Saturday, December 10, 2011

Results: December '11 Spartan Sprint


For an enlarged view of the scoreboard, click on the image

Soapbox Comments: December '11 Spartan Sprint

W1PID
ATS-2 at 3W with OCF dipole. Operated 30 minutes.


K3RLL
Bad QSB and weak signals here tonight. Tnx to all who pulled me through the noise.


WA5BUC
Glad to hear some Sprint activity on 40 and 80. Worked K4BAI twice (40 & 80), N4BP on 40, and K5JHP on 80. Then moved down to the low end of 40 and worked 4O3A Montenegro. Guess the band was long tonight. Usual setup: FT-817 to a 66' end-fed inverted "L" at about 25'. Merry Christmas to all and best wishes for a better 2012.


KB1OOO
Elecraft K1 Running 5W into a ZS6BKW up 60ft From N. Conway NH.  All contacts on 40m.


W5DPT
40 meters sounded strong. worked WB0GKH AND K4BAI. Running into a ladder line fed doublet through the 989D tuner from the yeasu 897d. early to bed for work but had fun for 40 minutes.


N4BP
Single-band 40M for about 30 mins.  Started with sked with K6JSS/7 (op AC7A, AZ) to fill in 49th state in ARCI Jubilee. Couple of QSOs later, UR2 called me with big signal.  Condx were outstanding, those few that I did work had tremendous sigs, most an honest S9!


K4BAI
FT1000MP, 5W, TH6DXX, dipole, inverted vee.  15 and 10M seemed dead.  20M was long with very loud signals from Asiatic Russia over the pole.  Worked NK6A on 20M and heard no other sprinters there.  40M was relatively short for a few minutes and then went long.  Nice to work the QRPARCI anniversary station K6JSS/7 in AZ (AC7A operating).  80M was quite good and I worked KE7LKW in AZ there.  Only DX was VE3EDX on 40M.  QSOs by band:  20: 1.  40: 20.  80: 8.  Thanks for all QSOs.  Happy Holidays to all and hope for more activity in January.


KK5NA
Forty and eighty were both pretty good. Rig = K3 @ 5W; ANT = EDZ @ 55ft.


WB4MNK
Enjoyed the sprint and hearing some nice signals in the clear. Used the KX1 at 4 watts to a S9 31’ vertical. Band seemed to be in good shape here in FL. Thanks to all the stations that we made contact with. I heard a few in there but not well enough to copy so maybe we will be able to work you next time. Thanks for trying.


W5ACM
My ATS-3a is still on the workbench, so I continue to use the heavier ATS-3 in the Altoids box. Two minutes into the event my noise level on 40M went to S9+20 and 20M was almost dead. All THREE of my contacts were on 80M. Thanks to K4BAI, WB5BKL and a patient AB8CA. The two 650 mAh LiPo batteries in the ATS-3 need replacement (getting "puffy"), but provided 2.5-3 Watts even with plenty of "CQ" ops. I did get a chance to try a new pair of earbuds though. They are JVC RIPTIDZ model HA-FX8-A. They fit in the ears very well, are sensitive and were inexpensive. It's time to get serious with upkeep on my mini-rigs! Hoping for better conditions next month!


AB9CA
Rig was the usual K2 @ 5w to one of two 100' wires. Condx seemed to be fairly good. Neither QRN nor QSB was too bad. Tried 20 for a few minutes with no answers. Did hear K7TQ and NK6A calling but they could not hear me. Went to 40 and it was the workhorse - 20 contacts there. From NH to WA and CA. The band seemed to be in good shape. Made 6 contacts on 80 but it was noisy so that was tough. I want to thank K6DGW for hanging around while I had some difficulty. Just as I started sending to him my dit paddle decided to become intermittent. He hung around for a few seconds while I cleaned it a bit.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by and hope to see all of you, plus a few more, next month.


KD2MX
Condx seemed kind of lousy.  K1/5W to my all-purpose loop.


NQ2W
An OHR 100-A running 5W to a mini-beam at 25 ft for 2 Q's on 20 meters and a Ten-Tec 1340 at 5W to an inverted vee at 40 ft for 5 Q's. Signals weren't that strong in NY's capital region for this sprint. Seemed like a little bit more activity but the signals just weren't there.  Heard AB9CA on 40 a few times but he couldn't hear me. Hoping for better conditions and/or more participation next month. Thanks to everyone who gave it a go. Have a happy holiday season. C u all in 2012!


KB7MBI
In spite of the high 40-meter noise level East Coast stations had good signals into Seattle area. Rig used was Ten Tec Paragon II (1.8 KHz filter) running 5 watts and GAP Titan vertical.


WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5w to a 20m wire delta loop or the 40m extended double Zepp.  At least I did better than last month.  1 Q on 20M, 9 Qs on 40M and 4 Qs on 80M for 10 states. Worked AB9CA and K4BAI on two bands.  AB9CA had the strongest signal.  Thanks to all.  Had fun.


K7TQ
December Spartan Sprints always seem tough to me.  I have had 0 Qs in December in more than one year.  This year was a bit better, but it still followed the pattern.  20 was good for a short period of time, about 10 minutes.  It was good for ID to OK, NY, MI, and OH.  Then it took a while before I could get things going on 40 and by then it too seemed void of calls. All I could scare up was FL.  There is always next month.


N5GW
Rig is 15 yr old HB one watt xcvr for 40M by W1FB-xtal tx, dc rx (I call it the "kilomilliwatt") to HB tuner and CFZ. Expected QRN after recent rain front but band was quiet.



Friday, November 11, 2011

Results: November '11 Spartan Sprint

Soapbox Comments: November '11 Spartan Sprint

K7TQ
Started out on 15 m and worked TX and OH in 2 minutes then no one else seemed to be around.  On 20 m K4BAI found me, worked him, and moved him to 15 where he was weak, but readable.  So for the first 10 minutes, 15 m was open.  Went back to 20 m and had good time until 0225.  After that I could raise no one on either 20 or 40.  Finally, gave up at 0245.  Got K4BAI and WB5BKL on both 20 and 15.  A good, but short, time in the Nov. SP.


WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5w to a 20m wire delta loop or the 40m extended double Zepp.  Not a good night here.  7 Qs on 20m and 2 on 40m. Worked WB4MNK and K7TQ on both bands.  K7TQ had the strongest signal on 20m by far.  Nothing heard on 80m.  Thanks to all.  Had fun.


