Maine Bicentennial Special Event

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The Maine Bicentennial Special Event takes place 16-22 March 2020!

Formation of Maine Bicentennial Special Event

Briefly, the Maine Bicentennial Special Event committee, formed from members of the Wireless Society of Southern Maine, along with KB1ZUN and AB1YO from the PenBay ARC, have organized an amateur radio Special Event that recognizes the Original 9 Counties of the State of Maine. There will also be 3 other special stations for Jameson Tavern in Freeport, the Town of Portland, and Boston, in recognition of their contributions to Maine's Statehood.

Maine Bicentennial Special Event

Besides generally getting the word out about the event, this email is to seek participants from all over Maine to activate the special event call signs. We suspect most participants will be operating from their own homes. We are asking those interested to discern where their QTH would have been in 1820 and to participate as if you are in that Original County. The event website shows a map and lists several towns and cities in each county to help you determine your 1820 QTH. (e.g. if you are now in Knox County, in 1820 you were in Lincoln County. and would participate as a station in Lincoln County).

Participants can choose to operate at their convenience by signing up on a spreadsheet on the event website - https://maine200specialevent.com/ Simply notate the Time Block, and select the Band and Mode you wish to operate. You can operate from your home or any remote location as long as it's listed on the corresponding County spreadsheet. (e.g. QTH is in Hancock County but operating in Cumberland Co. The operator would use the Cumberland County spreadsheet).

Operations will take place on HF, 6m, 2m, and 70cm. Modes include CW, SSB, and Digital. This allows all Maine Amateur Radio operators to participate in some form.

Certificates will be available for chasers and operators. We'll also need logs from participating operators to corroborate what is sent in. Its recommended that these are sent in ADIF format. More details can be found on the event website.

If you're interested in operating, please sign up on the appropriate spreadsheet for your "1820 county." If you need help determining which is the right one, or if you have any questions, please send an email to: ws1sm@yahoo.com. Be sure to title your message as: Maine 200 Special Event.

The Maine 200 Special Event Stations are:

  • Cumberland: W1C

  • Hancock: W1H

  • Kennebec: W1K

  • Lincoln: W1L

  • Oxford: W1O

  • Penobscot: W1P

  • Somerset: W1S

  • Washington: W1W

  • York: W1Y

  • Jameson Tavern: K1J

  • Town of Portland: K1P

  • City of Boston: K1B