Annual 13 Colonies Event first week of July (1-7)

 

I have participated in this annual event for several years. It's actually one of my favorites since it's so patriotic. The week of the 4th of July and all the QSL cards are very impressive. I don't always request the cards each time--actually almost every year I do there's a colony that doesn't get one back to me.

Because of the heat where I live in the desert, we decided to head up to Idaho to visit the folks for the holiday. That did make it much harder to get all the contacts I needed. Normally I have all of the colonies and the bonus station in Philadelphia by the second day of the event, all on CW.

While my dad does have a station (that doesn't really get used), his G5RV antenna was mangled in an accident and he needed a new antenna up during my visit. With that and family activities, etc. I only got on the radio for one or two contacts.

 

When I returned home I also had to get back to work, so my time on the air was limited. Luckily most of the stations that run the event back east on CW are good ops and they're fairly easy to get with some DXing type tricks and tips.

This year, they added a new bonus station--TM13COL, the TM prefix is one from France. I was able to get them faster than a couple of the colony stations. Their QSL card is the first picture above--they sent it very quickly. This year I did not request the other QSL cards, just France. The only one I didn't get was GB13COL which is the bonus station in England--in fact I have never gotten them. While they do have some CW, that doesn't seem to be the main mode and it's just hard to get England at certain times, and even more so when everyone is trying to get them. I'll see how it goes next year and may concentrate on them more than anything else. We'll see. I do always send in for the certificate which is always cool (haven't received it yet), but I'll post what I keep in the shack--my first certificate and all the QSL cards from the 13 colonies and the bonus station in Philly.

I plan on supporting this event in the future as well, although I may not always request the QSL cards. Who knows, maybe next year my photo will be of the GB13COL station.

73 all,

Mike AC0PR