AB1AV
ATS-3 to 88' doublet up 55'.  Fun to get back into the Sprints, though participation seemed very light this time.  3 contacts on 40m, 1 on 80m.


WA5BUC
10 and 15 were dead at the start. Cruised 20 and 40, but heard no SP station. Called CQ on 20 a couple of times. Nada. Oh, well . . .


K4BAI
Not much activity this month.  15M was open at least to K7TQ in ID.  20M was long and I worked only MT and ID.  40M was also long.  80M was relatively quiet and open everywhere, but very little SP activity.  W5ACM couldn't hear me on 40M.  Heard AB1AV on 80M, but he was QRL and we had no QSO.  Worked everyone I heard in the Sprint and got several calls from others not really in the contest.  Thanks for all QSOs and let's have more activity next month!


NQ2W
An OHR 100-A running 5W to a mini-beam at 25 ft for 1 Q on 20 meters and a Ten-Tec 1340 at 5W to an inverted vee at 40 ft for 4 Q's. Worked WB5BKL on 20 and WA8PGE, W4VHH, K3RLL, and WB4MNK on 40. Heard K4BAI on 40 a few times  but he couldn't hear me. Hoping for better conditions and/or more participation next month. Thanks to everyone who gave it a go.


WB4MNK
Didn't hear many sprinters but still had some fun. Lots of DX on 40.


NY4G
I thought I would try the KX1 for a change.  It seems like there was not as may of us Spartans out there,  I did better in August with the K2.  The band noise was really terrible on 80m but I heard K4BAI calling CQ.  7030 was full of stations trying to call out to a DX station and so half my contacts were on 20m.  I thought the KX1 held its own - though wiithout a separate spot tone - zero beating was a chore but doable.  Thanks to all who participated.


K3RLL
Where was everybody?  40 Meters was hot but only heard 5 Sprinters.  Running early K2 to indoor dipole. 

Friday, October 7, 2011

Results: October '11 Spartan Sprint

(To enlarge, please click on Scoreboard image)

Soapbox Comments: October '11 Spartan Sprint

K7TQ
Had not been able to participate in an SP for too long.  Started on 15 m and got 3 Qs in short order.  GA and TX were the states.  Moved to 20 m after about 10 minutes on 15 and had a nice time working stations there until around 0130 Z.  20 was still open, but seemed most folks had already moved to 40 m.  I gave 80 m a couple of tries, but quite noisy here in ID.  Worked K4BAI, John, and WB5BKL, Nick, on 3 bands and several others on 2 bands. Lots of good strong Signals and a few weak ones as well went into the log.  Thanks to all who stopped by.

NK6A
could only put in an hour this time.

WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5w to a 15m 2-element delta loop, a 20m wire delta loop or the 40m extended double Zepp.  15m was open (apparently to the west) when I started, but I could only work K7TQ.  Tried to work K6CSL but he was almost exactly zero-beat with K7TQ and impossible copy for my old ears.  Sorry Bert.  Also made 11 Qs on 20m, 11 Qs on 40m and 4 on 80m.  Did end up working K7TQ on 3 bands.  Nice to hear increasing activity and some new (to me) calls.  Thanks to all.  Had fun.

WB5MNK
I want to apologize to the stations I could not copy but I had my filter set up wrong and did not realize it. I will do better next sprint. I had fun but was not very productive. Thanks to all the stations that I worked and the ones that called me but I was not able to copy.

NQ2W
An OHR 100-A running 5W to a mini-beam at 25 ft for 9 Q's on 20 meters and a Ten-Tec 1340 at 5W to an inverted vee at 40 ft for 4 Q's. I thought I was gonna break a record...the first few minutes on 20 were the best I've experienced in a quite a while...then reality settled in and the Q's became much more infrequent. Oh well, maybe next month. 40 was lousy, QRM and intermittent line noise made it very difficult copy (except K4ORD...he was loud). I'm thinking of adding some filtering to the 1340 and converting the main tuning knob to a 10 turn pot...we'll see if that's possible ... can't hurt. Thanks to everyone that heard me and thanks to the organizers. Hope to see you all next month.

AE7CG
Thanks to Randy K7TQ, Bob N4BP, Scott W5ESE, and Nick WB5BKL for QSOs. I ran 2 watts to a 10-foot high dipole. The Spartan Sprint was great fun. See everyone next month!

KD2MX
just had a few minutes to spend.  Nothing heard on 20, 40 was pretty good.

AB9CA
Fun, as always. The bands seems little punk but not too much noise. That was kinda nice. Rig was K2 at 5w to 100' dp. Worked NQ2W, NK6A, WT5RZ, W5ACM, W5ESE, and WB5BKL on 2 bands but no 3-banders. 20 seemed to be OK but few there, only worked 6. 40 was the workhorse with 26. And only 5 on 80. But it was good to hear Jay, AJ4AY, over in Mobile on there. We are so close it is hard for us to hear each other. Thanks go to the folks who do the work to make these happen. And thanks to all who stopped by . . . and hope to hear ya'all next month.

N4BP
Started on 20M, but band went belly up almost immediately!  40M was good, but not much participation.  With that fall nip in the air (only getting to the upper 80's now), 80M is almost usable and managed one easy QSO there with K5JHP.  Sure wish participation would pick up so I could sit in the chair for two hours instead of only one.

K4BAI
QSOs by band:  21: 1 (K7TQ); 14: 7; 7: 22; 3.5: 7.  We could have used more activity.  Band conditions were pretty good on 80 through 15.  Thanks for all QSOs.

W5ESE
KD1JV AT Sprint 3 (@3W 80m/40m, @2W 20m), with a 9.6V wall wart and Whiterook MK-44 paddles. Antenna is a 300' horizontal loop, fed with open wire line.  Good activity and conditions this month, although the QRN was pretty high on 80m. Will submit my log to ARRL's 'Logbook of the World.'

WA1ZCQ
Bands in poor shape during the times of this month's sprint. 40 was the only place I hear other station here in 1 land. Started late, 30 minutes into the sprint. First station heard was Jim - K4ORD-VA, RST 559, I received a 449. Listened around on 80 & 20 as well but no signals. Hung in there for about 60 minutes, no stations calling CQSP. Called on 7033.5 and 7044 with no luck. Station: 703 @ 5W with 60' indoor wire, inverted "L" configuration (approx: 22' flat-topped, 38' vertical) Total station weight: 703 + NiMH battery pack + Whiterook paddle + associated wiring/cabling = 5 lbs.

