After our deep dive into W3AO’s record-breaking Field Day operations, we came back with one simple question for Frank W3LPL and Rol K3RA: What radios actually get the job done—and which ones are banned—at Field Day? Their answers might surprise you.

Field Day means different things to different hams. For some, it’s a competition—a chance to test gear, strategy, and skill. When we spoke with the W3AO team about their 28-year run of record-breaking efforts, we celebrated that spirit. But Field Day can also look like this: lawn chairs in a field, lawn mowing, antenna builds, and a loose pact that everyone makes at least one QSO—if they feel like it.

At KM7W in rural Montana, Chris Hurlbut KL9A and Dan Craig N6MJ—two of the most respected contesters in amateur radio—set aside the race for rate and mults. Instead, they invited family, friends, and fellow ops to simply enjoy the experience. Some flew in, others drove across the country. Together they raised antennas, told stories around the firepit, dodged rattlesnakes, and made over 3,000 contacts—without ever writing a shift schedule.

Levi’s improvised satellite station—with a last-minute-built handheld yagi—became the hit of the weekend. At 2:30 a.m., they tracked the International Space Station under the stars, calling out headings while trying not to wake the others. That’s Field Day, too.

Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio for more stories like this, where signal reports matter—but so do the people behind the mic and the ones behind the op.

Thanks to DX Engineering, whose support helps fuel every version of Field Day—from the multi-multi juggernauts to backyard ops with just enough coax and a cooler of cold drinks.

Gregg Marco W6IZT has participated in some of ham radio’s most well-known DXpeditions—and a few dozen vacation-style ones too. From his ridge-top shack in rural Georgia, he’s spent the last two decades blending deep technical chops with a passion for the hobby. But his latest venture—PJ6Y from Saba Island—isn’t just another stamp in the logbook. It’s the next step in a generational handoff that began with 3D2Y Rotuma.

In this episode, W6IZT joins Q5 to talk about how, at 70 years old, his approach to DXpeditioning is all about putting young operators in charge. His new model leans into mentorship and real-time problem solving. The PJ6Y team includes first-time DXpeditioners from nine countries. Thanks to partnerships with Youth on the Air and a growing off-island remote crew operating through Next Gen RIBs, they’re learning what it really takes to build, troubleshoot, and run an expedition.

Gregg recounts the spark that started it all (his wife, Wendy), the stethoscope used to diagnose a seawater-soaked tuner, and themakeshift shelter roof ripped off mid-contest. These aren’t just stories—they’re signals of a deeper shift. With young hams now leading workshops, designing station schedules, and preparing for future trips with no “old man” supervision, W6IZT is quietly rewriting what it means to be seasoned.

Join the conversation—and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio to follow the voices shaping the future of DXing.

Special thanks to DX Engineering for supporting the innovators, mentors, and adventurers pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in amateur radio—wherever in the world they may be.

The Contest Crew is back—Randy K5ZD, Dan N6MJ, Chris KL9A, and Bill W9KKN—fresh off the IARU HF World Championship. From broken antennas and overheated shacks to surprise guest ops and last-minute tech rescues, this episode captures the contest highs, lows, and hard-won wisdom only this crew can deliver.

Dan N6MJ’s operation from the legendary N2QV station in New York almost didn’t happen. After casually mentioning on a previous Q5 episode that he was “without a station,” Dan got an unexpected email from Tariq N2QV—inviting him to operate from one of the country’s top single-op sites. That led to a last-minute cross-country flight, a borrowed “foot switch” taped to the floor, and a serious attempt at the USA record. The band conditions didn’t hold up, but the effort, camaraderie, and unexpected help—from past Q5 guest Sebastian KI2D to Bill’s remote troubleshooting—tell a bigger story.

Meanwhile, Chris KL9A battled 96-degree heat and bug-filled Montana nights with his trademark grin, chasing WRTC test stations and savoring every contact. Randy K5ZD, mid-rebuild in Ohio, strung up dipoles and made the most of a casual effort. And Bill W9KKN—unofficially the Contest Crew’s 24/7 tech support—spent the weekend solving problems for everyone from N2NT and NP4Z to Dan at N2QV. Whether comic or crushing, each story points to what this Crew knows best: the contest never really ends—and neither does the bond among operators.

This episode is a candid debrief with four of the world’s top contesters. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio.

Thanks to DX Engineering for backing contesters, DXers, POTA activators, and everyone pushing ham radio forward—rain or shine, band open or closed.

Clarification: In the discussion about the N2QV antennas, there was a question regarding who designed and built the 4-high stack of 2X Array Tribanders. To clarify, those antennas were exclusively designed, optimized, and built by Scott, WU2X. Full credit for that impressive work goes to him.

The ISTRA Contest Conference is taking place October 9–12th in Poreč, Croatia, and Braco E77DX, Mirko 9A6KX, and Dave 9A1UN are here to tell us all about it. Born from late-night conversations and a desire for deeper community, the ISTRA Contest Conference is quickly becoming Europe’s most vital gathering of contest operators. What started as a bold idea between friends has evolved—despite COVID delays—into a globally attended, three-day immersion in radiosport. With over 250 participants and growing interest from outside the Balkans, the event now draws contesters from across Europe, the Middle East, and even the U.S. But this isn’t Friedrichshafen or Dayton. There are no booths. No gear to buy. Instead, ISTRA offers live, interactive presentations: young operators debriefing DXpeditions, station builders explaining the guts of their setups, doctors addressing health in contesting, and yes—even discussions on the etiquette (and humor) of stealing frequencies from people you now consider friends. The tone is intimate and deeply human, with late-night “last-man-standing” competitions that blend camaraderie with contest-hardened stamina. Held on the stunning Istrian coast, ISTRA isn’t just for contesters—it’s also a rare invitation for spouses and families to enjoy world-class food, swim in the Adriatic, and savor the wines and quiet beauty of inland Croatia. This episode builds on earlier Q5 conversations with top operators and expedition teams, but shifts the focus to what happens off the air—when contesters come together to share war stories, swap tactics, and reimagine the future of the sport. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio for more stories like this. Special thanks to DX Engineering for supporting contesters, DXers, Parks on the Air activators, and every ham who knows the thrill of calling CQ from somewhere new.

