SOAPBOX: September 2020 ARS Spartan Sprint

 

W1PID

20 meters was good to start ... NØTA in Colorado and WB5BKL from TX. I just didn't hear anyone else there. 40M was more active. It's always a Pleasure to work John. K4BAI in GA. He's a good operator and a real gentleman! Thanks all for the Qs. 73, Jim W1PID.

 

K3RLL
Nice to hear 40m alive and jumping this evening. Too bad there was this terrible QRN. (Half-hour passes...) Oh, that's the battery charger on my H-D. Duh!  Ran out and unplugged it and lost my frequency. Oh well, 9 nice contacts and almost a couple more.  Big signal tonight into FL was KE5JP - booming in.  Great fun and lots of familiar calls. Best hearing award goes to NØTA tonight. How he heard me, I'll never know.  72/73 ... Don

 
WB9HFK
Only worked about the first hour this month. See everyone next month! 73, Mark, WB9HFK
 
NØTA
Worked for an hour - most Q's in a long time. 13 States! Thanks! K3 @5w and a Doublet.
 
K9DRP
Used the Argo V tonight with a bug (bug really adds to station weight). 40 was the only game in town!  John, K4BAI did net me one contact on 80. KØZK had a great sig into ILL. TNX to K2PQ for sticking with me until I got his call right. Let's do it again next
month! 72  Don, K9DRP
 
KD5KC
11 contacts total, worked 9 on 40m, 2 on 80m, I could hear sigs on 20m, but no one calling CQ-SP.  CO-GA-IL-KS-ME-PA-TX all logged.  Condx were very noisy on 40m and 80m. This is a far cry from the undefeated record I set in July of 2014 with 206.1 QSOs per pound … but a career move takes a lot of nights away. Retirement is on the horizon. Perhaps I’ll be able to participate more soon. 11 QSOs / 30 pounds = 0.3667 QSOs per pound. I need to take out the little portable radio again. I did get it fixed after the Great Dane puppy ate the super-light-weight case. It is even lighter now, certainly competitive.
 
K4PQC
This month's conditions were much better than last month. Weather was clear and no storms so 40 meters was fairly quiet. My new 200 mah LiPo battery arrived in time for this month's Sprint so my rig is a little lighter by over 0.4 oz! I might be able to shave a little more weight by removing some wire and little used components and excess solder. I am using my trusty 160 meter loop or rather a modified rhombic without the terminating resistor @ 25'. Interesting that I didn't hear another station from GA. The picture is my rig with the cover removed.
 
K5MUG
Little better today, doubled my tally from last month. Signals still very weak tonight, had to work a little longer and dig a little harder. Dropped a few ounces for this month, my Elecraft Kx3/paddle started losing ground connection just before the August Sprint and I had to use an external paddle. A short tedious repair last week and it's in proper order and working well this month. Great group of folks tonight, thanks to all. Take care and stay well! Cray / K5MUG / San Antonio, TX
 
N4SO
Total contacts from Alabama: 10, all on 40 meters, with the best DX KØZK, Lebanon, Maine. Ken N4SO
 
W5ESE
Used the Omni VI and a 300' Horizontal Loop. Only made one contact on 20m, but 40m and 80m were in pretty good shape.
 
K4BAI
QSOs by band: 80M: 4.  40M: 21.  Total: 25. Thanks for all QSOs.
 
WA5BDU
Contacts: 8, Weight: 0.5 LBS, Power: 5 W, QTH: Arkansas. First time I've tried the Spartan Sprint in a long while. I wanted to get out the good old ATS3 again. Seemed like lots of activity. I stuck to 40 meters and used a 134' inverted-L. TU/73 - Nick, WA5BDU
 
WJ9B
I made a total of five contacts, one on 20m and four on 40m. Elecraft KX1 internal batteries and tuner, 1 watt measured output. Weight: one pound with batteries, ear buds, palm key. I used an 80m inverted V, apex at 80 feet and fed with twin lead. Lots of signals heard on 40m but few could hear my 1 watt signal. On 40m: I got a 229 RST from NK6A and 339 RST from KFØXV. Finally worked John, K4BAI, after many tries; NØTA had a strong signal and gave me RST 559. Three first-Mondays in a row, I am on a roll. 73, Will, WJ9B
 
K3JZD
Naked 40m QCX w/500 mAH LiPo Battery Pack running 4w with KØMBT 3D Printed Mini-Mini Key and Earbuds to a 40m dipole. Did anyone notice that there was a little QSB on 40m? Jody - K3JZD
 
WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp. Wow - propagation on 40M! One QSO on 20M, 3 on 80M and the rest on 40M.  Best signals: 20M - W1PID, 40M - KE5JP, 80M - W5ESE. Seemed like every other Op was named either John or Don! Had fun.
 
KFØXV
This was my very first Spartan Sprint. I work the 3pm to 11pm shift so I don’t get to Do many thing like this.This one happened to be on a holiday and I was off. I was able to get 9 states and 1 Canada, ONT. Hopefully I’ll get to do it again. I was able to work the full 2 hrs. KX2 @ 5 watts,  40/80 mtr Dipole. Joe/KFØXV