WT5RZ
Wow, what a fun night. 20 started out jumping with 6 quick contacts. @0 seemed to get quiet very quick so I shifted to 40 for another 14 contacts. I tried 80M a couple of times, but only logged 1 lone contact there, W5ESE. Somehow W5ESE and I managed to contact one another on the 3 bands. Had a good time!

WØPQ
K1 (5 WATTS) G5RV


W5ACM
I started on 20M with six excellent contacts, and would have liked to stay there, but the crowd thinned out early. There was still plenty of activity on other parts of the band, and conditions were reasonable. For me, 40M sounded very noisy and I only got one QSO - AB9CA. Surprisingly, 80M was better and I had some good contacts with AB9CA, WB5BKL and W5ESE. Overall, it was a fun event! My ATS-3A is still on the workbench - so once again, the ATS-3 that I built in 2004 was pressed into service. Since it has MUCH larger (and heavier) batteries, I can call CQ as much as I can stand, so I did! Using this antique, Altoids entombed rig doubles my weight, but it is a great performer, and the keyer paddle - made from relay parts - is much easier to tame than the ultra-light-weight spruce paddle on the ATS-3A. I am getting to like this rig! C U next month!

K4ORD
Made 5 qso's on 20M, best dx WA, CA, 20 qso's on40m, best dx ID, MT, WA  and 2 on 80M. The QRN  was back on 40M, S7 TO S9 , some signals were strong and some weak. Rig K3@5W ant's 40M and 160M dipoles.   Thanks to all.

NØAR
Well this old "ham from Heath" got hooked on the GORC Heathkit Nostalgia Event, so out came the HW-8. Haven't used it in 5 years so was impressed that it fired right up. If you worked me it was on the old rig at a whooping 2 watts out. Nice to be able to hear most all of the contesters at one time. :)  Seriously it was just a blast working so many familiar calls. I hung in there until my ears hurt. See you all in the next event with my trusty K2.

AI4SV
Finally, a chance to shed some pounds -- Tonight the rig was my well-traveled TenTec 1320, a 2Ah battery, and Palm Paddles. The antenna was attic dipole. Almost all the calls came in the first hour.

K5JHP
Bands seemed long with SSB stations on 40. Hope for better prop condx next month.




Friday, September 9, 2011

Results: September '11 Spartan Sprint


Soapbox Comments: September '11 Spartan Sprint

NQ2W
An OHR 100-A running 5W to a mini-beam at 25 ft for 6 Qs on 20 meters and a Ten-Tec 1340 at 5W to an inverted vee at 40 ft for 6 Q's...the number of contacts on each band was identical to last month. Signals on both bands were not that strong. QRM, QRN, and QSB didn't help matters. Thanks to everyone that heard me and thanks to the organizers. Hope to see you all next month.


KD6L
Old call AD6WE - Glad to be able to finally participate again and give out Wyoming with my new call. Five watts Index labs QRP+  40 meter semi-horizontal delta loop . 12 contacts on 20, 6 contacts on 40.


N9BT
Power 5W, RIG is Yaesu FT-817ND, Antenna 40M dipole, band condx good. Sadly, I was inside.


AE4TC
Got a late start and had to QRT early but enjoyed it none the less. Worked 20 and 40m. 6 q's on 20 and 5 on 40m for a whopping total of 11 qso's. I was running an FT-817 with 5w into a 88' doublet up 45 feet. Thanks for the fun contest.


WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W and either a 20M delta loop or a 40M extended double Zepp.  Most Qs on 20 with a few on 40 and two on 80M. Was not able to work anyone on all three bands. Removed two QRO QSOs and one dupe from score. 16 states this time and several new (to me) calls. My thanks to everyone. Had fun.


K4ORD
Nice to have less QRN this month and 20M in good shape, got 15 on 20M, 22 on 40M and 3 on 80M . Rig K3 @ 5W ant''s were 40 and 160M dipoles. Lost power for 11 hours just 5 Minutes after the sprint was over, HI. Looking forward to next month's sprint.


WA5BUC
First Sprint in several months. Good to be back. Worked N4BP on 20 & 40. New stations this month were NK6A in California and K9FO in Illinois. Thanks to all.


WB4MNK
Started on 20 meters and worked two stations but band was not good so went to 40 meters which was noisy and most signals seem weaker than than normal. Had fun and thanks to all I made contact with. See you next month.


K4BAI
20M was quite good at the start with east coast stations and lots of CA/AZ stations.  40M was also fair and best DX was NK6A, W9CF in AZ, and W7OM.  80M was surprisingly strong with good signals from as far away as NY and TX.  We could use more activity, but the Sprint was fun.  See you next month.


N4BP
Summer static still prevails from local thunderstorms.  The Mich Labor Day Sprint overlapped the Spartan Sprint, so spent some time in both.  The SP had the greater activity. Worked NW2K on three bands.  Best DX W7OM in WA on 20/40.


NW2K
5W, matchbox, 80M loop at 30 feet.  20, 40, 80 (7, 21, 12 QSOs, respectively) in good shape with 80 being quiet here for a change.  I think I should have stayed on 20 longer.  Not usually able to participate because of a schedule conflict and thankful for the holiday.  Thank you for the QSOs and see you next time.


K9FO
Enjoyed the sprint!  Good activity and conditions on 40 and 20.  Rig:  Icom IC-703,  dipole antennas.  Thanks for having the test.


AB9CA
Rig was K2 to a field vertical - a 20' crappie pole lashed to a picnic bench. It was a 20m vertical with a load coil for 40. Nothing to use on 80. Still enough guys with good ears pulled me out to log 32 - 14 on 20, and 18 on 40. The crappie pole even made it to CA, AZ, and WA. Good ears out that way for sure. Thanks to everyone that stopped by. Maybe next month I can be a bit louder. Thanks to the guys who make these possible! See ya'all next month.


AB0CD
Used the realigned Heathkit HW-9 until I retuned the antenna. Then everything went dark. ??? Finished with the K2. Ran everything on 40 meters at 5W into an 88-foot doublet barely 20 feet up if that. Worked a few of the usual suspects. Fun mix with the MI QRP Club Labor Day Sprint.


WA8PGE
weight of my station included a laptop for the SDR. 20 started out well then died quickly, 6 QSO's there, best DX on 20 was NK6A in CA. 19 QSO's on 40, best DX on 40 was W7OM in WA.  QSO with W1FMR got clobbered by QRM, couldn't count it. Rig: SDR Softrock RXTX 6.3 into a 5w amp, Software was Rocky 3.6.


