RESULTS: June 2018 ARS Spartan Sprint

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SOAPBOX: June 2018 ARS Spartan Sprint

K3RLL

Once again, I was beginning to think I had forgotten to connect the antenna, but then RBN was giving me fairly reasonable spots.  Okay, antenna must be connected (this time).  Well, maybe I have the wrong evening?  Nope, my buddy from NH, KB1M answered my plaintive CQs at 01:15.  Whew! Well, if we’re getting to NH, all is well.  And then, ever so slowly, bit by bit, things started to pick up until there were (count ‘em) EIGHT contacts in the log!  Wahoo! Thanks to the extensive, hard-working staff of A.R.S. and for the patient and skilled Spartan Sprinters, we had another enjoyable night here in low sunspot country.  Hope to have the good fortune to hear you all again next month and, ... bring a friend! 72/73 … Don

K4BAI

Missed the first 20 minutes and most of the 20M activity.station in MD,, but never his call and no answers to CQs on that band.  40M seemed quite good, but ran out of stations to work after 15.  CQs on 80M produced no QSOs. Next month I hope to do better. 73/72, John, K4BAI.

KØEAP

This was my second sprint and once again I had a great time. I seem to be stuck at two contacts since that is what I had in May as well. I was calling CQ using 1W and had no takers. But I did get picked up by the beacon and I had coverage coast to coast so that was good. I thought the bands were a little tough last night. 40m was very noisy for me. So honestly I was happy with my contacts in Indiana and Iowa. Can't wait for next month. 73 de KØEAP

WB9HFK

Rig: Icom 7300 @ 5W. Antennas: 40M - Gnd Mtd Hustler 6BTV with 60 radials. 80M - 150 ft. random wire. Lots of fun as always. Sorry to those I may have missed down in the noise.

72, Mark WB9HFK

W5TM

Thanks for the QSOs. Nothing heard on 80 or 20, no answers to CQs. Using K3s running 5 watts. Low dipole. ED GILLILAND

KD3FG

It's been a number of years since I've been active in these sprints.  It was a static filled challenging evening but I persisted for 10 S&P contacts in 7 states.  I started with a couple of Texans on 20m, moved down to 40m and worked 7 Qs, then finished on 80m with 1 Q.  Highlights were: a hat-trick with WB5BKL, working a very loud KB1M in NH on 40 (true 5nn!), and stumbling onto J32FIFA special event station on 40m (did not count this in my total and I spent too much time trying to grok that callsign!).  I was uber-tubby with my K3/P3 combo and my 150m horizontal loop.  Next time I'll try calling CQ and maybe skinny ops on the back porch.  72, Jon, KD3FG in MD.

KFØN

Used an ATS-3 and T-1 Tuner. After a rather slow start, things picked up about 0122 Z.  It was nice to work Eric, KØEAP. Nice signal from that K-3, Eric. I hope to see you often in the coming months. 20 meters seemed to be open to parts of the US but no activity.  The beacons on 14.1 MHz indicated good openings to both coasts but I guess everybody assumes the low flux numbers mean no propagation.  40 M was the place to be. Conditions were quiet here for June, but July and August may be another story. Many thanks to the “regulars” who passed through my little ATS-3’s front end. I hope to see all of you in July. Larry, KFØN

N5GW

I was using my K1 at 2 watts with internal ATU, 800 mAh Lipo battery and CFZ. Started out on 20M but didn't hear any sprinters. Moving to 40M, things picked up a bit but the skip was rather short. Couldn't try 80M because I had the 40/20 board installed.

KB1M

On 20 only heard a few letters but no complete call signs. QRN on 40 was a steady S3-4, not optimum conditions but a lot of fun just the same! 10 QSO's for 10 states. 72/73, Walt

WB5BKL

K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp or a 20M wire delta loop. Only 8 states this time. Best signals:  20M - KD3FG, 40m - W5TM and 80M - KD3FG again. Jon was not only my only multiple contact (3X) but also my only contact on 20 and 80M. As always, my thanks to all. Had fun.

AB9CA

Had only 30 min tonight. Started on 20 and got 1 RBN spot and 2 Q's. Moved to 40 for the remainder of the time. Got 3 spots and 9 Qs there. Only 2-bander was W5QLF. SPC's on 20 were TX MN. On 40 they were IA MN IL TX NH MI MS GA GA. Nothing further away than TX. The bands did not seem to be in very good shape. I had worked some SOTA stations during the day and they were very weak. Just poor condx it seems. Rig was K3 at 5W to 56' Inv V at 40 ft. No wire for 80 right now. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and hope to hear all of you plus more next month! 73 de dave  ab9ca

NW2K

9 on 40 and 1 on 80. 9 states.  Dipoles on each band, up 40'.  Kenwood 590s at 5w.  72, Dean

