The Young Ham of the Year for 2026
Carsten Glasbrenner, KQ4SJM
July 24, 2026
CONTACT: Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, YHOTY Chairman, Amateur Radio Newsline (newsline@arnewsline.org)
NEW YORK – Carsten Glasbrenner, KQ4SJM, of Brooksville, FL has been has been selected as the 2026 Bill Pasternak WA6ITF Memorial Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year.
Carsten 14, is the son of Andrew (Drew) Glasbrenner, KO4MA, and Merete Glasbrenner. His older brother, Willem Glasbrenner, is KO4UYE.
Carsten was introduced to amateur radio at an early age by his father, Drew, who took him along to events to observe and learn how VHF and HF radios work and how to incorporate computers into radio operations such as Field Day. He also showed him how hams use orbiting satellites to contact each other.
Carsten passed his Technician license test at age 11 and progressed to General a year later in September 2024.
Thanks to mentoring from his father, who is currently the president of AMSAT-North America, Carsten was drawn into the world of satellite communications and started spreading the word about the fun and the challenge of making contacts through the satellites.
Carsten has logged more than 100 satellite contacts in the few short years he has been licensed and has been responsible for activating a couple of rare grid squares.
He was appointed an ambassador for AMSAT operations and took part in several satellite radio demonstrations at Orlando Hamcation® and the Dayton Hamvention®.
He recently spoke about satellites and cross-band repeaters to participants in the Radio Club of America 2026 Youth Forum at the Dayton Hamvention®. He also took part in the Young Amateurs Communication Ham Team presentation.
A few months prior, Carsten proposed an idea to AMSAT to get more youth participation on the air using satellites. It resulted in the creation of the Students on the Air program encouraging young people worldwide to get on the air on the first and third Tuesdays of each month.
In March 2026, Carsten took part in the HF SSB activation of NI4BK aboard the USS Battleship North Carolina. He also enjoys kit-building activities and has honed his soldering skills in recent years. He is considering exploring a career in electrical engineering.
Carsten is a recent graduate of D.S. Parrott Middle School in Brooksville, FL, where he was on the middle school yearbook staff and served as athletics photographer. He was also an active member of Hernando Wrestling Club. He will move up to Hernando High School in Hernando County, FL this fall.
Carsten also has wide-ranging interests in aviation and an encyclopedic knowledge of all kinds of aircraft as he demonstrated to family and friends during a recent tour of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, just north of Dayton.
Mark Hammond, N8MH, a vice president of AMSAT operations, who nominated Carsten for the Young Ham of the Year award, summed up his endorsement:
“Simply put, this is an awesome and brilliant kid that I am proud to put forward as a fine example of what a young, passionate ham should be like. Character, commitment, determination, all the while keeping a sense of humor!”
The YHOTY award will be presented to Carsten on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026 at the Huntsville Hamfest during ceremonies in the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Amateur Radio Newsline and Yaesu USA are primary sponsors of the award, along with Heil Sound Ltd. and Radiowavz Antenna Company.
The Young Ham of the Year Award was inaugurated by William Pasternak, WA6ITF, in 1986. Upon his passing in 2015, Bill’s name was added to the award as a memorial to his commitment to recognizing the accomplishments of young people to the Amateur Radio Service.
