Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (B) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Jun 23 2023 06:17:59 13 COLONIES OPERATING EVENT MARKS 15th YEAR STEPHEN/ANCHOR: It's a historic milestone for an on-air event that celebrates America’s revolutionary past. Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramowicz (Abram-o-vich) NT3V, has the story. MARK: It's back and marking its 15th year on the ham bands. It's the annual 13 Colonies Special Event, running this year from July 1 to July 7. Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, is coordinator for WM3PEN, a special call sign activated from the "Cradle of Liberty" in Philadelphia. "It's a relatively easy event for many people to operate," Josuweit explains. "It's making contact with one or more of the 13 special event stations in each of the 13 colonies." "Plus, we've added over the years three bonus stations – WM3PEN in Philadelphia, GB13COL in England, and recently, TM13COL in France." Josuweit says activity during the 13 Colonies Special Event has been climbing rapidly in recent years, and there are some occasional pile-ups, so you may need a little patience and persistence to get through. "Last year we were well over a quarter million contacts for all the stations combined," he recalls. "And, for WM3PEN, back in 2013 I believe, it was we were just around 3,000 contacts. Last year, we were closer to 13,000." There's a special certificate offered to operators working the event. And each of the groups running stations in the original 13 colonies has special QSL cards tied to this year's theme surrounding the signers of the Declaration of Independence. "We'll be on all modes at different times, using HF and satellites. There will even be some SSTV," Josuweit advises. "The best thing to do is watch the various spotting networks such as DX Summit. There's a 13 Colonies Facebook page which people can monitor as well." Josuweit says you don't have to be a contester to work the stations. He says the operators at each station realize how much interest there is. Many, Josuweit says, will be operating long hours, even on the Fourth of July holiday, to make sure every station they can work gets into the log. For a link to the group's website, go to the text version of this story, published on our website, arnewsline.org. I’m Mark Abramowicz, NT3V. ** SATELLITE ENTHUSIASTS ENCOURAGED TO TAKE THE 'LEDSAT' CHALLENGE STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The challenge is on - are you up to it? The European Space Agency and S5Lab (pronounced: Ess Five Lab) are inviting hams around the world to get involved in making a special contact through the digipeater of an educational CubeSat known as LEDSAT. Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, tells us how to get involved. NEIL: LEDSAT, an LED CubeSat developed by university students in Rome with assistance from AMSAT Italia, was created primarily to demonstrate an LED-based payload to be used with ground-based optical tracking. Starting on June 26th and through to July 30th, it takes on a secondary purpose: It is part of a challenge to hams that will win them the prize of a personalized QSL card designed just for this competition. Hams are being asked to send a digital message via satellite to PI9ESA, the ground station of the ESA's Education Office. The CubeSat follows a sun- synchronous orbit and its digipeater will be activated at certain times. It has two communication windows, one around midday and one at midnight. Operators will be based at the ESA ground station to copy the messages. Hams are encouraged to use their preferred pass-prediction software to assist in the contact. LEDSAT's digipeater has the ability to store and forward digital messages with a delay of up to two days. For details about frequencies being used and other procedures of the operation, visit the ESA website at esa dot int (esa.int) and search for LEDSAT. The challenge was organized to celebrate the launch of LEDSAT in August of 2021. (EUROPEAN SPACE AGENY, S5LAB, AMSAT NEWS) ** BUSINESSMAN AND ALMA MATER'S HAM CLUB SHARE A MILESTONE STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The chief executive officer of iFixit, a business that provides toolkits and repair guides for do-it-yourselfers, distinguished himself on the California campus of his alma mater recently. Kyle Wiens [WEENS], who graduated from California Polytechnic State University, took his ham radio license exam under the watchful eye of volunteer examiners from the Cal Poly Amateur Radio Club, W6BHZ. He passed, becoming the newest licensee - number 2,000, It was a different kind of graduation for Kyle, who founded his company with a friend in a campus dorm room in 2003 while he was still a student at Cal Poly. Six years later - in 2009, the on-campus amateur radio club began offering license exams for students and the public. According to an article on the club's website, Kyle wasn't the only one from iFixit to claim newfound status as a licensee. Several members of the iFixit team were also there and passed - right along with the boss. (W6BHZ.ORG, iFIXIT WEBSITE) --- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (618:250/33) .