About
A Family Story in Amateur Radio.
"...HamPass did not start as product of a software company. It started as a family that chose amateur radio as its hobby. What grew from our shack at home now connects operators around the world — and what began as our family’s passion has become a global community we are proud to call the HamPass family...."
Software engineer Nataniel Kegles (PY3NT), developer of HamPass, together with his wife, Dr. Ester Kegles (PU3ESM) — both engineers with more than 25 years of professional experience — never imagined that a personal milestone in amateur radio would spark the creation of a global platform.
In 2022, after advancing from Class C to Class B, Nataniel discovered a new fascination: CW (Morse code). He completed the basic course from CWOps Academy and began participating in telegraphy contests, including the international QRS-10 Marathon, a monthly event open worldwide for enthusiasts of low-speed telegraphy (up to 15 wpm).
Where It All Began
After the first year of the Marathon, the organizing team faced enormous challenges. All log checking and score calculations were done manually — a time-consuming and exhausting task.
That was when Nataniel volunteered to write a simple script to automate the contest scoring process.
That script became the seed of what would later grow into HamPass.
From Script to Platform
As time went on, it became clear that many amateur radio event results were taking up to a year to be published. For younger operators especially, this delay was discouraging and disconnected from the fast-paced digital world they were accustomed to.
Nataniel decided to scale that initial scoring tool into a full contest processing platform — modern, efficient, and reliable.
HamPass was no longer just a script.
It was becoming infrastructure.
In 2023, this vision gained even greater strength through a five-year sponsorship agreement with Steelbras, one of Brazil’s largest manufacturers of amateur radio antennas, reinforcing HamPass as long-term infrastructure for modern radio sport.
A Sustainable Model for Amateur Radio
One of the biggest challenges was creating a sustainable business model that would work for everyone involved.
Amateur radio associations in Brazil — and in many parts of the world — often operate with limited financial resources. HamPass was designed so that contest checking services could be offered free of charge to associations, supported by sponsors and advertising, while premium accounts unlock extra features and also help finance the platform.
A Defining Challenge
In 2023, a major opportunity placed HamPass in the spotlight. The Rio DX Group entrusted HamPass with the live stream infrastructure for the expedition to Trindade and Martim Vaz Island (PR0T) — one of Brazil’s most iconic and remote DX destinations.
That moment proved the platform’s strength and scalability.
From challenge to challenge, HamPass never stopped growing.
Built by the Community
Just as amateur radio cannot exist alone — every QSO requires at least one other operator — HamPass was not built alone.
It is the compilation of ideas, encouragement, feedback, and support from many colleagues who firmly believed in the platform from the beginning and continue to wear the HamPass shirt with pride.
We gratefully recognize contributors and supporters such as:
PY1ZV, PP5RG, PP5BT, PY2VTC, PY2ATR, PS8PL, PY3PA, PY3MSS, PY3XW, PY3KT, PY3KIM, PY9BR, PP5XA — and many others who send suggestions, report issues, subscribe to premium accounts, and help sustain this work.
LABRE 92 Years: Live at Scale
In 2026, HamPass Live Events powered a real-time celebration of LABRE’s 92nd anniversary — bringing together more than 50,000 radio amateurs who logged over 250,000 contacts in a single live-streamed experience.
It was a turning point that proved what happens when tradition meets real-time technology: more engagement, more fun, and a community that can follow the action as it happens.
Radio Sport: The Future Vision
HamPass believes that amateur radio deserves to be treated with seriousness and professionalism — as a true radio sport.
The vision goes beyond log checking and live event tracking.
The goal is to transform amateur radio into an electronic sport ecosystem, building a market around it similar to the gaming industry — an industry that moves approximately 189 billion USD globally — generating innovation, business opportunities, and technological development for the amateur radio sector.
A Platform for All of Us
HamPass is not just software.
It is a community-driven movement.
It is Brazilian work for the world.
It is a ham family.
It is built for global amateur radio!