How They Win: KL9A & N6MJ on the Road to WRTC 2026

Updated for 2026: We first shared this interview a couple of years back. With the World Radiosport Team Championship coming to England this July -- and two operators you may have worked on the bands going for it -- we are resurfacing it and adding the rest of the story.

Every now and then, our hobby throws a spotlight on just how far this thing can go. This summer it shines on England, where the best two-person teams on Earth gather for the closest thing ham radio has to the Olympics. Two of those operators are old friends you might recognize -- and the way to understand how they got here is to start where we did, with a single, brilliant interview.

Where It Started

One interview, two of the world's best

Back in 2023, Kevin Thomas (W1DED) sat down with Chris Hurlbutt (KL9A) and Dan Craig (N6MJ) just days after they finished 1st and 2nd in the world in the CQ Worldwide CW contest. Two friends who met on the air as teenagers and spent the next two decades pushing each other to the top. The conversation, "How They Win," is honest, funny, and quietly full of lessons. Start here:

"How They Win," featuring KL9A and N6MJ. The interview that started it all.

The Evolution

From one interview to a whole world of stories

What is fun to watch is how that single interview grew. Kevin kept the mic on, and "How They Win" became Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio -- a genuine library of edutainment for our hobby. If you enjoy the first video, the rabbit hole is deep and worth every minute:

• The Contest Crew -- recurring roundtables where Dan (N6MJ), Chris (KL9A), Randy (K5ZD), and friends break down recent contests with equal parts tactics and trash talk. The chemistry is half the fun.
• The CQ WW CW Showdown series -- a behind-the-scenes look at how the top contenders prepare for the biggest weekend in contesting, often from far-flung island and DX stations.
• Competitor spotlights and the WRTC 2026 strategy talks -- including Dan looking ahead to how he and Chris are thinking about England. This is the stuff you do not usually get to hear.

It is a reminder that the people at the very top of this hobby are, at heart, the same as the rest of us: hams who love the bands, love the chase, and love giving each other a hard time about it. That spirit is the whole point.

The Part We Love Most

The world's best, on a small-lot antenna

Here is the detail that ought to make every restricted-lot operator sit up. At WRTC, nobody gets to bring their superstation. Every team competes from an identical setup -- same radios, same power, same antennas -- so the only variable left is the operator. It has been that way since WRTC 2000, the first championship where every station ran identical antennas.

And those antennas are humble. The classic WRTC station is built around a small tribander for 20, 15, and 10 meters and a pair of simple dipoles for 40 and 80 -- roughly the kind of modest, get-it-up-quickly setup you would find on a small suburban lot. No towers full of stacked monobanders. No acre of beverages. Just a small beam, a couple of wires, 100 watts, and skill.

In other words: the Olympics of radiosport is decided on antennas not so different from what many of you are running right now. That is the great equalizer, and it is the most encouraging thing in all of contesting. The bands do not care about your lot size. They care about how well you operate.

The Main Event

England, July 8-13, 2026

The 10th WRTC comes to the United Kingdom this July, with dozens of the world's best two-person teams competing on those identical stations during the 24-hour IARU HF Championship weekend. Q5 is on the official WRTC 2026 media team, so the coverage should be terrific. Watch the scoreboards. Cheer for Dan and Chris. And listen on the bands -- you may just work a WRTC team yourself. That is a contact worth a story.

Keep Reading

• N3FTO works the Western Pacific with 100W and a 20′ vertical
• AF1RO works every continent on FT8 with 50W and a 20′ flagpole
• New to HF? Start here

73,

Jon, KL2A — Greyline Performance

Sun Valley, Idaho · 435-200-4902

Ham radio is fun again.