SCOREBOARD: May 2018 ARS Spartan Sprint

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SOAPBOX: May 2018 ARS Spartan Sprint

W1PID

Nice... some activity. On 20M I worked K4BAI in GA and WB5BKL in TX. I couldn't scare up anyone on 80M, but I quit after 40 minutes. Thanks, guys for the Qs. 73, Jim W1PID

K3RLL

If it wasn’t for KB1M and K4BAI, this old Sprinter would have gone to bed empty-handed. Tuned around, listened and called.  Called, Tuned around and listened. "Where oh where did all the sunspots go? Far, far away.” My thanks to Walt and John for confirming that all the time spent erecting an even stealthier HOA-antenna was not totally in vain.  72/73 … Don K3RLL

NA4SO

Enjoyed - I am rockbound (crystal) to 14.058 but I heard Nick and made contact.  Not easy.  Think I will build a 40 meter and aN 80-meter Rockmite for fun. Thanks for the contest. 72, Ted

K3JZD

I needed 15 more NH stations to be participating since it was 599 both ways into NH on 40m tonight. Jody - K3JZD 

K4BAI

All three bands, 20, 40, and 80 were in good shape. QSOs by band: 20M: 7; 40M: 19; 80M: 4. Thanks for all QSOs. This is the best QSO total in some time. Hope we can do even better next month.  73/72, John, K4BAI

K5RRR

10 contacts (K4BAI x2, KB1M, AB9CA/7 x2, NK9G, KF0N, NW2K, WB5BKL x2). Last minute decision to operate from W5RRR for this month’s Spartan Sprint, but used my KX3 instead of the shacks rigs. Most contacts made on 40m even though 20m was in good shape. No one heard on 15m although strong FT8 signals heard up the band. A fun couple of hours! John, AB5SS

NW2K

1 on 20; 13 on 40; and 4 on 80. 13 states. Dipoles on each band, up 40'.  Three Beverage antennas, without which I would likely have zero QSOs!  Kenwood 590s at 5w.  72, Dean

NØTA

Started late, and quit early! Thanks for the Q's!

AB9CA/7

On the road for this event. Out in AZ land. Ant was vertical for 20 and Inv-L for 40. No antenna for 80. Ran the FT-857 at 5w. Started on 20 as it is full daylight here at the 6 p.m. start time. But made only 2 Q's and got only one RBN spot there. Then moved to 40 for the rest of the time. Ended up with 12 Q's total. W5RRR was the only 2-bander. SPC's were PA & TX on 20 and GA OR NY TX (3) CO AL CA (2) on 40. Thanks to everyone who heard my puny signal! Hope to see all plus more next month.  dave, ab9ca/7

N5EM

Nothing on 20M, but 2 Qs on 40M. 72, Ed - N5EM

WB5BKL

K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp or a 20M wire delta loop. 10 states this time. Best signals:  20M - WA7OJY, 40 and 80M - W5RRR. Toughest was K6CSL - Bert and I had to really work at 

it. John at W5RRR was super strong here in the Texas hill country. As always, my thanks to all. Had fun.

KFØN

Things were rather slow this month. I almost went QRT in the first half hour but then activity picked up somewhat. 20 meters was pretty much a wash with only one contact with K4BAI. Thanks John!  For some reason, there didn’t seem to be much activity on 20 meters. I listened for the beacons on 14,100 kHz and 4U1UN was very loud, so I thought the band should be open to the east coast, but not a signal except KB1M who was very weak. I called but no joy! Sorry Walt, but glad we connected on 40. Forty meters was the best place to be but a line of heavy thunderstorms in North and South Dakota made for rough copy on this end. Thanks to all who participated. It was a fun evening in spite of the slow start. 72 and 73 to the gang, DE, Larry, KFØN

KØEAP

This was my very first Spartan Sprint and I had a blast! Even though I only made two contacts during my 75 minutes of operating I was pleased with my results. I was running 1 watt of power the entire time. I called CQ on both 20 and 40m for most of the evening and when I wasn't getting any takers I went out a found a couple stations to work. One in GA and the other in WI both came back to my call. Overall it was a fun night and the weather was perfect in Minnesota to spend an evening outside playing radio. I can't wait for June! 73, Eric, KØEAP

KB1M

11 Qs for 8 states over a wide geographical area, generally low to fair signal strength, QRN, QSB. Any night working familiar and first-time worked QRP stations is a good night. Thanks for the QSOs. 72/73, Walt

WB9HFK

Fun as always ... See everyone next month! 72, Mark WB9HFK

RESULTS: April 2018 ARS Spartan Sprint

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SOAPBOX: April 2018 ARS Spartan Sprint

