CQ CONTEST CQ CONTEST…
It all began a long time ago for me, when I was just 14 years old. It was Field Day in a small village in Belgium, out in the meadow among the cows. I was there with some other radio amateurs from the village, including my mentor Jef (ON4ACA, now DD2CW).
Oscar November Six Small King (ON6SK)—the call sign still sounds like music to my ears. For years, we held Field Day in a caravan with antennas, and we always won. So, we began taking on new challenges.
How extravagant could we go?
Our peak achievement was a 5-element beam mounted 70 meters high. Someone had a connection with a crane company, and we got to use their crane for a weekend, free of charge.
The antenna stood taller than the church tower!
But could we still do a contest with 1 kW while only showing 100W on the power meter? As Belgians, we were good at that: minimum effort for maximum return. It was all planned out, and I was appointed as the first operator.
I was only 15 years old.
While our other operators enjoyed a BBQ and Belgian beer (perhaps more than one), I had to uphold the honor of our club. I was handed two computers—one for Field Day, the other for the ALL ASIAN contest.
It was madness. I had 24 hours to make 750 QSOs, but I ended up with 1,127, of which 306 were in the AA contest.
These numbers are etched in my memory. I did it, but even after falling asleep, I could still hear the calls in my head. I was contesting in my dreams. That gave me such a thrill and opened up a whole new world of radio for me.
❝Traveling with Marcel and Jef, I discovered Sweden, a country you instantly fall in love with. The people are so friendly and helpful, truly friends for life.❞
Field Days became an annual tradition for us, but once a year wasn’t enough. So, we kept pushing ourselves, and the idea of participating in CQWW and CQWPX started in the early 1990s. One shack stood out as the ideal choice: ON7UN (Eddy). When Eddy found out we were going to contest, we expanded the station even further. Then, Eddy gathered us together to unveil some new toys for the contest—a beautiful IC-781 and an Alpha 87a.
Our jaws dropped. I barely dared to touch it. But that wasn’t all—Eddy had also developed a rotating tower, 32 meters high, with a full-size 3-element 40-meter beam. The entire setup was powered by a pitch prop engine from Boeing.
It was ready for testing just a week before the contest started. We hit the US West Coast on 40 meters with one call and got a 59+10 report. Soon after, we received a special call sign: OT0A.
This was back in 1990—34 years ago at the time of writing this article. We had amazing times, making thousands of QSOs. And of course, there was always a BBQ and drinks. But over time, things started to change, and eventually, fate struck. We had to dismantle the antennas because local politicians claimed “a certain bird might become disoriented with all the aluminum in the air”. That was the end of the OTxA story.
❝…this station is in the same desolate place as SI9AM. This can’t go wrong! I told Jef, “This feels like SI9AM.” It was a good sign.❞
But the passion for radio never left us. Marcel (ON6UQ) and Jef decided to look north, and Marcel found SI9AM to be an intriguing QTH. He reached out to SI9AM’s president, Jörgen, and they both went to visit.
When they returned from Sweden, I listened in awe to their stories. Then came the big question: “Dirk, are you coming with us next time?”
I immediately said, “Yes, of course” without even asking my XYL for permission.
After all, in contests, it’s important to have an XYL who supports you, even if she sometimes wonders, “How foolish are you to shout all day and night into a microphone?”
My first trip to SI9AM was a whole new level. Traveling with Marcel and Jef, I discovered Sweden, a country you instantly fall in love with. The people are so friendly and helpful, truly friends for life. Jörgen (SM3FJF) and his XYL Ulla (SI3A) became lifelong friends, and you probably have them in your logbook already. Over time, we became like family at SI9AM. The shack was located in a hotel, which closed during the winter due to a lack of customers. The village had only 12 residents, so we had fresh beds every day if we wanted. We had a fully equipped kitchen but were mostly there for the radio, often sleeping in the shack.
The problem? Only two beds. Marcel, who was getting older and whose health was declining, took one. Jef, our chief, took the other.
And me? I slept on the floor.
There was a small kitchenette with a built-in cupboard in the shack. The space between the cupboard and the base cabinet was just 1.5 meters wide, so I got creative—doors from the cabinets as a bed, my head resting in the base cabinet, and my legs stretched into the built-in cupboard. That’s how I slept for 10 days.
People thought I was crazy, but I loved it. It’s all part of contesting.
I can’t leave out one unforgettable anecdote. I think it was the second-to-last time Marcel went to SI9AM. His health was deteriorating, so I wheeled him to the plane in a wheelchair. We were the first to board, and as Marcel tried to put his suitcase in the overhead bin, his pants suddenly dropped to his ankles.
There he was, standing in the middle of the plane without pants!
