group looks at the roughly 12-hour window judges originally had to certify results, why some manipulation is so difficult to detect in real time, and whether WRTC can continue announcing winners immediately after the contest. There’s also a larger question here for serious contesters: what happens next? Randy, Chris, Dan, and Bill discuss qualifying, enforcement, the future eligibility of disqualified competitors, the role of peer accountability, and why they believe this episode can ultimately strengthen rather than diminish WRTC and competitive amateur radio. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio.

The Beta Version of the Next.POTA.app is live, bringing new tools for operators and a faster development model for what comes next. Thom Martin W8TAM is a member of the Parks on the Air board and part of the technology team working on the "Next" POTA system. He joins me as Next.POTA.app becomes available to operators to test drive, connected to POTA’s production database and ready for real-world use alongside the existing site. There are meaningful changes for operators: 27 languages and localizations, improved phone and tablet support, more sorting and filtering options, customizable spot information, faster modern software, and sticky comments that let activators put important information directly on an active spot. But there’s another important change behind the screen. POTA’s experienced developers have embraced Claude Code as a development tool, using AI to increase the speed and efficiency of their work while keeping experienced developers in control of the process. Thom says the team has been able to make significant changes in a remarkably short window—from the end of May through mid-August. We’ve discussed this approach with Thom previously on Q5, and this release gives us a chance to see what that development model is producing. That increased development velocity matters because POTA itself continues to grow. The program has grown to more than 90,000 users, with Thom expecting it could reach 100,000 before the end of the year. We discuss what that growth means for database and QSO storage, technology costs currently running roughly $3,700–$4,000 per month, and the increasing demands placed on POTA’s help desk, mapping representatives, technology team, and volunteer network. We also touch on the ongoing discussion around park eligibility and how POTA is working on mapping team expansion and a more scalable volunteer structure. And the Beta version of Next.POTA.app has already been tested well beyond the development desk: Thom recently used it during a huge park rove through Missouri and Iowa, finding problems in the field that the team was able to address. The new system is available now. More importantly, POTA now has a faster path for continuing to improve it. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. Thanks to DX Engineering for supporting Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio and the operators who continue to build, experiment, compete, chase DX, and take amateur radio into the field. Their support helps us bring the people and technology shaping modern amateur radio directly to the Q5 audience.

Dan Craig N6MJ is one of world's top contesters—and now the new contest manager for the North American QSO Party SSB contest. It’s a fitting assignment: NAQP was the first major contest Dan ever won, back in 1997 when he was just 16 years old, operating from his dad’s house and discovering that maybe you didn’t need the biggest station to compete with the best. Dan explains what goes on behind the scenes of running NAQP and why its simplicity matters. The exchange is just a name and state, single operators get 10 hours out of the 12-hour contest window, and the format gives newcomers a remarkably accessible way into serious contesting. For operators chasing a score, Dan gets specific: check 10 meters immediately, don’t neglect the difficult summer bands, and make enough time for 80 and 160 to hunt multipliers that can separate a good score from a winning one. But Dan’s most interesting strategy has nothing to do with winning this year. He'll deliberately stays on bands later than conventional wisdom dictates so he can find casual operators and newcomers. Sometimes, when he hears an especially enthusiastic new call, he’ll even email afterward with encouragement. Now he wants to build a stronger bridge between NAQP and Parks on the Air—and says the contest team has even discussed the possibility of a future POTA category. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. Thanks to DX Engineering for supporting Q5 and the operators who keep amateur radio moving forward. From POTA activators discovering contesting to DXers and competitors chasing the next multiplier, DX Engineering continues to invest in the people who get on the air.

Finishing near the top at WRTC takes far more than fast operating. It demands preparation, teamwork, logistics, and thousands of decisions made under pressure. Connor Black W4IPC and Kees Van Oosbree W0AAE join me after their outstanding performance at WRTC 2026, where they captured the Youth Championship and finished 17th overall, outperforming many veteran world-class contest teams. We discuss how they qualified, why they set a modest Top 25 goal, and what surprised them most once competition began. They explain how careful preparation, generous support from experienced contester Tim Shoppa N3QE, donated gear from OM Power, and extensive equipment planning allowed their station to work flawlessly from the moment it was assembled. The conversation also covers the strategy decisions that mattered most, including missing part of the 10-meter opening, choosing to stay on the high bands later than expected, balancing CW versus SSB, and even losing a valuable run when their competition tent nearly blew away during the contest. Beyond the operating, Connor and Kees share what it was like competing alongside many of the biggest names in contesting, meeting fellow youth teams from around the world, and reflecting on what they'd change if they could do it again. Our thanks to DX Engineering for supporting Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio and helping operators everywhere, from contest stations and DXpeditions to Parks on the Air activations and home stations, build, improve, and enjoy amateur radio. Thanks for watching and being part of the Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio community. We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

WRTC may be over, but for serious contesters, the work that determines the next season is already underway. I'm joined by Randy Thompson K5ZD, Chris Hurlbut KL9A, and Bill Fehring W9KKN for another Q5 Contest Crew roundtable, starting with the still-unresolved WRTC results and moving quickly into a remarkable August NAQP CW. Randy worked roughly 650 stations in only four and a half hours, while the crew looks at huge rates from 8P5A, KP2M, and young Q5 regular W0AAE operating from Iowa. But the larger story is what happens when the contest ends. Chris is planning more towers and switching work, Randy is digging the base for a third tower, and both make the same point: summer is when serious stations get built, tested, broken, and fixed. Waiting until contest season means waiting too long. Bill also reveals a particularly interesting post-WRTC project: a wideband recording of the event that he can search by time and frequency—and even search through decoded CW. The crew also looks ahead to CQ Worldwide operations from ZF and V4, youth mentoring in the Caribbean, and the station work that has to happen before fall. For contesters, builders, and operators planning their next station improvement, this is a useful look at the work that happens long before the first CQ of a major contest. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. Thanks to DX Engineering for supporting Q5 and the operators who keep building, testing, and improving their stations between contests. Their support reaches across the amateur radio community—from contesters and DXers to POTA operators and builders putting the next idea on the air.