SOAPBOX: May 2020 ARS Spartan Sprint

K3RLL
QCX-40 & small LiPO: Not a lot of stations on, but I think the propagation "force" was active enough here in FL that most heard my peanut whistle.  "The Fourth Was With Me" tonight as even RBN heard me, for a change. (SMILE)  "Big Signal" was K4BAI who always hears me on the first call.  Thanks for the fun, and for so many good ears tonight.  72/73 ... Don

W5QLF
No signals heard on 20 meters. 40 meters was quite active here in South Texas. One contact was made on 80 meters. For such a slow beginning, I was surprised at the amount of activity that showed up at about 9:00 pm CDT. I enjoyed all the contacts. - Joe, W5QLF

WB9HFK
Rig: Icom 7300 @ 5W, Antenna: OCF Dipole, Weight: 30 lbs. I only operated for first hour. The QRN here in IL was pretty bad this evening. I know I just could not pull out a few callers, unfortunately. 73/72, Mark - WB9HFK

NØTA
14 Qs, 30 lbs. 3 on 20m, the 11 on 40m. Quit a little early. First time I've worked KI6SN! Thanks for the Qs.

K4BAI
QSOs on 20 tonight; 18 QSOs on 40 including KI6SN; 2 QSOs on 80. Heavy static on 80 and only worked two stations in FL from my GA
QTH.  72, John, K4BAI.

NØZIB
This was my first Spartan Sprint and I could only operate for the last 45 minutes. Running 4 watts my farthest QSO from Missouri was NY at 814 miles.  Pretty happy with that.  Running QCX with the micro switch keyer, small battery and a qrp kit tuner. Looking forward to the next Sprint. 72s 


W5ESE
Used my AT Sprint 3 (2 watts), whiterook MK-44 paddles and walkman type earphones. Had a couple of nice ragchews in the mix. 73 - Scott

K3JZD
40m Naked QCX - 2/3 AAA NiMH Pack - 3w - 40m dipole - KØMBT 3D Printed Mini Key. Jody - K3JZD

K7PD
First time in the Sprint in quite awhile - I miss the days when it was crowded. One contact on 20 meters - XE2M in Mexico wasn't in the Sprint. 3 contacts on 40 
2 "Sprinters" KI6DS and AA6XA. One "Non-Sprinter". Used an N6HCN ATS-4 and 8 Rechargeable AAs - About 4 watts. 2-Band End-Fed Half Wave. 73, K7PD

KB1M
20 seemed to die very quickly after the first 15 minutes, but was rewarded with 3 Q's and 40 yielded 5 QSOs, total of 5 states worked. Worked  K4BAI and AB9CA  on 2 bands, also heard NØTA on 2 bands but not worked. Thanks for the fun evening, stay well!  72/73 Walt

KS4L
Brought out my 20+ year old K2 @ 5w into my multi-band EF antenna in the backyard trees. Fair conditions on 40. Nothing heard on 20. Nothing but static on 80 from approaching storm. Tnx for the QSOs!

W5ACM
It was fun to make some 20M contacts this month, but the QSB was difficult. All of my contacts were on 20M or 40M. I listened for a bit on 80M, but the noise level was very bad. After the first hour my two 170 mAh batteries in the ATS3a were still going strong. They are getting close to the end of life, but I will run them until they start puffing up. No complaints! 72 de Andy W5ACM, Houston, Texas.

KI6SN
Worked 40 meters and had a blast. TS-140 running 5 watts to an inverted V at 15 feet. Many thanks to John, NØTA; Delbert, K7PD; and John, K4BAI for pulling my signal out of the noise. We really appreciated K4BAI's May SP announcement on QRP-Lreminding ops about the first-Monday event. 73, Richard, KI6SN, Riverside, CA