A September OnAllBands article gave a look at the team of young people planning and preparing for the CQ WW SSB 2025 contest. With the contest now in the books, here is an inside look at the week when the young operators took over the PJ2T superstation at Signal Point in Curaçao.
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After the CQ WW SSB 2024 contest, where four of the operators were youth, Connor, W4IPC, started planning for bigger and better. The goal was to put together a multi-multi team consisting mostly of young people. Selecting the youth operators was more challenging than you might suppose. We had to do fundraisers to help cover the financial burden, manage school and work schedules, and account for the lack of income from taking a week off.
Out of the 11 operators on the team, seven of us were under the age of 26:
- Connor, W4IPC
- Levi, KG5XR
- Max, N4ML
- Leon, DL3ON
- Megan, EI5LA
- Grace, K8LG
- Violetta, KN2P
We had support from others on the team—Pete, K8PGJ; Rob, VE4GV; Pim, PC8M; and James, W7EY. Geoff, W0CG, was an excellent host and supervisor.
Many of the operators traveled from around the world to join the team. Pim started his journey in the Netherlands, Leon traveled from Germany, and Megan flew in from Ireland.
The team arrived in Curaçao late Tuesday evening, October 21. Wednesday morning started with a trip to the grocery store. Pim volunteered to be the team chef and kept everyone fueled throughout the week with his delicious meals.
Geoff, James, and Leon prepared several backpacks of tools and headed for the ridge tower to start repairs. They replaced a 20m element on the beam and replaced the driven element feed straps, both of which were no small feat.
Meanwhile, Levi was busy repairing an Astron RS-50A power supply. He ended up having to replace the entire voltage regulator board with supplies from Geoff.
James and Leon were again climbing towers on Thursday, this time to replace the rotator for the 40m beam on the Europe tower.
The rest of the team split into groups and hiked up the ridge to inspect the beverage antennas.
In the afternoon, James and Leon trekked back to the ridge tower to investigate an arcing issue. They found a balun that was causing the arc and replaced it.
At 00:00Z, the team took up their operating positions and did a simulated contest start to ensure all the stations, network, and equipment were working together properly. Friday was spent operating and preparing for go-time.
I arrived several hours before the contest started, traveling from the Northern Cook Islands in the South Pacific where I had been operating as E51MWA. Over a 72-hour period, I spent over 35 hours on an airplane with six layovers in different countries. I was very fortunate to make all the connections on time in the middle of the delays and cancelations the airlines were experiencing at the time. Pete, Connor, and Max picked me up from the airport and we met with the team for a pre-contest dinner before heading to the station.
Tension filled the room as the top of the hour approached. All five operating positions were filled as each band claimed a frequency. We started off strong in the first hour, racking up 715 contacts, 332 of which were solely on 15m. The next several hours passed quickly, with operators replaced by other team members so they could get some sleep. The hours spent on repairs leading up to the contest were paying off immensely.
James’ wife, Mandy, kept the team fed during the contest so we could focus solely on operating and sleeping.
The weekend flew by in a blur. We were running on adrenaline and caffeine, and I was trying desperately to fight off the jet lag and catch up on sleep in between my shifts.
Even though we did not finish at the top of the scoreboard, we did exceed our goals and, boy, did we have fun! Levi cooked dinner for the team to celebrate the end of the contest, and we all spent the evening relaxing in the pool.
On Monday morning we cleaned up the station and took final team photos.
In the afternoon we took a trip to town to get lunch and explore.
On Tuesday we packed up and headed for the airport, discussing the events of the week and the outcome of the contest. We talked about what went well and what to improve on in the future.
This wasn’t a “show up and operate” type of deal. The team spent many hours doing hands-on repairs and general station maintenance. Each young person gained valuable experience to take with them on their next adventures.
Looking ahead, four of the youth—Connor, Leon, Megan, and Max—are headed to WRTC 2026 to compete on youth teams. Max will also join the 3Y0K Bouvet DXpedition in early 2026. No doubt you will hear many of the youth from PJ2T October 2025 active during contests throughout the season.
As a team, we would like to thank the Caribbean Contesting Consortium (CCC) for allowing us to use the PJ2T station. A huge thank you to the Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF) for providing over half of the funding needed to pull off the operation.
INDEXA also supported us financially, as did many other clubs and individuals. Thank you to everyone who worked us during the contest! This would not have been possible without the help and support of the whole ham community.
