05/12/2006 | PJ2/KB0VVT PJ2/KB0VVT and PJ2T

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May 11, 2006

I am taking the time to finish this soapbox after celebrating my eighteenth birthday today.

I am sorry that I am so late with this soapbox but I have been tremendously busy with activities during the final days of my senior year in high school.

Late in March, I was accepted to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A few weeks ago, I spent a few days on campus attending the MIT Campus Preview Week. Well, I have decided to give up the nearly free ride offered to me from the University of Missouri-Rolla and I plan to attend MIT this fall. I am so excited about attending MIT but my dad has mixed emotions about it because of the financial burden. Now if I could only get about one thousand of my fellow contesters to pledge $30 dollars each for the next four years. Hi Hi!

Did you hear that in last Novembers CW Sweepstakes, Joe Watts KC0UNB and I, both teenagers, finished in first place beating the all time School Category record set in 2001. Joe and I finished second in SS Phone behind the much older K0HC team consisting mainly of W0BH, other faculty people, and one student according to the web report. I think that it is great that the faculty is helping operate in the School Category as long as the students are making at least half of the contacts.

Check the soapboxes for Joe and I at the following links:

http://www.arrl.org/contests/soapbox/index.html?con_id=96&call=kb0vvt

http://www.arrl.org/contests/soapbox/index.html?con_id=97&call=kb0vvt

Now for my PJ2T ARRL DX Phone story:

My journey began Wednesday, March 1, 2006, at the Kansas City International Airport. After my morning stop at Starbucks, I boarded my first flight to Dallas. After arriving in Dallas and eating my last bite of official American fast food, I boarded my next flight to the Miami International Airport, the last part of my journey on American soil. Shortly after landing in Miami, I caught a plane to Curacao, Netherlands Antilles- my first international destination.

Bon Bini! After landing in Curacao, I stepped out onto the tarmac into a completely new world. Papa, my weeklong taxi driver, drove my parents and I across the island to the Sunset Waters Resort. The drivers in Curacao give tailgating an entirely new meaning. That night, I met a few of the Signal Point, PJ2T operators- Jerry WB9Z and his wife, Lori, and Marty NW0L and his wife, Kim- at the hotel restaurant. I woke up the next morning to the wonderful 80F -90F temperatures of the Caribbean island. It was fantastic! I ran down to the restaurant to grab some breakfast, and I got an excellent view of the Caribbean Sea. Later that afternoon, my parents and I traveled down the road to Signal Point to check out the famous PJ2T contesting station. When we were very near the PJ2T antennas we ran into an old run down building that we initially thought might be PJ2T. Yikes! Thankfully, PJ2T was just a little bit further down the road.

After becoming acquainted with the general set-up of the station, and the incredible pavilion balcony overlooking the ocean, I operated mostly CW and some phone as PJ2/KB0VVT. After a short while, I experienced the roaring pile-ups I had long been looking forward to witnessing first hand. I worked hundreds of US and European stations as well as others from around the globe.

The morning of the day of the contest, all of the operators gathered for a pre-contest meeting. This was the time for everyone to become acquainted with PJ2T contesting techniques and strategies, and it was a time for everyone to meet each other and review the contest schedule. After the meeting, I jumped back on the air as PJ2/KB0VVT for one last time before the contest. After reaching 1000 QSOs, I had to QRT for lunch.

Following lunch, I traveled into Willemstad, the capital of Curacao. I learned much from Papa my taxi driver along the way about Curacaos history, industry, and culture. In Willemstad, I traveled the ferry across the bay and meandered around town, looking in various shops and eating a nice scoop of Baskin Robbins sorbet! I also got my first Florins. I have exactly one American dollars worth of Florins left as a souvenir.

After getting back to Sunset Waters from Willemstad, I walked to Signal Point to listen to the beginning hour of the contest through the wireless headphones hooked up to each radio. I was finally able to get a glimpse of what I could look forward to for the next 48 hours, and I was really looking forward to my turn to operate!

I got my first chance to sit in one of the contesting chairs Saturday from 16:00 to 20:00 UTC. Later that day, I also operated from 0:00-04:00 UTC. Sunday, I operated from 12:00-14:00 UTC. I jumped back on the air from 16:00-18:00 UTC, and I helped finish the contest from 22:00-24:00 UTC. I operated on 15m, 20m, 40m, and I even operated on 10m for approximately 20 minutes. This was an awesome contesting experience!

I hope to see you in a few weeks at the ARRL EXPO during the Dayton Hamvention. I have volunteered to help at the EXPO on Saturday and Sunday. I hope to also attend the Youth Forum and the Contesting Forum. There is a good chance that you will see me hanging around the Crowne Plaza Hotel spending the evenings talking with DXers and contesters.

73,

Rebecca -- KB0VVT