K3RLL
For a while there, I thought it was only going to be KB1M and me on 40m, but things really picked up after the quarter hour mark. Nice to hear some strong and clear signals down here in FL tonight.  The band was changing around however with strong other signals quickly coming up on frequency and then suddenly gone.  But it was a good evening with lots of familiar calls and some not heard in a while.  Happy to meet my goal of ten contacts and still have time to go for a walk on this beautiful FL evening. Thanks for the enjoyable CW.   72/73 ... Don

N4HAY
I worked Jim W1PID. Jim answered my general CQ. I was unaware of the SP so I worked Jim running 12W. I then realized that the SP was in progress. This brought back many many memories of days gone by when I was an avid SPer. Such great memories. Condx were quite decent on 80m and I worked the last 40minutes of the contest. Ran a K2 into an inverted Vee doublet up 45Ft with 5Watts. I need to get skinny hi! Many thanks 72 de Dick N4HAY

K4BAI
20M was open at the start, but only QSO was with WB5BKL. Time to start listening to 20M as it will be staying open longer after dark. 40M was good, but skip was long and didn't find any pacific coast or northwest US stations.  14 QSOs on 40.  Could hear a weak AB9CA, but Dave couldn't hear me calling him.  80M was also fairly good.  6 QSOs with TX, IA, MN, NC.  WB5BKL worked on 3 bands.  Thanks for all QSOs. Look for the GA QSO Party the second weekend in April. KU8E and I will be in the GA and FL QSO Parties as W4AN/M.  73/72, John, K4BAI.

N5GW
I was using a microkey with my K1 on an 800 mAH Lipo battery; the internal antenna tuner loaded a CFZ ant. I was thrilled to hear so many participants; in recent sprints I was becoming discouraged by the paucity of sprinters. Also 40M band condx were good. Couldn't get on 80M without having to change boards. Maybe 20M will open next month.

KB1M
A slow start on 40M, not many sprinters heard, then the band seemed to pick up in the second half hour, weak signals except for the digital QRM. 8 QSO's for 7 states.  A fun evening thanks for the Q's. 72/73, Walt      

N5EM
Nothing on 20M, but 5 Q's on 40M,  despite the very deep QSB.  No antenna yet for 80M. 72, Ed - N5EM

W1PID
Thanks to NØAR, N5GW and N4HAY for QSOs. 72 Jim W1PID

W5ACM
I was happy to get 9 QSOs this month: 7 on 40M and 2 on 80M with K4BAI and WB5BKL. Conditions on 80M were typical for me, i.e. lots of QRN, so those two contacts were hard fought. Things were superb on 40M. The noise level was low, and at one point N5GW with 2W from Mississippi sounded like he was in my back yard. WOW! The bad news was the QSB on 40M. You could almost call it violent at times, but when it was good, it was very good. The ATS 3A transceiver running 3W to the ancient vertical did fine. Next time I swap batteries, I am thinking of adding one cell to up the power level a bit. 72 de Andy W5ACM, Houston, Texas.

N9YO
Was able to operate for 1 hour. Great little contest I haven't done it for over 10 years! Glad to see it still going on. KX2 Radio

KFØN
An enjoyable evening indeed!  Things started a little slow here, but more activity picked up around 08:30 pm local time.  There were some weaker signals that I thought I heard calling, but I simply couldn’t  pull you out of my local line noise.  A leaky insulator consistently puts out an S-5 to S-7 racket about a block away from my QTH.  I apologize for this, but the little ATS-3 doesn’t have a noise blanker! My little toy poodle, Muffin, complained vehemently the whole time I was in the contest.  You see, her “Daddy” wasn’t in the living room watching TV so she could crawl up in the chair with me and go to sleep!   She raised no small amount of external QRM!  During the next contest, I think she will be temporarily locked in the bathroom! 80 meters was punctuated by a thunderstorm in progress in southern Illinois, but I made three more contacts there.  Thanks to K4BAI, WB5BKL and N4HAY whose operating skills pulled me out of their ambient noise. Many thanks to all who made the contest so much fun. 72’s and 73’s, Larry, KFØN

WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp or a 20M wire delta loop.  13 states this time - but nothing west of UT. Best signals:  20M - N5GW, 40M - N5EM, 80M - WA8ZBT. Got a 3-bander with John, K4BAI.  Nice to hear always strong N5GW again. This was my best outing since April of 2016. I don't know if it was better propagation, more participants, my refurbished (and higher) 40M edZ or enthusiasm about completing the antenna work - but I will take it! My thanks to all.  Look for me in the TSPOTA this Saturday. Had fun.

NØAR
With the longer days the conditions seem to be getting better up here! Worked K4BAI and WØITT on both 40 & 80, that was nice. This is the third month in a row that the Sprint brought a winter storm to my qth. Unlike the past two there wasn't much lightning activity but we still ended up with 9" of ready to shovel snow! Any bets on the May run?   73 All - Scott N0AR  near St. Paul, MN

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