W9CF
I used my ATS4a, W5JH baby black widow and a radio-quiet switching wall wart. I only had a few answers to my CQs -- I obviously need a better antenna. I only heard stations on 20 and 40. My CQs on 80 went unanswered. Antenna: inverted vee @ 35.' 


K3RLL
I think we had more than a little competition from the MI QRP Club contest tonight and signals didn’t sound as strong as usual, but it was still fun. Thanks to Richard Fisher, KI6SN, his extensive staff and all those who make these ARS events possible.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Results: August '11 Spartan Sprint

Soapbox Comments: August '11 Spartan Sprint

K8AX
WA8PGE suggested I enter this event.  I followed that suggestion and had a great time.  Conditions on 20 were not great, so most of the time was spent on 40.  Here, most of the activity seemed to be around and above 7040 kHz.  Lots of activity was heard around 7030 kHz, but that included few if any contest stations.  Outdoor antennas are not permitted in my neighborhood, but I remain a good neighbor with a stealthy antenna and mostly operate with low power. Rig: Icom IC703+ set at 5 watts output. Antenna: Stealthy inverted L, 30 ft vertical, 40 ft horizontal.



W5ACM
I started on 20M and stayed there! Last month my ATS-3A developed a serious receiver problem. In other words it is totally deaf. The problem has not yet been solved, so out came the older and heavier ATS-3. It was built seven years ago in an Altoids box with a pair of 650 mAh LiPo cells, metal paddle, serious connectors, etc. The bottom line is that it is twice the weight, but very durable. After a little experimentation and re-education on its operation, I was on the air. The signals on 20M were not loud, but very easy to copy. Thanks to K7RE, W4VHH, WA8PGE and K8AX! I hope to have the ATS-3A fixed by September... We will see if that really happens... The power output stayed around 3 Watts for the duration with plenty of extra battery capacity for calling CQ.


NQ2W
Used my newly built OHR 100-A running 5W to a mini-beam at 25 ft for 6 Q's on 20 meters and my ole trusty Ten-Tec 1340 at 5W to an inverted vee at 40 ft for 6 Q's. The activity on 20 was kinda sparse even though I think it would have supported a lot of Q's - worked stations in IL, MO (x2), TX, SD, and BC. 40 was lively, as usual, and noisy, as usual, with propagation up and down the east coast. All in all, a good sprint and it's nice to have another band to play with without adding a lot of weight. Thanks to everyone that heard me and thanks to the organizers. Hope to see you all next month.


WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5w to a 20M wire delta loop.  I guess everyone was tired after the FotBBs on Sunday. All contacts on 20M and most from the midwest - except K7RE's nice 1w signal from South Dakota.  Tried 40M, but not enough 'oopmh' tonight for K4ORD to pick out my call.  Thanks to all.  Had fun.


KB1OOO
First time doing spartan sprint, lots of fun! Thanks to everyone for putting up with my keying, I was using my iphone app iDitDahText as paddle and keyer which I'm not as used to at 25wpm.  Station is K1 running 5w into a ZS6BKW up about 35' at my parents lake house on beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee, Moultonborough NH.  12 contacts on 40M and 2 on 20M.  I'll get the antenna up higher next time at my home QTH in N. Conway NH. 


KD4UKW
My first-ever Spartan Sprint. I only had a few minutes to operate from the shack at home, but it was great!  I made my first-ever 1,000 mi/watt contact with SD (1,277 miles, 1w both ways, on 20m), and my first-ever milliwatt contact (OH, 425 miles, 500mw).  I'll be back!  I ran a K2 on battery power to a 45' vertical wire.  Hmm, I need a lighter battery and a mini/portable key to bring down my weight.


K7RE
I only did 20M, as the thunderstorm QRN was unbearable on 40M and below. I used my Sierra and a Chinese li-ion battery rated at 8 AH, but probably yields more like 4 AH. I sure wish that we could scare up more activity.  I worked several 1W stations on the east coast, so propagation could not have been too bad. I alos was only running 1W out of the Sierra. Antenna was my 3 element ancient tribander.


WA8PGE
The night started out rather slow, I was not able to work (or hear) anyone for the first 45 minutes but things picked up towards the end of the event. I made 14 QSOs, most in the last half hour, more stations around 7.040 than 7.030. I worked 1 QRPp station: KD4UKW running 0.5 watts. Rig: SDR Softrock Ensemble (20,30,40m) into a 5w amp, Software was Rocky 3.6. Antenna: inverted vee @ 35'


K4BAI
I had looked forward to the SS this month, but got busy with the log for the US Counties QSO Party held last weekend and forgot about it.  Got on for the lat 17 minutes.  By that time, there were no SS signals on 20, 80 was noisy with no SS activity heard, and 40 was pretty good, but most of the activity was over.  Managed 7 QSOs from TX to NY.  Got K6JSS/7 in NV on 7031 just after the SS was over.  Thanks to NW2K for the reminder about the SS that I did see in time to have a little fun.  See you all next month for the whole two hours, I hope.  This weekend in NAQP CW, I will be signing W4AN single op from the WW4LL station.  Hope all of you will be active in that fun event.


KS4L
Nice to do a Spartan Sprint again.  Used my newly completed ATS-4 with my 80m inverted vee.  The ATS-4 was powered by a 3-cell (11.1v) LiPo battery.  All contacts were on 40m.  I quit about 0220 UTC.  Never heard anybody on 20 or 80, in spite of several CQs and listening several times.  There was a DX pileup around 7.033MHz that was LOUD at times!  Thanks for the Q's!


NY4G
First Spartan sprint for me.  Rig was a K2/10 with internal battery and a Palm Mini Paddle. Antenna was a G5RV.  Contest was a blast.  Started on 20m and found N5OE in TX operating QRP  and 20m was relatively inactive.  Immediately found K3RLL on 40 meters.  Soon the region around 7040 was ablaze with activity calling CQ SP.  I made most of my contacts there.  The prize was back on 20m.  SD was calling K7RE.  I have the devil of a time getting SD QRO and now I can hear SD QRP power - WOW!!!.  Thanks to all who participated.


K4ORD
Lots of S9 QRN on 40M again, made 1 qso on 20M and 13 on 40M,  Two stations called that I could not get out of the noise, one had QL in the call. Rig K3 @ 5Want 40M dipole up 40.' Thanks to all.


