Tuesday, March 3, 2009

March '09 Spartan Sprint Results

Station Contacts Weight Pts. / lbs.




SKINNY


W5ESE 10 0.844 11.848
W1PID 5 0.9 5.555
N0AR 11 12 0.916
K7TQ 26 30 0.866
NG7Z 23 30 0.766
N7RVD 2 4.1 0.488
KE0G 14 30 0.466
WA9TZE 13 30 0.433
N1VWD 4 30 0.133
N0EAX 3 10 0.3
W1OH 1 10 0.1
WO5X 3 30 0.1




TUBBY


Station Contacts Weight Pts. / lbs.
K7TQ 26 30 0.866
NG7Z 23 30 0.766
KE0G 14 30 0.466
WA9TZE 13 30 0.433
N0AR 11 12 0.916
W5ESE 10 0.844 11.848
W1PID 5 0.9 5.555
N1VWD 4 30 0.133
N0EAX 3 10 0.3
WO5X 3 30 0.1
N7RVD 2 4.1 0.488
W1OH 1 10 0.1

March '09 Spartan Sprint Soapbox Comments

N1VWD

Icom 703+ Windom @ 35’ Modified KK-1 straight key. 80M was the best band again for me tonight.


W1OH
Pretty easy to score when you only make 1 contact! Looked on 20M at the start - nothing (and no PSK up at 14070, so band probably dead, at least here on east coast). Made 1 contact on 40M a few minutes into the sprint; heard a very weak W7 call that I couldn't quite make out; otherwise no other SP signals heard. Dropped down to 80M where nobody seemed to be SPing, but ran into a friend and had a 25 minute ragchew before calling it quits for the evening just before 0300z. Sounded like there might be a couple of SP stations on by then, but I was outta time. Rig here: K2 and 40M doublet.


N7RVD

Worked 40 meters from Mobile, AL this month. Conditions seemed good. Worked Ade, W0RSP, in AZ and Paul, NG7Z, in WA right away. Then nothing - 1-1/2 hours and zip. Heard W5ESE on 80 but he didn't hear me. Did I miss Monday Night Football or something else?


W5ESE
My radio is an AT Sprint 3 at 3 watts, Whiterook MK-44 iambic paddles, 300' horizontal loop, fed with open wire ladder line. 40 meters was long to the Pacific Northwest, and good conditions to the Midwest on 80 meters.


W1PID

5 Qs all on 80m with DSW 80 at 2 watts. Wow, that was a rough sprint. I operated for 40 minutes using the DSW-80 at 2 watts.Worked W4VHH NC; N0EAX, MO; K8CV, MI; KE0G, MN; and AK0M, IA. Thanks to all of you for patience.


K7TQ
A good evening at last. Had 13 Qs on 40 and 13 Qs on 80m. Seven of the 13 were on both bands. I gave 20M a 3 minute try at the beginning, but nothing.


NG7Z

Last time I did this “event” was in Nov ‘08 and only made 8 contacts. 18Qs on 40M and 5 Qs on 80M. Didn’t hear regulars K4BAI or K7TQ. AK0M was Q5 for most of the time. Made a late contact with WB5BKL who was cqing on 40M at 0337. Thanks for that one. Brian N7RVD was in IA for some reason. When I heard him calling I thought he must be running 2mw as his QTH is only a couple of miles away. Surprise to hear IA for the state. Anyway, a fun time this go around. Sure hope condx improve so more folks will get on. Equipment was 756P3, 2 el shorty 40, OCF dipole and inverted L on 80M and 5W.


N0AR
Conditions were pretty rough from St.Paul. K2 & 120' EFHWA. 10 degrees outside; 62 in. So it was a good night to stay in.


WO5X
Made a few contacts and had fun. I hope to make a few more contacts next time. Thanks.


N0EAX
This was my first sprint. I operated for 45 minutes on 80 meters and had a great time. I appreciate the great operators who pulled my signal out of the noise. My rig is an OHR 400 @ 950 mw. Antenna is an inverted vee. Conditions seemed good as all three contacts were 599. I will try it again next time; maybe get a few more in the log. Special thanks to W1PID for my first NH contact.



KE0G
Big Signals were W0RSP on 40M and KR4WI on 80M. 11 QSO's on 80M and 3 on 40M. 72 and CU next month.



WA9TZE
The rig here is a Kenwood TS-870 Xcver turned down to 5w. The antennas are two Alpha-Delta DX-A Slopers at 40' at center to 12' at ends on a 50-foot tower. They are selectable: E/W-N/S. The ground system is 36 radials of various lengths with a 4-foot ground rod on each end of each ground system I put heavy Epson Salts down twice a year for better conductivity. The beam on the top acts as a capacitive hat and does help with weak signals. Also correct use of DSP-IF- NR-AIP and correct settings for RF/AF controls are important. The bands were not to good - 20m had one QSO,with 6 QSOs on 40m and 6 QSOs on 80m. Best to all and look forward to next month.