RESULTS: March 2019 ARS Spartan Sprint

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SOAPBOX: March 2019 ARS Spartan Sprint

K3JZD

Lots of QSB and weak signals on 40m. Heard some that I could not copy a full call sign for. Nothing heard on 80m. Jody - K3JZD

W5QLF

Forty meters was very good for the first 30 minutes or so then I tuned down to 80 and found that band surprisingly good too.  Worked 7 stations on 40 meters and 4 on 80 meters.  K4BAI and NØTA on both bands. Thanks fellas!  72, Joe W5QLF

NØTA

Bands much better this time. 8 Q's on 40m, 12 on 80m. K3, Vertical, GenLog

K3RLL

Had trouble being heard tonight. Even the Reverse Beacon wasn't my friend. But still had fun. One contact ended up as a long QSO and a new radio friend, so to speak. This is great!  Thanks for the contacts.  72/73 ... Don

KA5HZV

Just getting back into radio and first time on the Spartan Sprint in quite a while. My CW is not as fast as it used to be but getting there. Got my first contacts on 40 m right at the start of the night and then three more on 80 m. 40 was quiet but 80 was very noisy here in the Abilene Texas area. Looking forward to next month. Thanks to NK9G, NØTA, and WB5BKL (from Putnam to Burnet). Ron

K4BAI

40M very poor.  QSOs in TX, CA, NH,  Heard NK9G/7, but Rick could not hear me.  Yet, he called me on 80M!  80M in good shape all over. 40M: 4 QSOs.  80M:  15 QSOs. See you all next month.  73/72, John, K4BAI.

NØAR

Good to hear so many familiar calls. My contact number is inching up even though the bands still seem awful. 80 was the workhorse. First half hour only heard one station. Then things improved. Ants: 80 m loop, 43 foot vert with tuner at base and active RX loop. 40" of snow and minus temps still, winter conditions one last time? 72s, Scott NØAR nr. St.Paul

K9DRP

40 meters started out good but soon went dead for me.  I worked W3KC and K3ESE on 40 and got them again on 80.  (I wish Lloyd would use that same antenna when he's the fox.)  Got to log several new calls this sprint. Used an EFHW for this event - it's a keeper. 73, Don, K9DRP

AB9CA/7

On the road, poor antenna, only for 40m. Result: not many contacts! Rig was FT-857 at 5W to vertical. RV lot is small so ant is crummy. See ya' next month!

WB9HFK

Rig: Icom 7300 @ 5W; Antenna: 40M - OCF Dipole; 80M - 150 Ft. Random Wire

WA4AAK

Got a late start and heard nothing on 40m. The following patient and skilled operators pulled me out of the 80m noise: WB5BKL, K4BAI, W3KC, NØAR, and K9DRP. Thank you, everyone!

NK9G/7

Equipment weight: KX3 & amp; 4 Amp LiPo at less than 5 lbs. I went out portable in a park in Chandler, AZ. Park is built on top of garbage dump I am told. Conditions were pretty decent, SFI 78-8-1. 10 states. 9 Qs on 40, 6 Qs on 80. My 1st time doing this portable Spartan Sprint and it was fun as all portable ops. Rig was KX3 @ 5 watts. Battery: a 4 Amp LiPo which seemed weak by end of Sprint. Antenna is a 88’ Doublet up at 44’.

KB1M

Best Spartan Sprint score since last Sept. Thanks for the QSOs. 72/73, Walt

W3KC

Fun to participate in an SP again. 80 meters was noisy but pretty lively (12 contacts) plus a few on 40. An ice storm had taken down my CF Zepp, so I went with an end fed wire up 15 feet. 72, Chas

WB5BKL

K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp. Quite an improvement on last month - actual propagation!  Had to fix the south end of the 40M extended double Zepp before the sprint - it's now slightly higher (the advantage of using trees for the supports!).  QSOs on 40 and 80M. 10 states this time - and doubles with NØTA, NK9G/7, and NØAR.  Best signal on both bands was KEØTT. Had to give up about 03:30Z or so - too tired.  My thanks to all.  Had fun.