WB4MNK
Enjoyed the sprint as usual. Hope to see everyone next month. Thanks to all I made contact with. KX1 and S9 vertical 31'


W1PID
Very few on 20 meters even though I think the band was in good shape. Stations on 40 were strong ... especially K3RLL and WA8ZBT. I think participation is approaching the lowest I remember. I only operated about 12 minutes. I ran an HB-1A at 4W with a 65 foot wire out a second story window. It's kind of an emergency antenna, but simulates conditions in the field pretty well. Thanks to all for the QSOs.


K3RLL
FT-817 to G5RVjr up 40’ – Nothing heard on 20 or 80 here. Signals sounded weak on 40 tonight, except for K4ORD of course, but appreciate all those who pulled me out of the noise. Nice to contact WB4MNK back in FL from here in rural PA summer home. Tnx to all.


K5JHP
Hoping for better prop condx next month.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Results: July '11 Spartan Sprint

Soapbox Comments: July '11 Spartan Sprint

KD2MX
Have not played in a sprint in too many months.  Broke out the K1 for a good time.  Not much on 20M but did ok on 40M.  Could not stay around for the entire two hours though.  Ran K1@4W to my zig-zaggy ~600' loop up about 25-30'.

KH6B
Worked WB5BKL on 20 at 0255 utc  He was 559 into Hilo HI. His signal was 589 just before the end of the SPRINT. WB5BKL was the only station I could read 0100-0300. Others were heard very weak 0230-0300 with much QSB. I was using my K2 at 5w
and a R5 vertical. Aloha.

WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 20M wire delta loop or a 40M extended double Zepp. Called on 10, 15 and 80M but only made QSOs on 20 and 40.  Only worked K4BAI on both bands. Also had a QRO QSO, but didn't count that in the total.  Final contact was with Hawaii - that was pleasant.  No fireworks here due to the fire danger, so it was
a nice end to the 4th.  My thanks to all.  Had fun.

NQ2W
Went back to the homebrew Ten-Tec 1340 to a 40m inverted vee at 40 feet. This limits me to one band but reduces my weight by a factor of four. All in all, always a lot of satisfaction out of making contacts with a homebrew key, keyer, rig, antenna supports, and antenna. No complaints from this station. Thanks to everyone that made it into my log. Hope to see you all and more next month...maybe I'll have my OHR 100-A for 20 meters done by then.

K4ORD
Started on 20M had 8 qso's there from GA to WA, on 40M where the QRN was rough made 26 qso's with best dx AB0CD in CO. A few stations I was unable to copy in the QRN on 40M, nice to work John, K3WWP  in the closing seconds of the sprint.  looking forward to next month, tnx to all.

W5FBQ
4 contacts using HW-9  and 1 contact using FT-817  Butternut vertical w/radials.

K4BAI
FT1000MP, 5W, TH6DXX, dipole 40, inverted vee dipole 80.  Low bands were very noisy from local thunderstorms.  20M was fair, but needed more activity.  40 signals were strong with no skip zone. Worked two other stations in my state (GA). 80M: worked only N4DU on a QSY from 40M.  Hope for more activity next month. Thanks for all QSOs.  I will be W4AN in the IARU contest this weekend.

K1YAN
Thunderstorms, about 60 miles away, provided S9+ QRN on 80 and 40, limiting things to 20 meters. Propagation was not great but I managed to add 2 QSOs to my previous total. FT-817 @ 5 watts to a G5RV @ 30 ft.

W1PID
Operated about 20 minutes with HB-1A OCF dipole. Thanks all for the QSOs.

WB4MNK
20 was nice and quite but 40 was noisy so sorry if I was unable to copy you call but maybe next when 40 is not as noise. Had fun and was able to work K3RLL Don in PA who is responsible for getting me interested in this QRP CW stuff.

WD8KRV
Got in for the last 45 minutes on 20 meters.  Lots of local QRN due to storms.  Worked 1, but heard 3.

K3RLL
Limited time but nice to hear so many familiar calls tonight with pretty good conditions on 40 meters. Nothing heard here on 20 or 80.

K5JHP
K3 TO 20 METER EDZ  DIDN'T FIND TOO MANY STATIONS ON.  20 METERS WAS GOOD.  1 CTC ON 40 HERE ON THE TX COAST.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Results: June 2011 Spartan Sprint


Soapbox Comments: June 2011 Spartan Sprint

WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5 Watts to a 40M extended double-Zepp and a 20M wire delta loop.  Tried 15m with no luck.  Made 12 QSOs on 20M, 7 on 40M and 3 on 80M.  Worked N4BP on three bands and four others on two bands.  Nice to hear some new (to me) calls - Thanks to all.  Had fun.


NQ2W
Ended up going the tubby route this month. Used my Ten-Tec Jupiter at 5 watts with assorted accessories to a mini beam at 25 feet, an inverted vee for 40 meters at 40 feet and a ground mounted homebrew vertical antenna for 80 meters. The money band was 20 meters - I haven't operated 20 meters during a Spartan Sprint in a long time, if ever!!! Made a few Q's on 40 meters - about the same number as when I use my Ten-Tec 1340 homebrew. Was hoping to add some 80 meter Q's to the log but no SP'ers there - maybe next month. Thanks to everyone that participated and thanks to the organizers. The Spartan Sprint always makes for an enjoyable evening. Hope to hear you all next month. 


AA5CK
K1 at 5w into wire vertical. Too much fun!. Thanks to all!


AE7CG
Thanks to W5ESE for the QSO!


K1YAN
First Spartan Sprint. Only 5 Qs with a Yaesu FT-817 running 500 mW and a G5RV at 30ft. Lots of QSB on 20 and not many Sprint signals on 40.


W8YMO
Elecraft K3 near Cleveland.


N8WE
N4BP'S 20mtr signal was "BIG"!!! My power was 100 MW to outside dipole 12' high.


K9JWV
Ran 5 watts out of my ATS-4 to a new 43 foot vertical with an autotuner at the base.  Condx on 20 were the pits (2 Qs) but 40 kinda started kicking in about an hour into the event but it just wasn't that much fun the first hour with only 12 Qs so I pulled the plug.  Great to work Bob, N4BP, on 20 and 40, with the new antenna, especially getting a good report from him on 40!


W1PID
ATS-4 at 4W with an OCF dipole. Band conditions were pretty good. Best DX NK6A in CA and W7OM in WA. Highlight was working Bob N4BP on 3 bands. I miss the old spirit and the participation. Thanks all.


