The Caribbean Contesting Consortium operates PJ2T, the most logged callsign in amateur radio.
New entry procedures at Curacao's airport are intended to speed up the process of getting through the immigration process.
The world's first pre-flight biometric digital ID verification for contactless border crossing - Curaçao Express Pass – has launched
Hurricane Beryl is projected to pass far North of Curacao, and have minimal effect on the island. Here is the assessment from the Curacao Meteorological Department.
CCC/PJ2T Secretary/Treasurer Jim W8WTS will be active this coming weekend with the W3USA operation in the ARRL Field Day!
Each year, a 'PJ2T Yearbook' of photos and information is presented at the annual meeting of the Caribbean Contesting Consortium (CCC) in association with the Dayton Hamvention.
Click the link in the comments for the '2023-24 PJ2T Yearbook' in PDF form.
Construction of the new hotel on the site of the former Sunset Waters Beach Resort / Coral Cliff Hotel has been underway for a few months, but they now consider it "officially" started!
A translation of the article (original in Dutch):
"Construction of Tui Blue Curaçao started at Groot St. Martha
"WILLEMSTAD – Yesterday, the construction of the Tui Blue Curaçao hotel officially started on the site of the former Coral Cliff Hotel at Groot Sta. Martha. The hotel will have 300 rooms and is scheduled to open in 2026. The management of Tui Blue calls this an important step in the development of their hotel in Curaçao. Construction is already well advanced and the highest point has almost been reached.
"The location of the hotel is special because of the view of Seru di Kristof and its proximity to the bay of Santa Martha. The project is being carried out on a site where there was already a hotel, which, according to those involved, limits the impact on nature and stimulates the local economy in Soto and Bándabou. 400 jobs will be created and $80 million will be invested.
"The hotel will be an all-inclusive resort with a focus on sustainability. Solar energy is used and there is a focus on efficient water management. The architect, Shawn Zimmerman of studio Disena, has created a design in which the rooms are spread over several buildings with lots of greenery in between. Local products will play a role in the hotel kitchen and cultural activities will take place."
https://curacao.nu/bouw-van-tui-blue-curacao-gestart-bij-groot-st-martha/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3BoVoH1xvCJJlcxGzsnK6xByzDRC7wgFvPgQKY9At_cxPFyInoryUxXJQ_aem_AfY2LOr_rER6MCERdweuzDr4Za3QF0MrZ27WCJKkZ_b6sZfM79CTDu-5m2NYmNfGjDwRKB8ld3Ynz4EvTAUZI1Yd
WILLEMSTAD - Gisteren is de bouw van het Tui Blue Curaçao hotel officieel begonnen op de locatie van het voormalige Coral Cliff Hotel bij Groot Sta. Martha.
At the beginning of April, the SkyTrain at the Miami airport opened again, after being out of service for six months! Three of the four stops were active in April, with the fourth scheduled to be open Real Soon Now.
The Skytrain was shut down last September after an inspection found three columns that support the train near station 1 had cracks
Reliable Power For PJ2T!
The Caribbean Contesting Consortium / PJ2T has purchased a large diesel generator to provide backup power during the more frequently occurring power failures on Curacao!
It will provide 17.7 KVA/26.2 Kilowatts of backup power, and can be controlled remotely.
The purchase has been made, and the generator will be shipped from Miami in the next few weeks. It will be delivered to the PJ2T station, and stored temporarily pending construction of a suitable concrete pad on which it will live.
PJ2T was #2 in the World Multi-Op in the 2024 CQWW 160 Meter CW Contest in January!
This was the worst score we've done in this contest over all of our past 12 multi-op efforts, and the first time we have not broken the 1 million point level. Conditions did not favor operating from 12 degrees north of the Equator!
Last week, on May 25, Curacao experienced a minor (3.6 magnitude) earthquake. The epicenter was 23 miles from Willemstad between Curacao and Venezuela.
I saw one article (in Dutch) that included a photo of damage to floor tiles in the area of Willemstad, but there have been no other damages or effects noted.
Earthquake near Curacao
Today, American Airlines Flight 572 departed Curacao for Miami at 4:25 PM, and near Aruba the aircraft turned around returned to Hato. According to the airport, one of the engines appeared to be overheating and concern that it was failing caused a precautionary diversion back to Curacao. The 172 passengers on board are spending an extra night in Paradise!
(The image showing the flight route is from the Flightradar24 application.)
14 members attended the 2024 annual meeting of the Caribbean Contesting Consortium (PJ2T) today in Xenia Ohio, and another 5 remote members attended via Zoom!
The local attendees took time out from the Hamvention to attend this meeting in the Hope Hotel, adjacent to Wright Patterson Air Force Base.
