Pat Barkey N9RV is a Contest Hall of Famer whose radio journey began with a childhood plan to stay connected to his best friend over a summer apart. What started as a search for CB radios led him instead to a neighbor’s ham shack — and into a lifelong obsession with CW, contesting, and station building. First licensed in 1967, Barkey quickly found himself handling traffic in Michigan and later immersed in the competitive scene at the University of Michigan, surrounded by future contesting greats like K8QKY and N4KG. Now operating from Montana, Barkey is a consummate station builder and CW competitor with four custom-built multi-tower stations to his name. He's one of the rare contesters more likely to be found with a wrench in hand than chasing someone else’s dream station. His career is defined not just by operating skill — though he's racked up plenty of Top Ten finishes and WRTC appearances — but by a deep, practical understanding of the hardware and human connections that power contesting. In May 2025, Barkey was inducted into the CQ Contest Hall of Fame — a recognition not just of his wins, but of his ethos: contesting as a vehicle for friendship, storytelling, and technical curiosity. From his early days in Michigan to his joke-filled rivalry with KL9A in Montana, Barkey embodies the spirit of radiosport — competitive, collaborative, and never quite finished building. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio.
Pat was my first ham radio contesting Elmer as a student ham at Indiana university. He got me interested in contesting and cw … life long impact. Very nice video. Congrats to him on hall of fame.
I remember Pat when we were students at Michigan and active at W8UM. He was then and now a very bright and enthusiastic guy. Those were great times. I bought a small triband beam and roof tower from Pat, to place atop our residence in Ann Arbor. I still have the roof tower!
I have a confirmed SSB contact from EN34 !! Looking at the antenna on his QRZ page, all I can say is holy heavy lifting batman. All my radio gear can still fit in a small trash can. Thank you for the contact
Fantastic interview of one of the top CW/contest operators in the world. We go back to the -8YVR time when we both started contesting and Pat always find time for a "Tks Pete" when we work in a contest. I enjoyed every bit of this 49 minute interview, tks!
Flyover country can be a difficult place to work many exotic DX stations It's not a bad place for many contest because you have massive populations of people in North America directly east, west and south of you normally, the first hop on 20 m. For every location a strategy has to be developed, based on geological, and the station's antennas set up. 73 from, Steve The K0UO " Rhombic Antenna Farm" miles of wire in the Air & On the AIR daily
If you are someone who uses the derogatory term "flyover country", then we probably would prefer you not come here. As I am sure the states of Florida, Tenn., and Texas can agree.
A nice story from N9RV. I'm just starting at the beginning of my Amateufunk story. Not everything always goes well for me at the beginning either. The first small problem to get into the QRZ is that it didn't quite succeed in registering. But at some point it will work out when I contact support. But the QRZ COM site is one of the best communication sites I've found. Congratulations and all the best for Pat Barkey
