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Wednesday, October 13, 2021
SOAPBOX: October '21 ARS Spartan Sprint
K7PD
Decided to try the KX3 turned down to 2 watts. British Columbia on 20 meters was not in the Sprint, Got WVØH, N9OHW, NK6A, AND K7TQ on 40. Antenna is 64 ft. center-fed doublet. Band apparently went south, I turned power up to 5 watts and got nothing new.
AB9CA
Had only about 45 minutes. Nearly made a Q on 20 with WB5BKL but QSB got him. Moved to 40 and logged 7 then seemed to run out of guys who could hear me. Logged NY GA NH VA ID CO TX. Went to 80 but was likely too early for anyone to be there. Rig was K3 at 5w to Inv Vee. Thanks for the Qs! Hope to hear everyone plus more next month! Dave, AB9CA
K4PQC
The WX here in N. Georgia was atrocious - flooding rains and raging thunder storms. All of the bands were noisy with static and lightning crashes. I could only work the loudest stations and, apologies to those who either couldn't complete QSOs or took multiple tries and time to complete - especially to WO9B and W5ESE that took multiple tries and finally with their patience we were able to make contacts. I heard John - K4BAI on 40 and 80 but was only able to work him on 80. I had to shut down my station several times because of nearby lightning strikes. My ARS Spartan Sprint station here is scaled down to a Steve Weber KD1JV designed ATS-3b with the case removed, ear buds, homemade paddles plus a 250mah LiPo battery supply. 72/73 to all and especially to those who had to put up with my multiple request to repeat either calls or info, Phil
NQ2W
It's great to be back on the air. I enjoyed hearing some old friends and making some new ones. I used my K1 to a temporary sloping 40m dipole fed at about 40 feet. WB9HFK won the strong signal honors this time around. All in all, I think 40m was in pretty good shape for this sprint...but that's the opinion of someone who has been off the air for more than 5 years! Thanks for the contacts. I hope to be back next month. Now, back to piecing this station back together. 72, Will, NQ2W
WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp or a 40M dipole. One QRO QSO removed from score. 8 states this month. Impressive QSB on 20M (Don, NK6A was 589, then 339 - called it 449 - AB9CA similar). Best signals: 20M - AB9CA, 40M - K4BAI, 80M - W5ESE. Doubles with AB9CA and K4BAI. Had fun.
K3JZD
Just used 40m. However I had a high noise level which covered some QRP signals. All I could accomplish were QSOs into GA and TX. Used my backup SOTA kit this time: FT-817 with a 16850 LiIon battery pack. Not really a lightweight station here, but it needed some exercise. 73 - Jody - K3JZD
K7TQ
I operated from the top of the Lewiston, ID grade which has a 2,500 foot drop off favoring the east and south. The cities of Lewiston, ID and Clarkston, WA are below at the confluence of the Clearwater River and the Snake River. Watching the cities light up as it got dark and radioing was a great way to spend the evening.
W5ESE
Conditions seemed pretty decent; 40m being the money band. Used the Omni VI and a 300' Horizontal Loop.
N9OHW
First Spartan Sprint in many years. 9 QSOs to 8 SPC's, calling from SCV in California. 2 QSO's on 20M and the rest on 40M. MTR-3B to a Buddipole. Battery was a 12V LiPo for 5W, but I later realized I could have saved about 6 ounces if I had remembered to use a 9V battery for 3W. Most memorable QSO was K4BEN, my college-aged nephew Ben whom I Elmered when he was in high school, calling from his dorm in Virginia via a remote ham radio in Massachusetts. Unplanned and a pleasant surprise! 73, Mike
WVØH
Eight 40-meter QSOs at 2Watts and 0.6056 pounds running my MTR4BV2 and a 7.2v (9v) rechargeable battery by EBL. My paddle is a single lever homebrew from a bamboo hamburger skewer wired directly onto a stereo plug shoved in the back of the rig. I worked WB4HMA on 7030.000 but a CQer came on and we tried to connect thru the QRM but had to move down a bit to complete the QSO and we finally made it. Whew! He was number 8 and nobody else after that. Thanks to all who participated and to KI6SN for doing this month after month. Much appreciated. 72, WVØH Myron
KE4I
Didn't hear many stations. I think this is my first, but I look forward to doing it again. Dennis
WB9HFK
Rig: Icom 7300 @ 5W; Antenna: Hustler 6BTV Gnd Mtd with 60 Radials.
K4BAI
QSOs by band: 40M: 14; 80M: 3. No stations heard on 20M here. Thanks for all QSOs. 73/72, John, K4BAI.
AA9RK
Ten Tec Argo 556, power cord, 5 ft of RG-213, MFJ-993B tuner. Bad QSB, but good QSOs. 4 watts into a dipole. 73 de AA9RK, Michael
K3RLL
RBN was giving good reports but signals seemed weak on 40m this evening, with the strong exception of W1PID. I think we had pipeline between PA and NH tonight. HIHI. Thanks for the contacts and for the Spartan Sprint. Always fun with great ops. 72/73, Don
Monday, September 13, 2021
LATEST UPDATES: The 2021 Adventure Radio Society FOBB Scoreboard
For an updated 2021 FOBB Scoreboard, click here.
SOAPBOX: September 2021 ARS Spartan Sprint
K4BAI
Pretty good conditions on 40 and 80. Not much activity on 80 though. No activity heard on 20M. QSOs by band: 40M: 16. 80M: 4. Thanks for all QSOs. 73, John, K4BAI.
K3RLL
40m seemed a little sparse this evening. After 20 minutes with no new Sprinters and having working all four stations heard, it is time to go dream about the old days, hi, hi. Thanks for the fun and nice contacts this evening. 72/73 .. Don
NØTA
All 40m. K3, doublet, GenLog
K4PQC
Bands were very quiet even though we had a lightning storm and heavy rain at the beginning of the SP. To lighten the weight I stayed on 40 meters using only one band filter and had fairly good results in calling CQ SP as well as S & P operating. The following is a repeat from last month: Rig here is scaled down Steve Weber KD1JV designed ATS-3b with the case removed. Before I was running it with the fully enclosed case. Quite a bit lighter now. An Altoids tin weighs about 1.2 oz. and my case made of very thin 2 sided PCB weighs a little less than 0.6 oz. I removed the case and weighed the transceiver, 3 filters, ear bud, paddle and 25o mah LiPo battery. Antenna is a 160 meter horizontal loop at 30' fed with 50' 450 ohm open wire, balun and 25' of RG-58 coax. Thanks for all the contacts. 72' de Phil, K4PQC
AB9BZ
Dialed my K2 down to 1W and made 2 contacts, thanks for the Q's, 73 ab9bz Dave
WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp or a 40M dipole. Only 40 minutes this time. Local t-storm got way too close - not to mention the QRN. Best signals: 15M - NK6A, 40M - WK8S. Only three states. Oh well, there's always October. Had fun.
Saturday, September 4, 2021
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 backcountry 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 distances. And they encourage the growth of a like-minded community of amateur radio operators who generously share their knowledge and experiences.
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.
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.
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.
Which 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 equipment they built from "scratch" - that is, equipment built from schematics.
Exchange
What Is the Weight of My Station?
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
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
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