SCOREBOARD: February 2019 Spartan Sprint

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SOAPBOX: February 2019 Spartan Sprint

K3RLL

QCX-40 and LiPO to after-dark only black vertical (HOA): Despite high local line noise here and what seemed like really poor conditions this evening, I appreciate the four patient and skilled ops who kept the evening from being a washout here in Florida. RBN Spots were up and down dramatically and showed skip to be long tonight. Time to practice on the Sunspot Dance around the vertical for better conditions.  72 ... Don

W5QLF

Much better propagation this month into South Texas.   Thanks to Mark, WB9HFK and John, K4BAI for Qs on 40 and 80.  Thank you also Larry, KFØN, Jeff, KE9V, John, NØTA, Don, K3RLL and Evan, WA4AAK for contacts on 40.  Things are looking up in 2019. 72, Joe, W5QLF

K4BAI

40 was poor: 4 QSOs. 80 was great: 9 QSOs from AL, CO, TX, IL, IA, MN. Just needed more activity.  73/72, John, K4BAI.

WA4AAK

Two contacts on 40m, and six on 80m, running 3W to 5W. Local noise levels were very high as usual, keeping me from giving decent signal reports. As always, the Spartan Sprint operators did an outstanding job.  Thanks to all, and especially Richard, KI6SN, for creating and sponsoring this event! 72!

KE9V

40 meter effort yielded a few SP contacts this evening. Operated from the shack using a KX3 into a dipole at 30 feet. Heard a couple other stations calling but couldn’t work them. Propagation wasn’t great but the band seemed quiet here. Thanks for the Qs hope for more next month.

NØTA

Another slow Spartan Sprint. Thanks for the Q's. Kx2, vertical, Gen Log.

WB9HFK

Icom 7300 @ 5W. Antenna: 40M - Gnd Mtd Vertical with 60 radials. 80M - 150 Ft. Random Wire

NØAR

Cndx seemed to be better this month! Thanks for doing this. The first half hour I didn't hear a single station in the sprint! Suddenly the "cone of silence" lifted and the fun started. Always fun to work familiar stations. Took W5ACM and me at least 3 attempts to complete an exchange, thanks for hanging in there Andy. Rig was my ol' trusty K2, boy that still sounds sweet, a 43' vertical, 80-meter loop and RX loop. The only band of use was 80 meters. Nothing on the higher freqs. this month. 73 Scott, near St. Paul

KB1M

I was able to work two of the three stations heard on 40. I thought 40 might come alive when K4BAI peaked at S8 here, but that was very short lived. QRN was very quiet so not an excuse tonight. States worked GA and MS.  73 Walt

WB5BKL

K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp. QSOs evenly split between 40 and 80M. 9 states this time - nothing west of Colorado.  Best signals:  40M - K4BAI and KFØN, 80M - K4BAI and WB9HFK. QSB was at times brutal - my thanks to all that persevered.  Had fun.

W5ACM

The ATS-3a was doing quite well this month. My CW was “OK” with no additional burnishing on the paddle contacts. The batteries appear to be running well. I use a pair of 170 mAh LiPo cells. The radio makes 3W out, and this is the longest service I have had from this type of LiPo cells in this rig. Conditions were nothing special, but 80M was a bit better than last month, and participation was UP! I got 3 QSOs on 40M, but a surprising 5 QSOs on 80M. Thanks to all! 72 de Andy W5ACM, Houston, Texas.

So, What's a Spartan Sprint, and How Do I Play?

Spartan Sprints are two-hour gatherings sponsored by the Adventure Radio Society, held the first Monday of every month. The Spartan Sprints have a unique, three-faceted focus. They encourage outdoor operation with back country radio gear (if outdoor operation isn't practical, home-based operation is fine). They gather fascinating information about the upper atmosphere, documenting how low power signals can travel long distancs. And they encourage the growth of a like-minded community of amateur radio operator who generously share their knowledge and experiences.

Which Bands?

Bands of operation are 80 meters, 40 meters, 20 meters, 15 meters and 10 meters. You may operate any number of bands - your choice. Many Spartan Sprint operators gravitate to the QRP CW calling frequencies on these bands.

Equipment and Antennas

Spartan Sprinters use 5 Watts or less. We encourage you to experiment with 1 Watt or less. You will be surprised at how effective these low levels can be, and how much fun QRPp really is. Similarly, we encourage you to experiment with simple wire antennas. And we encourage Sprinters to use equpment they built from "scratch" - that is, equipment built from schematics.

Exchange

Exchange RST, SPC (state, province or country) and power output. If you choose to call CQ, use the format "CQ SP," or "CQ QRP TEST." You can give yourself credit for working the same station on a second, third, or fourth band.