Our Contest Crew Europe introductions continue with Kris Kass ES7GM, also known by ES7A. Kris is a third-generation Estonian ham radio operator whose story arcs from Soviet-era restrictions to modern contesting excellence. Raised in a family where CW was practically a second language—his grandfather operated behind the Iron Curtain as UR2GT (during Soviet times, all of Estonia used the UR2 prefix)—Kris made his first CW contact at age seven using a straight key and what he remembers as a “messy” transmission. Now in his thirties, he’s one of Estonia’s most respected contesters, equally at home running pileups from his self-built rural station or contributing big scores from the megastation ES5TV.

What sets Kris apart isn’t just his lineage or results, but his philosophy. At a time when many are chasing ever-bigger setups, he made a deliberate shift—constructing ES7A with simplicity and sustainability in mind. Using salvaged Soviet towers and homemade antennas, he built a flexible station atop his region’s highest local terrain—not to rival ES5TV, but to offer something community-driven and distinctly his. “It’s not about competition,” he says. “It’s about having something locals can use.”

A moment that lingers: Kris casually mentions his ability to transmit and receive at the same time—a rare skill that helped him rack up 357 QSOs in the first hour of a recent IARU contest using SSB 2BSIQ. As former president (2018–2024) of the Estonian Amateur Radio Union, he championed online exams and helped build a pipeline for young operators. The results are already visible.

This episode builds on a growing thread at Q5—highlighting a new generation of builders and operators like Kris Kass and Kristers Misa YL3JA, his WRTC 2026 teammate. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio to follow more stories like this.

A big thanks to DX Engineering, whose support helps fuel the creativity of DXers, contesters, Parks on the Air activators, and ops everywhere—especially those who build stations from rusted towers and quiet determination.

Dave Kucelin 9A1UN, also known by his contest call 9A1P, is one of the most accomplished HF contesters in Croatia and the tenacious force behind a station that’s endured devastating storms, unresolvable land disputes, and a rotating cast of club members—all while racking up thousands of QSOs. In this episode, Dave opens up about building (and rebuilding) the 9A1P contest station, a decades-long project that started with five-element yagis on a 30-foot tower and evolved into a rugged, sea-facing setup now spanning four towers on a ridge above the Adriatic Sea. A third-generation ham, Dave first got on the air using his father’s call at age six. He cut his teeth on VHF contests, but it was CQWW that pulled him toward HF. After a freak storm in 2018 leveled the original station, Dave and his small team were forced to start over—only to be evicted from the land they’d occupied for 30 years. (Yes, there’s more to the story.) What followed was a two-year hunt for a new site, culminating in a station perched above a river valley with sea paths to North America and Japan, optimized with fixed antennas built to withstand the region’s brutal winds. The story is full of grit and unexpected laughs—like the time Dave hung a tribander between two towers with rope just to beam east for ARRL SSB, or his candid take on remote operation and the fear it might kill the camaraderie he treasures most. His daughter, now licensed and active in the YOTA scene, marks the family’s fourth generation on the air. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio—where we're working hard to illuminate the wonderful world of ham radio. Special thanks to DX Engineering for supporting the global ham radio community—from trailblazing POTA activators to teams pushing the limits in the world’s toughest DX and contesting environments. Your gear powers the pursuit.

Sven Lovric DJ4MX is part of a new wave of contesters and DXpeditioners reshaping what youth, excellence, and ambition look like in ham radio today. At just 23, he’s already logged pileups from Guyana and the remote Pacific outpost of the Marshall Islands. Whether operating as 8R7X or V73WW, Sven thrives in the thick of it—chasing signals from the other side of the globe, running high-rate phone pileups, and mastering CW through sheer commitment and countless hours on Morse Runner.

Our conversation traces his journey from a 13-year-old operating under Germany’s training license program to a top finisher in CQ Worldwide CW from a 100-watt station in the heart of Munich. While his roots lie in family outings and early SOTA activations, his heart now belongs to contests and DXpeditions. He favors single-op low power for the raw challenge—but you can see the glimmer in his eyes when he talks about future high-power opportunities. His most formative experiences—like operating from E7DX with Braco or field-cooking between shifts in the Marshalls—reveal a camaraderie at the core of these far-flung efforts.

Sven’s voice is both young and unusually thoughtful. He champions the live scoreboard as a tool for growth, not ego, and offers a clear call to action: don’t just study radio—operate. That advice, he notes, applies as much to midlife returners as it does to teenage prodigies. And while he isn’t ready to reveal where the “Next Generation DX Team” is heading next, one thing is certain—they’re not done.

Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio for more interviews with the voices shaping amateur radio’s future.

Thanks to DX Engineering for supporting this work—and for helping DXers, POTA activators, and contesters everywhere build the stations of their dreams, no matter where they call CQ.