❝..the love they put into everything, the food, the teamwork, the way all those people work together —was incredible.❞
The stewardess quickly helped Marcel with his belt and pants and then made the most memorable remark: “Sir, this is why belts are important on airplanes.” We’ll never forget that.
Marcel’s last trip was bittersweet. His health continued to decline, but SI9AM was his life—it felt like home to him. We realized the results no longer mattered; we were there for him. Even as his body weakened, he came alive with his Bencher CW paddle.
When we were preparing to leave, Marcel said, “This is the last time I’ll see SI9AM. Keep it alive, for Jörgen and Ulla.”
This was a contest we organized for Marcel, and it was such a motivating experience that we ended up setting a Swedish record. Our team consisted of Jef, Roger, Cis, Nida, and me. Nida was originally from Thailand and was in Paris for work at the time. Jorgen asked if we had any objections to someone from Thailand joining the team.
How could we say no?
Naturally, Nida was welcomed without hesitation, proving once again that radio transcends all boundaries.
We had a great time with Nida. It was his first time seeing and experiencing snow, and his reaction was priceless. He immediately invited us to visit Thailand, promising he’d take care of us and even get us a call sign in Vietnam. All we needed was a plane ticket, and we’d be off on our next adventure!
Over time, I got my own call sign, thanks to pressure from the club. I was lucky enough to choose ON3UN, a tribute to ON4UN (John) and ON7UN (Eddy). That call has helped me more than once in pileups. Then COVID hit, and we had to do CQ WW and CQ WPX from home. It wasn’t the same without friends around the transceiver.
❝You felt that we clicked right away, we all shared the same humor…Yes, a solid long-term friendship was born, and in our case, it was all because of Marcel.❞
Marcel’s XYL asked us to dismantle his station, and that’s how SZ1A came into the picture.
It was hard seeing Marcel’s OM-Power Linear Amplifier move to SV land. Jef and I, hoped that “Marcel” would leave here and continue elsewhere. However, actually, we felt that we were left orphaned.
We no longer had a contest station, our dear friend Marcel was now a silent-key and his station was dismantled.
Suddenly, a bolt of good news out of the blue, optimistic hopeful news, Kostas Stamatis (SV1DPI) let us know that Marcel’s OM Amplifier had arrived safely and that it was now shining at SZ1A.
That is how the honorary operating position christened the “Marcel ON6UQ Station” was born.
When we saw the photo of the wood engraving with Marcel’s call sign, tears filled our eyes. More importantly, Marcel’s XYL was deeply touched, knowing her husband’s passion lived on through the enthusiasm of others.
As for us, the passion for big adventures lingered. We did some IOTA activations with our group—GB9IOW (Great Britain Nine Isle of Wight), PA6IOT (Papa Alfa Six Island of Texel), and DA2W/p on the islands of Rügen and Usedom in the Baltic Sea.
❝We also realized that others, some of them quite famous in our community, such as Monk Apollo SV2ASP/A(SK) and Zorro JH1AJT(SK), had seen and felt this very same bond with this group of wonderful people.❞
In December 2023, Jef called me: “Dirk, are you coming to SV land? We’re going to see how Marcel is doing.”
My response? The same youthful “Yes, of course.”
I let Jef book everything and we completely surrendered to a new adventure. We knew the people through email and phone, but now we’ll finally meet them in person. If it clicks like with SI9AM, where will we end up? So many questions, so few answers at that moment.
We land in Athens and then set off by car for Agrinio.
We were going to join the team at SZ1A in CQ WPX SSB 2024.
When we arrived at the station for a first look, the first thing I said to Jef was…. this station is in the same desolate place as SI9AM.
This can’t go wrong! I told Jef, “This feels like SI9AM.” It was a good sign.
❝We might never win the contest, but no one will beat us in friendship.❞
Kostas (SV1DPI) picked us up and said we’d have “a bite and a drink.” That’s how he said it; just a sip and a bite.
My dietician would certainly disagree with that definition, and advise against a longer stay…
…but the love they put into everything, the food, the teamwork, the way all those people work together —was incredible.
To sum it all up into one phrase: simply fantastic! People from the far north or deep south are all remarkable, united by a shared passion.
Radio and contesting.
You felt that we clicked right away, we all shared the same humor. Laughing, and talking with each other, even if it was only with hands and feet, but we understood each other.
Yes, a solid long-term friendship was born, and in our case, it was all because of Marcel.
We also realized that others, some of them quite famous in our community, such as Monk Apollo SV2ASP/A(SK) and Zorro JH1AJT(SK), had seen and felt this very same bond with this group of wonderful people.
SZ1A is a group of friends who live for the hobby, for contesting, and are continuously making sacrifices for this growing station. I can confidently say:
We might never win the contest, but no one will beat us in friendship.
Thank you, gentlemen. See you again in October!
