PJ2MI 1982 Curacao, Netherlands Antilles

The email below is a response to an inquiry I sent to Jossy PJ2MI. Jossy is now 83 years old (2013), and was a long-time employee of the radio licensing authority in the Netherlands Antilles, going back many decades.

I know from previous communications that Amateur Radio licensing officially started in the Dutch Caribbean in 1951, when licenses were first issued in the callsign blocks ‘PJ2Ax’ (Aruba), ‘PJ2Bx’ (Bonaire) and ‘PJ2Cx’ (Curacao).

One very important thing...before 1954 these island were colonies under the Dutch colonial rule. So amateur radio was a NO NO.....

Also look at the fact that is was the guys running the colonies, who could decide to implement amateur radio and only if they themselves could benefit. There were no general rules for ALL the colonies, each had separate laws. A guy in the right position in the Dutch East Indies could have introduced amateur radio. That did not happen here.

If it was not for a group SHELL employees, amateur radio would not have been started.

I know of clandestine operations even before 1950. Definitely amateur radio was NOT allowed in the colony. In 1954 we became an autonomous part of the Netherlands, many new laws were introduced.

One other matter was the relation between the locals and the Shell guys, the VERONA was a Shell club with a club in Muizenberg (at that time a Shell position). There were no locals on the first boards. Most rules and regulations were copies of the club system in Holland.

A similar setup was tried in Aruba, but the Americans working with the Lago Oil company together with the Aruban locals went their way, avoiding to repeat the Curaçao situation at that time.

God Bless & PEACE
Jossy PJ2MI

Jossy PJ2MI became a SK on February 5, 2014

From the estate of W3EVW
Info courtesy of PJ2MI, K8ND