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.