W5ESE
 Rig is a KD1JV AT Sprint 3 (@3W), with a 9.6V wall wart and Whiterook MK-44 paddles. Antenna is a 300' horizontal loop, fed with open wire line. 40m was the money band for me this evening. Was disappointed not to hear more activity on 80m. Will also submit my log to ARRL's 'Logbook of the World.'


WB8LZG
Operated 20m fer abt 1/2 hr of the sprint. Vy gud condx with good sigs. Even K1YAN wid 1/2 watt doing FB here in Michigan. I'm a bit on the "tubby" side this month, K2 powered by deep cycle marine battery, and solar charged. Not exactly portable, but getting ready for Field Day.


NK6A
K3 at 5W to a Force 12 and using a new to me Graciella Begalli paddle. A lot of QRN and marginal conditions in So. CA. tonight. A few Candians and one Hawaiian station from the back of the beam.


W5ACM
I started on 20M and stayed there with the exception of a single contact with WB5BKL on 40M and a single contact (once again) with WB5BKL on 80M. Conditions were not great, but acceptable. It was fun making contacts on 20M with NY, WA, CA, CO, OH, FL and LA. The antique vertical was working well and the 170 mAh LiPo cells did great, even with periods of calling CQ. The power output stayed around 3 Watts for the duration.


WT5RZ
Began the night with WB5BKL on 20M and he finished me up on 40M. In between, I had a contact with XE1MW, Carlos of Mexico, who I do not believe knew he was catching a sprinter, but who was nice enough to make the exchange. I hope he comes back and joins us.  Lots of noise at my QTH, everything seemed S7 or more, so passed many really faint signals, especially those ganged up in such a narrow range!


WØCH
It's been a while since I've worked the SP, but really enjoyed working the gang tonight.  Hope to participate more often in the future.


K4ORD
Worked FL,MN,CA on 20M, then to 40M where I had S7 to S9 QRN,best dx was WA, hope I got everyone that called. Thanks to all.


K6CSL
Surprised with KH6B in Hawaii on 15 meters.


KD6KC
Tough night.  20m yielded 2 contacts, 40m got me another 6, for 8 total.  My son has just decided that he is getting married, wonderful news. www.qrz.com/db/kc0wky.  He called on the phone and that took about 30 min. out of my time.  Still - the bands were rough.  I skipped over the stations running 100+ wpm and stuck to the guys around a sedate 15 wpm or so.  And I got to work my friend Jim in Utah.  Congrats to Ron WT5RZ - he beat me! Thanks to the eight who heard me.  Better luck next month, but I will be in Germany with an Alex-Loop.  I might give it a try - so listen for me at about 15 wpm.


WB4MNK
Had fun and 20 meters was working real good. Thanks to all that I made contact with and hope to see everyone next month.


NKØE
played for about an hour using my K1 w/internal lithium AAs running about 2W into a half-size G5RV along the side of the house. Used my mouse paddle and logged with GOLog on my Handspring Visor connected to a portable Targus keyboard. This is going to be my setup for FD this year and the Sprint gave me a chance to see how things would work. Condx didn't seem great but if I could hear 'em I could work 'em.


N4BP
20M was outstanding for the first 30 minutes.  QRN on 40M is getting potent as we approach summer in the SE, but many signals were well above the noise.  Even managed to squeak out a couple of QSOs on 80M.  Thanks for the Qs.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Results: May 2011 Spartan Sprint

Soapbox Comments: May 2011 Spartan Sprint

WB5BKL
K1 @ 5 Watts to a 40M extended double-Zepp and a 20M wire delta loop.  Since the K1's little tuner cannot get a good match on 40M, I operated only on 20M.  It appears that everyone migrated down after about 0145Z.  I only made two additional QRP QSOs in the last hour.  I did make several additional Qs with QRO stations (20 to 100W) but they are not 
included in my total.  The 20M delta loop has directivity NE/SW so it is nicely effective northeast of Texas.  Had fun.


WA8HSB
This month business took me to Forsyth, GA.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get my W3EDP up as high as I would have liked and I got started late but, it was fun playing with my ATS3 again!  Thanks to all who dug my 2W out of the noise.  See you next month.


K4ORD
Started on 20M,band was open but only made 2 qso's , then on to 40M where I made 21 more, then to 80M where I made 4. Heard a WA8??? on 40M but unable to get his call, had a noise level of S7 to S8 and about the same level on 80M. Until next month.


NQ2W
Ten Tec 1340 to an inverted vee at 40 feet. Seemed like quite a bit of actvitiy again this month. There were a lot of stations, not just ARS Sprinters, in our bit of the 40 meter spectrum. I seriously considered going tubby and firing up the Jupiter to take advantage of its fine filtering...maybe next month I'll run an experiment. That's what happened with KD9KC...he was calling and I responded...I didn't get his state and asked for a repeat...then the QRM. NIL ... Hopefully, next time we'll complete the QSO...I hope you're not the same station I said that to last month. Hi Hi Thanks for a great event. I look forward to it every month. Thanks to all the participants and thanks to the organizers.


AI3G
Icom 756 Pro II at 5 watts, Hustler mobile vertical in attic.   Band conditions seemed better tonight than in the recent past.   Still a fun contest for a limited amount of time.  See you next month.


W5ESE
Used my AT Sprint 3 and 300' HOHPL. Terrible QRN from power line noise in wet weather on 40m. All QSO's on 20m this month.


W5ACM
I started on 20M. Conditions were not great, but acceptable. The first half hour was good for contacts with NG7Z, K4BAI and W4VHH. Then things slowed down a lot. I checked out 80M and managed a contact with AB9CA, but had far too much noise to continue. Back on 20M conditions were still good, but I only found two more stations. The grand total was six QSOs - five on 20M, and one on 80M. The antique vertical was working well and the new 170 mAh LiPo cells did great, even with periods of calling CQ. The power output stayed around 3 Watts for the duration.


AB9CA
Rig was the K2 at 5w to either the OCF dipole (E/W) or the 100' center fed wire (N/S), used both at different times. A fun evening. 20 did not seem to be too active with only 4 Q's early and one additional later - 5 SPC's though. 40 was the workhorse with 25 Q's and 16 SPC's. On 80, which was rather noisy but not too bad, managed 6 Q's and 5 SPC's. Thanks to everyone that stopped by. Worked K3RLL, K4BAI, K4ORD, K8CV, NG7Z, WA8HSB on 2 bands but no one on three. Somehow John, K4BAI, managed to hear me, and me him, on 20. That band is getting better! See ya'all next month! Special thanks to Richard and Chris and any others that do the work to make these fun events possible.


