Inducted May 2026
Mark Pride K1RX has been a ham for over 60 years and has been active in contesting for nearly all of that time.
Mark has participated in most of the major contests since the 1970s, both international and domestic. He has won several times and holds numerous NH state records – no small feat given the high number of contesters in that region. He has competed in Single-op, Single-op assisted, Multi-single, Multi-2, and Multi-Multi categories from his own and other stations as a guest operator or team member. He has been part of the multiop teams at W2PV, K1OX, K1CA, K1KP, WA1JUY, and KT1V. Operations from outside the country have included J7, VP2V, OH, BV, IS0, KP4, D4, 4U1ITU, and II9.
Mark has built his own competitive stations at multiple locations, including a multi-tower station with stacked monoband Yagis in Kensington, NH, and now a more modest but very effective station in Rochester, NH. In addition, he has been a tower and antenna builder in the New England region and beyond. He has worked on installing and repairing hundreds of stations over several decades.
Mark has been president of the Yankee Clipper Contest Club, the Port City ARC, and other organizations. He was a Director of the World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) in 2014, responsible for developing the antenna system and training 100 volunteers in the assembly and safe installation of the systems. His leadership enabled the successful construction of 65 stations in two days without issues.
Mentoring is Mark’s strongest characteristic and is reason enough for this nomination. His mentorship of fledgling contest operators dates back to his college days, when he taught contesters like K1DG and K1AR how to play the game while they were all students at the University of Massachusetts – Lowell. His mentorship has continued by giving many W1-area amateurs their first exposure to contesting at Mark’s station or at his local club’s Field Day operation, which he manages. Mark recently produced a 7-part series on contesting for the Q5 Amateur Radio podcast. In addition to his operating mentorship, he has trained many contesters on antenna construction and installation.
Professionally, Mark has worked in numerous technical sales positions in the RF, microwave, and semiconductor industries, as well as a two-year stint working at ARRL Headquarters. Following his work at the ARRL, he joined the Cushcraft Corporation as the chief engineer. He is currently the U.S. representative for MomoBeam antennas and Mastrant ropes.