By Brian D. Smith, W9IND

It’s back to the track for amateur radio station W9IMS. Less than 2 weeks after concluding their first special event of the year, members of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Amateur Radio Club will take to the airwaves from now through Sunday, May 24, to commemorate the legendary Indianapolis 500. 

If you already worked or tuned in W9IMS during the initial event, the IndyCar Grand Prix, this is your chance to snare the second of three contacts required for the 2026 Checkered Flag Award. To earn this certificate, radio amateurs must contact all three W9IMS events in the same year (SWLs may substitute reception reports). The third special event, honoring the NASCAR Brickyard 400, will fire up from July 20-26.

Even if you missed the Grand Prix, you’re still eligible for a colorful and collectible QSL card marking the 110th running of the Indy 500. The current operation is slated to conclude at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, May 25 (Indy time) or 0359 UTC Monday, May 26.

Tips on finding W9IMS:

1. Check DX Summit (www.dxsummit.fi) for spots listing the current frequency or frequencies of W9IMS. You can customize your search by typing “W9IMS” in the box at upper right. 
2. Go to the W9IMS page on QRZ.com (short cut: www.w9ims.com) and look for the heading, “2026 Operating Schedule.” The Indianapolis 500 link opens into a weeklong schedule of individual operators and their reserved time slots. Although the special event can be activated at any time throughout Race Week, your odds of snaring the station improve dramatically during hours with a listed op.
3. Look for the Indy 500 station on 20 and 40 meters – on or near 14.245 and 7.245 MHz – and there’s a bonus band if you plan to attend the race or be in the Indianapolis area on Race Day. Each year on the morning of the 500, W9IMS operates simplex FM on 146.52 MHz, working hams situated in the grandstands and the infield of the track, as well as those en route or residing in the local area.
4. Remember that the published schedule can be shortened by adverse circumstances, such as local thunderstorms, solar flares, and a lack of calling stations. Don’t wait till the final hour to hunt W9IMS!
5. However, radio amateurs who still haven’t worked W9IMS by Sunday may benefit from the policy changes that usually kick in at the end of Race Week. W9IMS ops tend to start calling for “only stations that have not worked this event” and may switch to contest-style operations, exchanging only signal reports to put more contacts in the log.
6. Keep in mind that both hams and SWLs are eligible for QSL cards and the certificate. So if you’re unable to work W9IMS by Sunday night, you can create a reception report by copying down details of other contacts – such as date, frequency, UTC, and the callsigns of a few stations you heard W9IMS working. SWL reports count as credits too, but the certificate will likely feature your name instead of your call. 
7. If you succeed in bagging W9IMS, congratulations! The station website (www.w9ims.com) contains everything you’ll need to know about obtaining your QSL cards and certificate. 

Hams: If you can hear W9IMS but can’t complete a QSO in the waning minutes of the special event, don’t give up. You can still create an SWL report by jotting down the details of other W9IMS contacts – including frequency, UTC, a signal report and the callsigns of several stations that you heard W9IMS contact. A valid report satisfies the requirements for a Grand Prix QSL card and the first of three credits for a certificate. SWL certificates feature operators’ names instead of callsigns but are otherwise indistinguishable from awards issued to amateur radio operators.

Remember to stay on your toes once the Grand Prix operation is over – the Indy 500 special event begins only nine days later!

By Brian D. Smith, W9IND

The long wait is over for W9IMS paper chasers! As racing teams spend the coming week tuning up their speed machines, radio enthusiasts can tune in for their first chance at earning Indianapolis Motor Speedway QSL cards and the 2026 certificate.

The first of three special events commemorating major auto races at the legendary 2-and-a-half-mile oval begins Sunday, May 3, and continues till 11:59 p.m. Indy time on Saturday, May 9 (0359 UTC Sunday, May 10) – Race Day for the 13th running of the IndyCar Grand Prix.

To qualify for the certificate, known as Checkered Flag Award, hams and shortwave listeners must work/tune in all three of this year’s special events, which also include the Indianapolis 500 from May 18-24 and the NASCAR Brickyard 400 from July 20-26. But even if you fall short in attempting to bag the trio, you can still claim a colorful, collectible QSL card for each of the events you connect with.

Prime time for W9IMS is 6 to 10 p.m. Eastern Time (2200-0200 UTC) on weekdays, sometimes extending to midnight (0400 GMT Sunday) and beyond, and the bands of choice are 40 and 20 meters – generally on or around 7.245 and 14.245 MHz. But QRM and other issues can prompt changes in frequencies. The best bet is to check for W9IMS spots on DX Summit (www.dxsummit.fi) and eHam (www.eHam.net).

Also, while W9IMS can take to the airwaves at any time between now and the final Saturday signoff, you’ll have a better chance of finding active stations by going to the W9IMS QRZ page (www.w9ims.org) and clicking the Grand Prix link under “2026 Operating Schedule” – which displays the time slots that operators have signed up for. The same page contains additional information about W9IMS QSL cards and the certificate.

For radio amateurs who still haven’t worked W9IMS by Saturday afternoon, note that toward the end of the event, operators often start limiting calls to stations that haven’t yet worked the current special event. Another tip is to drop in for happy hour, the last hour of the last day – in this case, 11 p.m. Saturday (0300 UTC Sunday). That’s when W9IMS ops traditionally switch to contest-style QSOs, exchanging only signal reports so they can log as many stations as possible. But remember, too, that W9IMS special events can end prematurely if they encounter sparse QSOs or unfavorable solar or weather conditions.

And a final tip for hams: If you can hear W9IMS but can’t complete a QSO in the waning minutes of the special event, don’t give up. You can still create an SWL report by jotting down the details of other W9IMS contacts – including frequency, UTC, a signal report and the callsigns of several stations that you heard W9IMS contact. A valid report satisfies the requirements for a Grand Prix QSL card and the first of three credits for a certificate. SWL certificates feature operators’ names instead of callsigns but are otherwise indistinguishable from awards issued to amateur radio operators.

Remember to stay on your toes once the Grand Prix operation is over – the Indy 500 special event begins only nine days later!