5B4AFM Stavros Tsiakkouris

Team: Asia 3

Country: Cyprus

Age: 36

Occupation: Electrical Engineer

I first became fascinated by Amateur Radio in 1988, at the age of 11. I was an electronics enthusiast, and it didn’t take long before the wooden shed at my high school that was surrounded by large antennas grabbed my attention. This wooden shed turned out to be the shack of the 5B4ES club station, a true powerhouse for many young 5B contest operators. I was first licensed as 5B8AA in 1992 and then upgraded to 5B4AFM in 1994. While in high school, I operated in as many contests as I could find time for. When I went to study in the Unites States I remained active from the Virginia Tech Amateur Radio Association, K4KDJ. Contest operating from the US took me back to square one as I had to learn to operate from the other side of the pileup. This was a very rewarding experience and helped me hone my contesting skills.

I moved to the UK in 2002 and operated mostly from the Cambridge University Wireless Society, G6UW, and as a guest operator from G5W, M6T, G6PZ, and MU2A. The last few years, having returned to my native Cyprus, my efforts have been focused on building a contest station on the outskirts of the capital, Nicosia, with the other members of the Nicosia Contest Group. You can hear us during contests as C4A. All this is possible thanks to the unconditional support and love of my wife Katerina and two children, Andreas aged 3 and Marina aged 2.

This will be my third WRTC event as a competitor. WRTC is an opportunity for top contest operators from all over the world to mingle and share their passion for radiosport, while providing competitors, to the extent possible, with a level playing field to prove their contesting skills. It is in many ways the culmination and celebration of contesting activities since the previous WRTC.