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.

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.

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.

Welcome to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio.

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.

Adrian Ciuperca KO8SCA and Max Freedman N4ML are on Bouvet Island (3Y0K) right now—with the wind howling outside their tents, antennas lashed to rock and ice, and one of the biggest pileups in amateur radio roaring in their headphones. Bouvet is one of the rarest and most remote DX entities on Earth, and the 3Y0K team mounted a $1.7 million effort to put it on the air. Twenty operators departed Cape Town aboard an ice-class vessel equipped with helicopter support, arriving after a six-day voyage through rough seas. Helicopter lifts ferried people and equipment onto the island, where the team rapidly built a small radio village: sleeping tents, a communal tent, and an operating tent running up to five stations with beams, verticals, and dipoles. Despite brutal winds and relentless weather, the team quickly pushed past 100,000 QSOs while operating from one of the harshest environments in the DX world. Behind the pileups is a staggering logistical effort. Adrian describes years of planning—contracts for the ship and helicopter, interviews with pilots capable of flying in Antarctic conditions, and enormous spreadsheets tracking every piece of equipment. On Bouvet, there are no second chances: if something breaks, you fix it in the storm. Antennas fail, winds push past 60 mph, and operators head back outside because every minute off the air from Bouvet matters. For Max, one of the youngest operators on the team, the experience is both baptism and inspiration. Supported by the NCDXF, he was immersed in every stage—from packing containers in Norway to operating through massive worldwide pileups. His takeaway is simple: young operators don’t just belong on DXpeditions—they strengthen them. The energy, technical skill, and curiosity they bring help ensure that rare-entity activations like Bouvet continue long into the future. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. Special thanks to DX Engineering for supporting Q5 and helping power projects like this one. Their support of DXers, Parks on the Air operators, and contesters worldwide helps keep the rare ones coming.

Ben Lloyd GW4BML is a lifelong climber who discovered Summits on the Air (SOTA) and now combines both passions as he explores destinations across Wales and Scotland. In this conversation on Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio, Ben traces his path from a childhood introduction to amateur radio at age twelve—thanks to a visit to Glyn GW0JAI’s shack—to eventually earning his full license decades later. For years, radio remained a background interest while climbing dominated his life. But when Summits on the Air entered the picture, everything clicked. Suddenly the peaks he loved became incredible operating spots, and the hobby transformed into something physical, portable, and deeply social. That convergence led to a remarkable five-year stretch of family adventures built around summits, CW, and lightweight radio gear carried up steep trails. Ben shares the craft behind mountain operating—balancing antennas, batteries, and weather with the realities of high ground—and the unique satisfaction of making contacts from places where the station truly lives in your backpack. Those experiences eventually became a book, Summit of Dreams, where Ben chronicles years of SOTA activations, climbing routes, and the people met along the way. The book captures both the technical side of operating portable radio in challenging environments and the human side of the hobby—how a simple radio on a mountaintop can connect strangers across continents and turn solitary climbs into shared adventures. It’s a story about rediscovering radio through the landscape—and about how amateur radio can turn a solitary climb into a global conversation. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. From the shack to the summit, Icom keeps hams connected. We’re proud to have their support for Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio.

Jason Goldsberry CE3/N5NU is quietly redefining what contesting can look like when you have no choice but to leave the house. In this episode, I’m joined by the contest crew—Randy Thompson K5ZD, Bill Fehring W9KNN, Chris Hurlbut KL9A—and their guest Jason Goldsberry CE3/N5NU, joining us from Chile. Living in a sixth-floor apartment in Las Condes, just outside Santiago, Jason quickly discovered the reality of urban RF noise—an S9 wall that made home operating nearly impossible. So he did what contesters tend to do when faced with a problem: he engineered around it. The solution? Hiking into nearby parks with a full portable station—antennas, batteries, laptop, and radio—sometimes hauling 60 pounds of gear in two trips just to get on the air. During CQ Worldwide CW, Jason packed a Yaesu FT-891, lithium batteries, and a carefully designed vertical antenna system—including a two-element vertical beam for 10 and 15 meters and a parasitic vertical array for 20. Running 100 watts on battery power, shaded only by a giant umbrella to fight the Chilean sun, he logged more than 800 QSOs in roughly 15 hours of operating. For Jason, it’s less about competing for plaques and more about giving out the mult and having fun—experiencing the magic of propagation, like hearing Mongolia at 20-over-9 or working rare openings into Asia and Europe from a hillside. Along the way, he’s discovered an unusual intersection between worlds. Portable operators and contesters don’t always overlap—but Jason lives squarely in that narrow sliver where both passions meet. Whether it’s navigating pileups with clever listening techniques, managing battery life by watching his radio screen dim, or hiking into remote spots for a better takeoff toward North America, his approach proves that big fun doesn’t always require a big station. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. Special thanks to DX Engineering for supporting operators who push the limits—from contest superstations to field setups like Jason’s. Their gear and expertise help Parks on the Air activators, DXers, and contesters around the world build stations that perform wherever the signal needs to go.

Rune Øye LA7THA is helping lead the planned VP0SG South Georgia DXpedition, a major effort to activate one of the rarest DX entities in amateur radio. Rune LA7THA and Erwann Merrien LB1QI bring deep DXpedition experience to the project. Over the years they’ve been involved in activations including São Tomé S9LA, Zimbabwe Z2LA, Zambia 9J2LA, and Namibia V55LA, along with cold-weather operations from Svalbard JW0W and the massive Bouvet 3Y0J expedition. Those experiences—especially the logistical and technical lessons learned during Bouvet—now inform their approach to South Georgia. The team has already secured its expedition vessel, MV Meridian, operated by 60° South Expeditions, and assembled a 14-operator international team. Their plan is to run five stations from a tented camp on the island, with six operators on shore at a time, rotating between the island and the ship for rest. The station design also includes several remote receive stations located hundreds of meters from the main camp and connected via gigahertz microwave links. Funding and final permissions are the key milestones ahead. The expedition budget is approaching $400,000, and while the team has received encouraging feedback from the Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, the official landing authorization is expected later this year. Once that approval is secured, the team expects broader support from DX clubs, foundations, and individual donors worldwide. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. This episode of Q5 Ham Radio is powered by Icom Incorporated, whose radios continue to support operators everywhere—from everyday stations to ambitious DXpeditions pushing signals across the globe.