Ned Stearns, AA7A
Ned was first licensed in August 1963 at age 12 as WN8JWY. Ned currently lives in Phoenix, AZ and is active on all amateur bands up to 23 cm. He is active in DXing, contesting and VHF/UHF weak signal work. He has been on 30 DXpeditions on all continents including four to Top Ten Needed DX entities (Kingman Reef 2000, South Sandwich 2016, South Georgia 2016 and Baker Island 2018). He is a retired Systems Engineer with Motorola and General Dynamics. He is a Director of the Northern California DX Foundation and is the ARRL Southwestern Division Vice Director. Ned was inducted into the CQ Magazine DX Hall of Fame in 2020.
Ned is also the chief architect for an emerging, totally-remotely operated contest station, NA7TB, located in Safford, Arizona. In an effort to help educate the ham radio community on the benefits of emerging technology in DXing and contesting, he hosted a first-of-its-kind ‘Next Generation DXing’ program series at the 2025 Internation DX Convention.
Mike Fulcher, KC7V
I am an avid contester and DX’er active from 23cm to 160m. Licensed in 1972, Contesting and DXing since 1977. Hold #1 Honor Roll, 6BWAZ, 10BWAS, 9BDXCC Original founding member of the Voodoo Contest Group, founding member of the Arizona Outlaws Contest Club and member of the Central Arizona DX Association.
I am also an A1-Op, member of FOC (First Class CW Operators Club) and CWOps. I’ve been to 60 countries, operated from 40, including operating from 22 zones, plus 3 countries remotely.
Member of Multi-Op groups that set 2 world records, 9 World Wins and still hold the Asian record all from the CQWW CW Contests. I was a referee at WRTC1996 San Francisco, WRTC2006 Brazil, WRTC2014 Boston, WRTC2018 Germany and WRTC 2022 Italy.
I have held these calls at one time over the years – 5U7MF, 5V7MF, 7J1AEN, 9G5MF, CN2MF, EL2MF, K7MF, KC6MF, TY5MF, TZ6MF, XT2MF, XX9MF, ZC4MF, ZF2MF, ZF2VP, KC7V/4X, KC7V/5B4, DL/KC7V, KC7V/DU1, KC7V/HB9, KC7V/KH0, KC7V/KH6, KC7V/KL7, KC7V/KP2, KC7V/JT1, KC7V/NH2, KC7V/OH0, KC7V/OH2, KC7V/OJ0, KC7V/PP5, KC7V/UA3, KC7V/VE3, KC7V/XE2, MM0CCY, WB7SVQ, KB7JE, WN9IXO and guest op at SU1ER, 9V1VY.
I have been single op or part of multi-op contests under these calls – 3E3E, 3X5A, 4B2A, 4U0ITU, 5U5Z, 5V7A, 9G5AA, 9K2HN, CN5N, EL2A, HH2AA, KH2A, KP2A, KP2N, NQ4I, N7AT, NA7TB, ND7K, NN7AZ, TY5A, TZ5A, XT2DX, ZC4Z, ZF2WW.
Lee Finkel, KY7M
Lee Finkel KY7M is an active DXer and contester, first licensed as WN9EBT in Chicago in 1962. He is Top of DXCC Honor Roll with all 340 current entities confirmed, has 3,315 entities confirmed in DXCC Challenge, and holds 5 Band Worked All Zones (5BWAZ). An avid CW operator, Lee is a member of both FOC and CWops but has also been very active on digital modes in recent years.
Lee currently serves as a Director and Newsletter Editor for the Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF). He is a Past President of the Central Arizona DX Association (CADXA). From 2021-2023 Lee served as the Editor of the ARRL National Contest Journal. He is an active member of the Arizona Outlaws Contest Club.
Lee’s 63 years in ham radio include many trips to West African countries as a member of the Voodoo Contest Group along with other international travel. Since 2016 Lee has been the Trustee for the NA7TB Milt Jensen Memorial Station in Safford, Arizona that he and several others operate remotely for DXing and contesting.
Lee will talk about his path in ham radio from building a Knight-Kit SpanMaster in 1960 to honing his CW skills in high school by handling messages for the National Traffic System and on through his evolution as a DXer and contester to becoming a pioneer today in the evolution of remote station operation.
Trevor Hansen, W7TJH
Trevor Hansen W7TJH holds an Amateur Extra Class license and serves as a Volunteer Examiner. A member of the Superstition Amateur Radio Club and Tonto Amateur Radio Association, he is an active supporter of Parks on the Air (POTA), where he combines his love of technology, radio, and the outdoors. Trevor has completed multi-park roves, including a 10-park adventure through southeastern Arizona and a 5-park rove in north-central Arizona, experiences that reflect his enthusiasm for exploration and portable operations. He has also supported communications for events such as the Mesa Marathon, Pine Trail Run, Fire on the Rim Mountain Bike Race, and the Zane Grey Highline Trail Run, and is active in emergency preparedness with several CERT organizations. Passionate about encouraging the next generation, Trevor has mentored youth through Scouting, schools, and church. He believes POTA is a powerful way to bring people outdoors, strengthen family and friend connections, and share the excitement of making contacts across the country and around the world.