CT1ILT Filipe Lopes
Team: Western Europe 1 (Team Leader)
Country: Portugal
Age: 27
Occupation: Telecom engineer
CT1ILT Filipe Lopes
At age 10 I discovered radio when I saw my dad, José CT1CJJ, and his friends in their IOTA Contest activities. Unfortunately, in Portugal the ham radio license was only available to teenagers over 16 years old. I practiced CW with my father and my friend Alfredo, CT1DSC, both who taught me not only CW but also the basics of being an amateur radio operator. In 2002, at age 16, I passed my amateur radio exam. Since then, I have been a DX chaser and contester.
In 2004, I won the Young Contester program, sponsored by David Kopacz, KY1V, who funded my first contest trip out of Portugal (Turks and Caicos VP5X for the CQ WW SSB). In 2006 and 2007 I was invited by David, KY1V, to join the team to operate the 6Y1V contest station for CQ WW SSB. In CQ WW CW 2011 I operated for the first time in the Multi-Multi category from K1LZ. During this time, my father and I organized the RSGB IOTA Contest efforts from a Portuguese island where we have used the calls CQ2I, CQ2P, CS7T and, more recently, CR6R.
My father and I have been building our little station, CR6K, located in the northwest of Portugal, with most of the hardware home built. In 2013, I moved to France with my girlfriend, Ana Graciela, who is also ham (CR7ADN), and where I operate as F4VPX.
WRTC is not just a competition; it also is a gathering of cultures, knowledge and friends. My biggest motivation for this competition is that it will be the first time ever that a Portuguese team will participate in such an event.