SOAPBOX: 2016 October Spartan Sprint

K3RLL
I know I’m getting older but am concerned that conditions are not going to come back while I’m still around. (Sigh)  Many thanks to those skilled ops who pulled my call out of the noise on 40m & 80m tonight. 72/73 … Don

K4BAI
QSOs by band: 20M = 2; 40M = 17. 80M: 2. Only QSOs on 20 were in CA. 40M was good to W1/2/3/5 and 8. Both QSOs on 80M were in AL 1:45 minutes of operation. Thanks for all QSOs. Lowest power station worked was N3OO running 500mW. 73/72, John, K4BAI.

W3KC
Good to get in a few SP contacts after lapse. IC703 (5w) to a 90 ft doublet via a homebrew link tuner on 40 and 80. 72 Chas W3KC

KBØETU
Thanks to WA4ZOF & K4BAI for my first two contacts in years for the Spartan Sprint. Thought the bands were really noisy - hard to hear anyone. Nevertheless, a fun sprint. Hope to work more. 72, Phil

W5ACM
Not quite what I wanted, but it was fun! I had been listening to 20M earlier in the evening, and decided that it would be best to skip 20M and go straight to 40M for the event. What I found was certainly acceptable – very little QRN and a rift in the space continuum providing a pipeline to Georgia. Nearly half of all of my contacts were with stations in GA land. Everything else was random. I only managed one contact on 80M – K4BAI in Georgia… The ATS-3A was solid at 3W out for the two-hour period – no problems this month. Let’s hope for better 20M ops next time! 72 de Andy W5ACM Houston, TX EL29eq

AA4GA
Well...I thought about the Sprint on the way into work, and since it's been a while, decided I'd give it a go. I even gave the Sprint a little publicity on the NoGA QRP reflector. After an unfortunately long day at work I stopped at the store for groceries and a 9v lithium battery. No luck on the battery. Had a nice visit with Mrs. AA4GA, and we watched TV until about 9:15...but I figured a 15 minute late start wouldn't hurt much. Up in the shack, I put my rig together and discover that the power lead for my rig has a broken wire.  After an inordinate amount of time fixing that, I pulled out my old 9v Lithium, and sure enough, it's no good.  So, I dig in my SOTA bag for a small LiPO and come up with a little 950 mAH battery.  By the time I get it all put together and make my first contact, it's 9:47. I mostly CQ (I've got plenty of battery for it!) and plug away....by 10:28, I've made my last 40 meter QSO...so I QSY to 80 meters. I make one contact there and....that's it. Back to 40 for the last 10 minutes...I'd probably have had a better Skinny score if I'd never gone to 80. Oh well. All-in-all, lots of fun - I don't know why I don't work this more often than I do! Rig:  ATS-3b in Altoids tin, LiPO, Micro TeNeKe, cheap no-name earbuds to a 1/4 wave GP for 40 and 1/4 wave GP for 80. See you next time!

W5WIL
Heard K6EU on 20m but he couldn't hear my 1w. No other signals so moved to 40m and worked a few despite QSB. Back to 20m and worked NK6A. Back to 40m to finish the hour I had. Thanks to W4QO for diligence. MTR3 at 1w to 240' doublet. 73 ... Dennis

KB1M
Managed to work 4 states from N.H., Al., Ga., Tx., and Me., nobody was very strong, only one QSO on 20 mtrs, other six on 40. My thanks to the good ears that pulled my sigs out of noise. Hopefully there will be better conditions next month. 73/72 Walt KB1M

AB9CA
Unfortunately did not appear to be a lot of activity. Noise level was moderate. Ended up with 42 spots on RBN (mostly on 40) so condx seemed to be fair. Started on 20 and worked NK6A and K6EU in CA. Heard no one else. Went to 40 and worked a few. W5WIL was loud with his 1w from OK. Later worked another OK station, KV6Z, who was also loud. Must have had a good path from south AL to OK. Ended up with 11 on 40, 2 on 20, and 2 on 80. There were no 2 banders nor 3 banders. Most interesting Q of the evening was K0ZK, Arn, up in ME. He was right at ESP levels but very patient. Took a few repeats but we got it done. I did get lectured for 5 or 10 min by a guy from NC who said my QRP signal was so weak I would never be heard any anyone. I then proceeded to work OH NH TX TX NY MD OK and ME on that freq. Could have worked plenty more if there had been more activity. Thanks for the Q's and see everyone next month. 73 de dave, ab9ca/4

WB5BKL
K2 @ 5W to a 2-element 15M delta loop, a 20M wire delta loop, a 40M dipole or a 40M extended double Zepp. Back to using the re-aligned and updated K2. Quite a radio. Conditions have been uniformly poor here in central Texas recently. Worked Don (NK6A) on 15M then the band closed as if a switch was thrown. Only 9 S/P/Cs this time.  Best signals: 15M - NK6A, 20M - WA2FBN, 40M - K4KJP. My closest contact was Dave, AB9CA in AL. Had fun.

KB1M
Managed to work 4 states from N.H., Al., Ga., Tx., and Me., nobody was very strong, only one QSO on 20 mtrs, other six on 40. My thanks to the good ears that pulled my sigs out of noise. Hopefully there will be better conditions next month. 73/72 Walt KB1M