VE3HNE
First time on this sprint and hope to be back for the next one. Spent all my time doing S and P. thanks to all the stations that I worked. The rig here is a Yaesu ft-920 tuned back to 5 watts. Antenna on 20m was a Jr tribander up 30 feet, on 40m a dipole up at 27 feet. Will be looking forward to the next spring.


WA5BUC
Boy, what a night! The bands were a mess. I thought I had the wrong night. Then I heard AB9CA calling on 40. Made the Q. Worked KD5GM. Strongest signal of the night. Struggled to find stations working the Sprint. Went up and down the bands. Nothing until I found K4BAI on 40 late in the Sprint. Also heard AB9CA continuing to call for contacts. Not sure what his success was tonight, but give him an A+ for effort!


K6CSL
The bands were very good this evening. I had lots of fun with this one.


KD9KC
Not a good night as far as the sprint goes.  I worked a 12 hour shift, got relieved 1 hour before the start.  Fought traffic to get home, slammed down dinner...  my station was still in the backpack from our last SOTA outing.  Fortunately, the Li-Fe-Po battery was still fully charged. Started about 30 seconds late.  Worked 5 stations on 20m, then nothing.  Got one call on 40m, but he was sending about 50 percent faster than I can copy so I gave up and started CQing again.  Tried 80m, not a single signal.  Then I caught WT5RZ on 40m again.  He is 15 miles away, 40m was great.  We tried 80m and it was good.  Tried 20 with no success, but surprisingly 15m worked! 10m and 6m were not successful.  We were just going for 160m when we ran outof time.  I heard F3ND calling CQ on 40m, so it was either my neighbor or DX
tonight on 40m. I will be off in June - looks good for the sprint.  July will see me in Germany activating SOTA - no sprint for me that month.


WT5RZ
Arrived home from work real late. Conditions were noisy. I broke out the fat radio and started punching filters and noise reduction wothout much luck. The few folks I heard, would come, and then disappear; chasing ghosts. Tagged KD9KC, local, 3X! No threat from a fat man!


NG7Z
Finally had time to give the SS a full time effort. Started on 20M and worked John K4BAI right off the bat. Used the second radio to CQ on 15M but nothing heard. By  0142Z 20 more Q's were in the log. When CQing produced no new contacts, I spun the dial looking for new calls but none heard. Out here on the west coast, 40M isn't quite ready but worked it for one hour and picked up 6 more. I listened on the second radio between CQ's on 20M and 80M hoping to find more stations. Picked up NU7T on 80M for the only contact on that band. Was hoping Randy K7TQ would show up on 80M because I worked him on 40M. CQ'd on 80M for the last 15 mins while listening on 40M. Picked up K4ORD there for the final contact. Overall, I felt like 40M was not in good shape here. Great time had and thanks for the Q's.


K4BAI
20M was good with some close in QSOs.  40M was quite good with no skip zone.  80M was a bit noisy but got three QSOs there. By band:  20M:  13.  40M: 26.  80M: 3. Thanks for all QSOs.  Look for me from Bonaire PJ4/K4BAI May 24-31 and in CQ WPX CW as PJ4A.


WB4MNK
Another fun night of QRP cw. Will see every one next month.


WA8PGE
I was using my Softrock 6.3 RXTX SDR with my laptop running Rocky and a 5 watt amp, most QSO's were on 40, a few on 20. Antenna is an inverted Vee at 30' I switched off my amp towards the end of the contest and ran 1 watt and made a few more qso's on 40. This was my first log submission for any contest, it was a lot of fun.


KD5GM
Had a great time on the air. I only ran 40 meters since it is my current antenna. One of my 3 contacts was from Mexico City. My qrp was 5 watts since it is as low as the radio will tune. FT 897 to a vee at 30'. I'll be back again.


K3RLL
Nice to hear so many familiar calls and some new ones.  Thanks for pulling me out of the noise.


KB5JO
Fun and simple.


N8WE
Used VE7SL Tini Tuna Xmitter at 100mw to an attic dipole. Longest SP contact was NG7Z, WA. for 1957 Miles. QRPP is fun! Receiver- IC 735.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Results: April '11 Spartan Sprint

Soapbox Comments: April '11 Spartan Sprint

NQ2W
TenTec 1340 to an inverted vee at 40 ft. Seemed like there was quite a bit of activity and there were some stations I heard but didn't work because I couldn't get through the mini pile ups. I tuned away from them and, when I came back, they were gone. There was one station who called me and I just couldn't get his call because of QRN and QSB. Hopefully, next time we'll complete the QSO. For the most part, signals were tough copy but NK9G and K4ORD were FB into Albany. My homebrew paddle was acting up and made my sending less than acceptable - I apologize and hopefully have it adjusted for next month. Thanks to all of the participants and thanks to the organizers. Hope to see you all next month.


K5GQ
Rig ATS-3; 5w; Force 12 C3SS; 40' ; dipole for 40M. Audio was low on 20M but OK on 40M not sure what could cause that. Did not hear many stations on 40M.


WB5BKL
K1 @ 5 Watts to a 40M extended double-Zepp and a 20M wire delta loop.  I knew it was not going to be a good night when the K3 cratered minutes before the start of the sprint.  I had to scramble to get the K1 wired and connected -it was evident that I need both more organization and standardization around here.  The K1 (a 2-bander) did well on 20m but it did not like the 40M ED-Zepp.  I made 7 Qs on 20M and 4 on 40M (with a big miss-match).  40M seemed on the noisy side to me.  Oh well.  Had fun.


W9CJS
Tough night.  I guess most of us were watching the NCAA Basketball finals.  The storm front east of us made receiving difficult even with DSP on and the narrow filter in ... But, as usual I had fun.   K4ORD and K4BAI had terrific signals into the Chicago area.  Other stations were typically 459.


WA8HSB
This month found me in northwestern MS near Clarksdale on business.  Rig was my KX-1 @ 3 watts to my BuddiStick.  Was only able to operate for a short period and there was quite a bit of QRN and wind in the area due to the storm that passed through a couple hours earlier.  Thanks to all for making this a fun event!


K5JHP
Was only able to work 45 minutes of the contest. K3 transceiver, 20 meter EDZ on 20 and 40. Did not work 80. Be back next month. Condx seem to be getting better.


KIØII
30 minutes to play. 40 very noisy, did not try 80.