The Caribbean Contesting Consortium / PJ2T annual meeting will be held Friday May 17 at the Hope Hotel in Xenia! Look for PJ2T operators and members afoot during the Hamvention, including at the Topband, Contest, and DX dinners!
The PJ2T Skimmer Server (which uses the PJ2A callsign) is out-of-service for the foreseeable future.
The antenna was a DX Engineering DXE-ARAH2-1PE active receive dipole, installed in 2014 on a 80-foot tower at a business owned by Keach PJ2KC. It fell when a hose clamp failed. It was then run over by a vehicle, damaging it beyond easy repair. Unfortunately, DX Engineering no longer offers that antenna.
Jean-Claude PJ2BVU, who works at the company and serves as on-site sysop, has recovered the parts for possible reuse.
Happy Birthday to Jim W8WTS, CCC/PJ2T Treasurer!
Here he is shown with Steve, The Radio Cat (sk) at the Signal Point PJ2T station. (Jim is the one on the left!)
Weather today on Curacao...
Geoff W0CG/PJ2DX reports of another service at the PJ2T station, which sits 37 feet above the Caribbean ('Rust never sleeps'):
"Poor condition of the Phillystran Big Grip deadend on the northwest middle guy of US/JA tower. I just now finished the five day sequence of replacing that.
"The new grip on the guy wire with a stainless thimble. I also used stainless hardware to mount it to the tower. Prior to applying epoxy primer and finish coat over a two day period."
On February 29, Geoff discovered that half of the west side of the Ridge Skyhawk tribander driven element had fallen off. It broke cleanly at the tubing joint where the element is constrained by the element spacer. This turns out to be a very difficult repair because in spite of applying liberal antioxidant when we built it, the tubing pieces are welded together by salt corrosion.
On the patio, Geoff fabricated an entirely new Ridge Tribander 20 meter driven element half. Up on the ridge,
Up on the ridge, Geoff drilled rivet holes as part of the repair. He reports that this was a very difficult undertaking.
When I (K8ND) returned to Ohio from Curacao on January 31, my seatmate on the flight was a Curacao resident headed to Florida to inspect and possibly purchase a new boat. We discussed many things, including the PJ2T station and amateur radio.
Today I received this photo. As he brought his boat to Curacao, he passed by the Signal Point station, snapped a photo, and sent it to me!
Connor W4IPC operated the PJ2T remote in the Youth On The Air (YOTA) Sunday! Connor is a 21-year-old member of the Caribbean Contesting Consortium, which operates PJ2T.
His comments on the contest are at the link in the comments.
PJ2T was active in the 2024 Spring Stew Perry Topband DX Challenge overnight! Preliminary claimed score is shown below.
The Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival will be held August 29-31, 2024!
We’re excited to announce the first wave of acts for the Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival 2024.
The festival opens on Thursday, August 29 with CHIC ft. Nile Rodgers and Leoni Torres.
On Friday, August 30, Gladys Knight, Gregory Porter, Judith Hill, Marc Anthony and Seal will perform at the World Trade Center site at Piscadera Bay.
Eros Ramazzotti, Lizz Wright, Matteo Mancuso have been confirmed for Saturday August 31.
We're still busy with various other artists who will be announced in the course of the coming months. Ticket sales for Curaçao North Sea Jazz 2024 Festival start on April 1.
More information:
https://www.curacaonorthseajazz.com/en/news/eerste-namen-cnsj-2024
Here is the PJ2T 3830 Claimed Score in the 2024 ARRL SSB DX Contest!
Link to detailed story in comments).
The PJ2T team for the 2024 ARRL SSB DX Contest!
L-R: Andy (W9NJY), Dorothy (W0CG YL), Ryan (N0OJ), Cindy (WX4W XYL), Curtis (WX4W), Jan (K4QD), Ray (ND8L), Geoff (W0CG/PJ2DX), Pete (K8PGJ), Vince (K4JC), Walter (K5LD). Not in photo Costa (CT1EAT), Dave (N7NR).
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Sunday operation in the ARRL CW DX Contest can get a little slow, even for DX stations! After working a couple thousand QSOs on a band, the new ones trickle in slowly, even if the band itself is very busy! Here is the 15m band in the 19z hour, recorded in Ohio.
It's been pretty windy here at the Signal Point PJ2T station on Curacao. Much too windy to fly the drone!
Attempted the Stew Perry TBDXC overnight, but with little success. 8 QSOs in 3 hours through crushing QRN. The static was as bad as I've ever heard it in 21 years of doing Topband from Curacao. Then the transmit antenna fell down, ending the pain.
During the early morning shift on 75-meters in the ARRL SSB DX Contest, Sid kept careful watch, and approves!
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