What Is the Weight of My Station?

The weight of your station is determined by weighing everything at your operating position up to, but not including, your feedline and antenna. In other words, your rig, key, keyer, antenna tuning unit, battery, headphones and so on. 

Submit Your Spartan Sprint Log

Please send the following information in an email to: SpartanSprint@yahoo.com

• Your call sign
• Total number of contacts during Sprint
• The weight of your station (in pounds - includes all gear except antenna and feedline)
• Soapbox comments about your Sprint experience

Check Out the Spartan Sprint Results

The results of each month's contest appear on the Friday following each month's first-Monday Sprint. They are posted here on this website. You can find results from previous months here, as well.

- Richard Fisher, KI6SN

RESULTS: January 2019 ARS Spartan Sprint

Please click on the Scoreboard for an enlarged view.

SOAPBOX: January 2019 ARS Spartan Sprint

K3RLL
QCX-40 to 33' Unun wire up and over the garage.  Tough sledding tonight with very high noise level and very low signal levels. I think I was getting out better than I was hearing as a couple of stations were kind enough to answer my CQ but I just couldn't copy them. My apologies. Anyone else feel they are too old to ever see the return of our long lost sunspots? 72, Don K3RLL FL

N5EM
Running KX3 here on internal batteries and an external small Li-Ion pack at 3W.  One QSO.  With 20M seemingly dead, it's all 40M here. 72, Ed, N5EM

K4BAI
Guess most everyone was watching football.  6 QSOs on 80M and 7 QSOs on 40M. W1AW was very strong here on 20M, but got no answers to CQs and heard no other stations on the band. Should have been able to work New England when W1AW is so strong. Thanks for the QSOs and Happy New Year.  73/72, John, K4BAI

N1XF
I am taking a CW Academy Level 2 class and our Monday session finished just after the Spartan Sprint started. I’ve been wanting to try this for some time and tonight was that night. I only made one contact, but that is enough for me tonight. That contact was W2JEK , Don in NJ, we were both running 5W and gave each other a generous 599.  He actually was 599 at the peak and tailed off to about 539 with some QSB. I am running a KX2 with the internal ATU so I can tune up basically anything.  My current “anything” is a 107’ length of “random wire” in my backyard fed through a 9:1 unun I made in a custom 3D printed enclosure that has been outside for 9 months (after being told the PLA I used shouldnt be used outside, it is currently in experiment mode). I don’t have a run of permanent coax into my “Man Nook” (its not really a shack, per se), so I run a 25’ length of RG-174 out through a window (using a cut up pool noodle to keep the 17 degree temps outside) when I want to get on the air. For my first time in the Spartan Sprint, I think I have stood on my soapbox and monopolized enough of your time. Thanks, 73, Glen, N1XF

K9DRP
I worked every SP station I heard (both of them). I saw several stations listed on RBN, but I couldn't hear them. Propagation just has to be better next month. TNX K4BAI and WB9HFK. 73, Don, K9DRP

AB5SS
Couldn't get on the air until 9:30 so just used the big rig and went straight to 80M.  

W5ACM
The ATS-3a was remarkably cooperative this month, even after missing two Sprints. My CW was “OK”. The keyer contacts could use some burnishing… The batteries appear to be running well. I use a pair of 170 mAh LiPo cells. It makes 3W out, so it is good to go! I am hoping for good 20M CNDX next month(wishful thinking?). VY FB to work W4VHH on 40M and WB9HFK and K4BAI on 80M! 
72 de Andy W5ACM, Houston, Texas.

WB9HFK
RIG: ICOM 7300 @ 5W; ANTENNA: 40M Hustler 6BTV GND MTD with 60 radials; 80M 150 FT. Random wire

WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp. 7 contacts and 7 states this time. Only 1 contact on 40M, though WB9HFK, K4BAI, K3RLL and KF0N were heard. Best signals:  40M - W4VHH, 80M - AB5SS. 
Worked N4FP at 1W so encouraging propagation on 80!  My thanks to all. Had fun.

KB1M
Very little heard, felt lucky to complete two QSO's on 40. Weak signals with QSB. 73 Walt

NØAR
Good grief. Put in an hour and worked everyone I heard. 72's to all. Scott NØAR nr. St.Paul, MN