Mark your calendars for next year. Following on Field Day every year is the popular and patriotic 13 Colonies Special Event. For the week around the United States July 4th holiday, teams of dedicated radio operators in each of the original thirteen colonies field QSO pileups with thousands of stations looking to make contact with as many of the event stations as possible, in as many modes as possible. But since this is a Special Event (and not a “Contest“) every participant can be a winner and eligible for a 13 Colonies certificate by making even just one QSOs with a colony state or bonus station.
Since 2013, the Rhode Island State Team of about a dozen K2C event operators has been led by Chris, W1KMA. He writes that although conditions were not great this year, the RI K2C team logged over 14,500 QSOs, up about 10% from last year. Congrats!
Chris, K1KMA writes:
- Conditions were not that great at times but we did 14,534 Q’s +1351 from 2022. [WOW!]
- It has been a lot of fun getting hams into our logs. Many are looking for that “rare” RI contact for WAS (Worked All States).
- The greatest joy about this event is working people who are so happy to make contacts with all 13 colonies to get a clean sweep and they tell you that you were their last one.
- The tough part is being on this side of a pile-up.
- If anyone would like to give it a try and help, we are happy to welcome you aboard. Just send me an email, so we can connect with each other. CW ops are always in demand, but any mode you like to work is fine. [The K2C team offers : SSB, CW, Digital & Satellite]
- New hams should not be afraid to try either, you will have a good time for sure. Everyone works at their own pace, this way you have fun and share fun at the same time. This year we had two brothers from upstate new camp out in Exeter working K2C QRP.
The French bonus station (TM13COL) in 2023 was hosted by the Clipperton DX club (CDXC) and the réseau des émetteurs français (REF).
Rhode Island still accords special honors to the French for their pivotal support during the Revolutionary War, as witnessed by, for example, a monument to Rochambeau at King’s Park in Newport and ongoing historical commemoration. We tend to forget that the British occupied Aquidneck Island for three years from December 1776 to October 1779, with devastating consequences. For more on this history, see for example: https://battleofrhodeisland.org/learn-battle-of-rhode-island-timeline-and-maps/
Congrats again to the Rhode Island K2C 13 Colonies Team for their commitment to this Special Event and their dedication to make over 14,534 QSOs in 2023.
PS – POTA people – Did you know the multi-state POTA Park K-4582 is the Washington Rochambeau Trail that crosses Rhode Island? An interactive map is here: https://w3r-us.org/trail-map/
