SOAPBOX: November 2022 ARS Spartan Sprint

 K3RLL

No luck being heard on 20m and not a lot on 40m but still worth every penny I pay for the right to play on the monthly Spartan Sprint. HIHI Big signal into Florida tonight was from 2 watts out of North Carolina. NC4RT must not be using my wet string antenna! 72,  Don

WB9HFK

Icom 7300 @ 5W, 40M - Hustler 6BTV Gnd Mtd with 60 Radials; 80M - End Fed Wire - 150 Ft.; Weight: 30lbs

AE4GX

Started on 40 meters and made my 5 contacts all on 40 meters during the first hour. Another contest took over the QRP 7.030 mHz frequency. All signals were 559 or weaker. I tried 80,20 and 15 but heard no one during the first hour. Used my ICOM 756  this time with EFHW on 20 , W3EDP  84 feet sloping north-south for 80/40 and attic fan dipole for 15 meters. Will try some lighter weight gear next time.

NA4O

I heard stations on 40M only, a noisy band with QSB. I pulled out 3 stations. My station running 2W from a KX2 with internal tuner powered by a 4.5Ah LiFePO4 using a CW Morse Micro Code Key weighed in at 2.375 lbs.

NC4RT

All contacts on 40m. I called a bit on 20m and 15m, but no joy (and my K1 doesn't have 80m). The Medium Speed Test folks were pretty numerous, so I hung it up after 90 minutes. 72 de NC4RT

K4BAI

Only QRV the first hour and took out a few minutes for a net in the middle. No signals and no callers on 20M; 40 and 80 were good, but only QSO on 80 before I went QRT at 0300Z was WB9HFK. So, 11 QSOs on 40 and one on 80. Must have called WA9AGG who was calling CQ SS on 7032 20 or more times. Someone else called him too.  Something wrong with his receiver probably. Too bad, as I was scraping around for any possible QSOs. 73/72, John, K4BAI.

W4NLT

That was tough. 20M was dead and 80m was very noisy so most action on 40M. Got two bands from WB9HFK and K9DRP.  New competition for band space is the MST event. See you QRPers down the line. 72, Andy

K9DRP

Tough night here tonight; very high noise levels on all bands. There were a few stations I just couldn't pull out. A VA3 station did his best to get in my log on both 20 and 40, but to no avail; my apologies. And the MST contest sure crowded the bands during the last hour. I had intended to work only S&P this month, as I was using a teensy little paddle (to keep the weight down) that somebody threw in the box with a radio I purchased. But I heard few stations calling CQ SP, so I went at it. And after using the itty bitty  paddle for the evening, I kind of like it. TNX fer the contacts! Have a great Thanksgiving. 72, Don, K9DRP

WA9TGT

Band conditions seemed really good last night. I first checked 20 meters but heard no stations so I immediately switched to my old favorite 40 meters. To my delight there seemed to be more stations participating in the sprint this month. My Spartan Sprint equipment was my 80~10 Mtr EFHW wire Ant, my Venus SW-3B, 12V 2000ma Lithium Ion battery, Whiterook paddle. My first hour was by far the most productive, however the second hour became a real nightmare! As soon as the new MST CW contest began at 10PM the second hour of the Spartan Sprint was for the most part eliminated! Is it possible going forward we could can change the start time to one hour earlier to avoid this major conflict? Donnie Garrett / WA9TGT

NØEVH

Wow, in mid-west it was quite on the bands.  I started on 20 and RBN heard me all over conus but there was no one on 20.  Mark me confused. After an hour I figured I had the wrong Monday or something! Guess it was mother nature just telling me she always wins! Thanks for the event and hope others had more success. - John NØEVH

WB5BKL

K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp or a dipole. 6 states this time. - most of them Illinois. Best signals: 40M - KD5ZCQ, 80M - WB9HFK. Only one double - with Mark. Conditions were not good here in the Texas hill country, but - as always - had fun.

N4HAY

This was my first Spartan Sprint for many years and I really enjoyed it, bringing back old pleasant memories. My result was not too impressive (1 on 40m, 2 on 80m). I did not hear many SP  stations on either 40m or 80m so perhaps I need to think about antenna improvements and improve my weak signal listening skills hi. Both bands were quiet and there were some very big signals, especially on 40m. 40m seemed long and no local stations were copied. Working conditions as follows:  

QTH:  Home shack. Central NC.
ANTENNA: Trap inverted V for 40m and 80m up 34ft in my small suburban backyard.
RIG: A modified ATS3. (NR4E filter mods)
POWER: 2 watts output
BATTERY: 720mAh 7.4V LiPo. Initial oc voltage = 8.22V. End oc voltage = 7.76V.
KEY: Miniature paddles
EARBUDS: Koss
DUTY CYCLE: About 20 percent calling CQ.

Many thanks to all stations and KI6SN for a most enjoyable evening. 

72 Dick N4HAY

K4PQC

Everything was ready for the Spartan Sprint with a smaller battery this time.  And, after working in the yard most of the day decided to take a short nap and fell asleep . . . having a late start didn't help with making Qs.  Insead of starting at 0200z it was 0250z.  I was lucky to find K9DRP almost right away calling CQ SP.  After that I started calling CQ a few kHz above and N4NLT answered then N4NTO and then I started to get pounced on by the ICWC MST crowd. I changed frequencies and was lucky that Donnie WA9TGT was able to get through. One other station called but with all the higher powered MST stations that 2 station was lost in the QRM. So I closed up shop with my SP rig after making only 4 contacts and joined up with the MST. Next month I will certainly get an earlier start. 72 to all and thanks for the QSOs.

VA3SIE

I was running 2W from an Elecraft KX1 into an Alexloop. I could hear stations on 20m but very weak and lots of QSB. My 3 contacts were on 40m, and were hard work, multiple repeats. Temperature got down to 1-degree C. I enjoyed a pumpkin ale. 

AA9RK

I worked 2 stations in the Spartan Sprint on 40 meters: K4BAI and KF9K. Station weight: 1.1 pounds (QCX mini, CW morse travel paddles, Talentcell battery, etc.)