The World Radio Amateur Championship is approaching
On the second weekend in July, the Swiss national team, operating under the call sign HB9HQ, will be competing for a place in the top ten.
The competition kicks off on Saturday, 11 July 2026, at exactly 2.00 pm Swiss Summer Time. The ‘IARU HF World Championship’ will run for 24 hours. As it does every year, the USKA is fielding the headquarters station HB9HQ to push Switzerland as far up the global overall rankings as possible. The aim for 2026 is to break into the top ten.
Strategy
The nature of this major sporting event calls for strategic skill. The more than 160 national associations of the International Amateur Radio Union send their HQ stations out in pursuit of points. The airwaves will then be very busy. Anyone who contacts HB9HQ logs a valuable multiplier. In addition to the usual signal report, the official association stations transmit the abbreviation of their national association – in Switzerland’s case, ‘USKA’. Other nations reply with ‘DARC’, ‘ARRL’ or ‘JARL’. A special rule applies to officials of the world federation. Members of the Executive Committee and Supervisory Board use their respective regions as multipliers. For example, IARU Region 1 Treasurer Andy HB9JOE transmits the suffix ‘R1’ for IARU Region 1.
A different rule applies to all ordinary participants. During a QSO, they exchange not only the signal strength but also the ITU zone of their location. Anyone operating from Swiss territory transmits the number ‘28’. Ideally, the report should be 5928 for voice or 59928 for telegraphy. Incidentally, in modern remote operation, it is not the operator’s seat in front of the screen that counts, but the physical location of the antenna that transmits the signal into the ionosphere.
Every QSO counts
The success of the Swiss national team depends heavily on the country’s radio amateurs. Every single QSO from Switzerland gives the team a boost. The exact breakdown of which teams are using the call sign HB9HQ on the bands from 160 to 10 metres and in which modes (CW and SSB) is listed on the USKA website. Those taking part will earn points towards the popular HB9HQ Award, which the USKA is once again presenting in four performance classes.
Further useful links:
Good luck
Andy, HB9JOE
Head of Radio Sports at the USKA