K4ORD
Was good to hear 20M open in the sprint, the QRN on 40M was very bad here at least S9, I may have missed some calls because of it. Listened on 80M but only heard QRN. I worked VE3MO and thought he said 5W, but he made it clear through the QRN he was running 500MW, HI. I missed the spring last month as I was building my new K3, it seems to be working great, now I have to get used to all the features, it can go down to 100MW so i can still do QRP with it. Hope to see everybody next month.


NK6A
20M sounded great for the first hour. Many stations in the log at 3W. The weather has turned to Spring so it might be time to head outdoors next month.


W5ESE
High winds in my area created unbelievable QRN.Rig is a KD1JV AT Sprint 3 (@3W), with a 9.6V wall wart and Whiterook MK-44 paddles. Antenna is a 300' horizontal loop, fed with open wire line. Will also submit my log to ARRL's 'Logbook of the World.'


K4BAI
20M was quite good at the start with good signals from New England, WI, TX, WY, and points west.  Unfortunately, I had a logging problem at the start with the computer (my fault) and missed QSOs with K5JHP and K5GQ, who were calling me (very sorry guys).  10 QSOs on 20M.  That band began to close here and I went to 40M. Signals on 40 were quite strong, but QRN was terrible.  A line of strong thunderstorms was just west of us and passed through here an hour after the end of the Sprint.  Think I pulled out everyone who was calling, but may have missed a few under the QRN.  28 QSOs on 40 as close as NC, AL, TN and FL and out to CA and ME.  Only DX was VE3EDX on 20M.  Activity seemed pretty good. Called CQ for a few minutes on 80M in the last 20 minutes, but heard no Sprinters under the very heavy QRN.  Heard K6JSS/5 in NM on 20 and 40, but don't believe he was in the Sprint.  Please join in the GA QSO Party this weekend. There are QRN awards for CW, SSB, and mixed modes.  Click here for details. It is our 50th year of GQP and we expect activity from all 159 counties.  I will be operating the KU8E/M station with N4DU.  Our call will be W4R/M and we hope to operate in 35 GA counties.  Work special one-by-one calls to spell out G-E-O-R-G-I-A for a special certificate.  Also special recognitions for any who (like myself) operated in the first GQP in 1962 and in this year's event.


W1PID
ATS-4 at 3W with 8AA cells. OCF dipole. Operated for about 35 minutes. Best DX: NK6A in CA. 20M kept dying and coming back to life. Thanks all for the fun.


WT5RZ
Worked KD9KC on 40 and 80, we tried 20M early and late, but that was just a no go. WC7S, I worked twice but only once counts, thanks though because he is my first Wyoming CW contact, and that made the night worth it! WB6BKL, I am sorry, I seem to really have a hard time on your call sign. I guess I better work on that some.


W5ACM
My ATS-3a does not tune 15M, so I started on 20M. I heard someone working WA5BUC here in town. I heard and worked many regulars, but also some new ones in Wyoming, California and Florida. It was very good, but about 50 minutes into the event, the battery voltage began to sag. I checked out 40M and 80M, but got only noise with some unworkable signals buried in the QRN. The grand total was eight QSOs on 20M. It was GREAT to get back on 20M with the antique vertical. I checked the batteries and found that the recent 190 mAh replacement cell was puffing up. This is not a good sign for a Li-Po cell. Both cells have been retired - one to the trash, and the other (still hanging in there) to the Li-Po collection. I found two new 170 mAh, 3.7 V Li-Po cells in the shack and have installed them. First I cleaned out old epoxy, removed excess solder on the power leads, and got it all together without shorting anything out. It is important to keep the weight down! We will see if these new replacements can perform next month.


KD9KC
Yaesu FT-817 @ 5 watts. I was able to get my station weight a bit lower this contest.  First, I pulled the internal battery pack, and used 3 A-123 LIFEPO4 cells in series externally.  They have a really high power density, and only weigh 3 ounces each or 9 ounces total.  Next, I picked up a little key on E-bay that only weighs 1.44 ounces.  The old key was 3.73 ounces. 20m=5, 40m=6, 80m=1.  Once again 40m was the band.  I started off on 20m, and made only 4 contacts - K5GQ, K4BAI, NK6A and W5ACM.  Good start.  On 40m, I quickly worked WT5RZ, K4BAI, NK6A, W5ESE and WB5BKL.  Not bad for 40m.  After fruitlessly calling CQ on 40m a while, I went to 80m.  On 80m, I worked WT5RZ.  Now, WT5RZ is a good friend, and he lives about 15 miles away.  That was it for 80m.  I went back to 40m and caught KI0II, then back to 20m and really struggled to get K4ORD.  Thank you James for trying on that one - it was rough.  For the last 31 minutes I called CQ everywhere - no others heard. I am on day-shift next month, so I will just make it home in time.  CU-all then.


WC7S
Was great warm up and fun to hear lots of friends, K4BAI - John Mr. Ears of Ga, K6CSL - Bert, Mr Patience of Ca, W5AJD and W5HNS and all the other great ops too. The radio is an AT4 with a 9v battery, and 720 foot of wire on 40 and a lonely vertical on 20. C U next time, with a serious effort... and a little radio. Thanks for all the fun.


WB4MNK
Had fun on 20,40 but QRN on 40 kept me from working 4 other stations. Just could not pull them through.


WA5BUC
Bands were noisier than I expected tonight, especially 40 and 80. Heard some activity on 15 before the Sprint, so started there. No response to my CQ. Then on to 20. 5 Q's there. My remaining 2 were on 40. Heard no Sprint activity on 80 tonight. 72's to all. Hope next month is better for us all.


AI4SV
I was running 5W to a ground-mounted vertical, more or less resonant on 40m. I've only participated since the winter, so this was my first time have contacts on 20m -- three of them towards the beginning of the event, two of them in Texas. Forty should be my strong band given antenna resonance, but in addition to my local noise there was some strong QRN. I poked down to 80m at couple points, but only heard one station calling. I called for the last 15 minutes or so, but no bites. I'm really looking forward to the next few SSs and hopefully some nice weather. I'm keen to try out my TenTec 1320 and for once weigh in as a skinny.


AB9CA
Rig was K2 at 5w to OCF dp at 40'. Quit after 30 minutes. The storms were too close and too loud. There was someone, W9C??, calling at the end but he was nearly completely drowned out by the noise. Figured that was an omen. Thanks to those who stopped by. 9 contacts on 20 and 5 on 40. 20 sounded good but soon ran out of folks who could hear me. 40 was much too noisy. Fun, if to short of a time. See you next month.