VE3EDX
Had fun, best DX California.
NQ2W
K1 running 5W to a mini-beam at 25 ft for 20 meters, an inverted vee at 40 ft for 40 meters, and ground mounted, near bottom-loaded vertical for 80 meters. Made 9 Q's on 20, 11 on 40, and 2 on 80. Seemed like there was more participation this month. It was great working the west coast on 20. Signals on 40 were up and down - WA8PGE started out down in the mud but then his 100mW came through loud and clear. Was hoping for more 80 meter activity this month...got it...doubled the Q's there from 1 to 2...maybe next month 2 to 4...then 4 to 8...so on and so on. Thanks to all of the participants and thanks to the organizers. Hope to hear you all again and more next month.
NR7F
This was my first QRP contest in over 3 years after being QRT all that time. I made a snap decision Monday morning to do the sprint. So when I got home from work I dragged out the ATS3 which I had not used for years, threw together as light a weight rig as could, and went at it. 20M was pretty dead, and I don't have an 80M antenna up right now, so I was mostly confined to 40M with 3W using my dipole antenna. I think my farthest contacts were to K4BAI in GA and AB9OA in AL. It was fun to work you all. I really enjoy sprints, especially the Spartan Sprint with it's minimalist philosophy.
KG3W
First time at Spartan Sprint. Lots of FUN! Got back on air 2 months ago. Have been QRT since 1984. Lot's has changed but not my love of CW. Many QRP , 2 and 4 hour sprints to try. Qrp K3, 7 amp hour battery and dipole @ 24 feet. Strongest signal was W1PID, on 40 meters. Continue to be amazed what 5 watts and under can do.
K5JHP
Good outing for a change. Only got to work first 45 minutes. Looking fwd to next month.
K4BAI
FT1000MP, 5W, TH6DXX, dipole, inverted vee. Had traffic net skeds and lost about 15 minutes of the sprint to them. Much better participation on 40 and 20 than many recent sprints, but not much activity on 80 despite good conditions on that band. 20M was open from GA to W1 and VE3 to the north and W5/6/7 to the west. 10 QSOs on that band. 40M was open to VE3 and the west coast, but also as short as AL, NC, and FL. 37 QSOs on 40. 80M had good signals from PA and WI and closer in, but not many of them. Was surprised by a call from V31YN in Belize with a great signal. Only 5 QSOs on 80. Thanks for all QSOs and let's keep up the high activity in future months. Look for me as PJ4/K4BAI March 20-27 and we will use PJ4Z in CQ WPX SSB on that weekend.
W5ACM
I thought I had the problem with my My ATS-3a isolated, but NO! For this Spartan Sprint, I once again used the heavier ATS-3 in the Altoids box. I was experimenting with batteries and earbuds, so the weight ended up fractionally higher this month. Running only two LiPo's for more current, but less output power (3W) and longer operating time. I will likely go back to three smaller-capacity LiPos for the full 5W output. This coming weekend will be a good chance to check the results with the ARCI Grid-Square Sprint using the call W5MSQ - Houston QRP Club outing. I found 20M quite reasonable for the first half hour of the Spartan Sprint this month, but 40M gave a lot more contacts from GA to CA toVA to PA, and all points in between. Nice - 15 QSOs on two bands. Last month I was hoping for better conditions on 20M. I got them, but need more!
K6CSL
I started at 02:00UTC on 10M, found nothing on 10, went to 15, found nothing there, went to 20M and found nothing there, so went on to 40. There I found 4 QSO's. CU all for the next Spartan Sprint.
K4ORD
The turn out was much better this month made 36 on 40M, 4 on 20M & 3 on 80M for a total of 43 QSO'S this was double last months. Conditions were good with 40M a bit noisy. Nice to work WA8PGE @ 100MW from OH. Rig K3@ 5W antennas were 40M dipole up 40' & 80M dipole up 35', used my Bencher paddle. Thanks for all the contacts.
AB9CA
Rig was the usual K2 at 5w to one of 2 100' wires. Activity was moderate this month. I got a late start - must finish dinner! Managed 8 on 20, 2 on 80, and 23 on 40. Best DX was WA and CA. I had hoped for more activity on 80 but it was rather lonely down there. Thanks to everyone who stopped by. Thanks to the organizers who do the work to make these possible. See everyone next month.
KBØKFX
I was happy to come back after a year since my last Spartan Sprint. It was a quick last 30 minutes. I apologize to those who had to listen to be wrestle with my key as I was having technical difficulties. Mike, K7RVX, I tried my best to get your full exchange, but the band dropped out at a bad time. Gear: K1@5W into a Butternut Vertical, American Morse Dirt Cheap Key, and Winkeyer USB.
K7TQ
Pretty good turnout tonight. 20 m was good for about 1/2 hour. Got 1 on 80, AA5B, who was very strong. Lots of my CQs there went unanswered. Special thanks to K6CSL for his persistence in getting his call across to me. Several new calls for me. See you all next month.
WA8PGE
Decided to see what I could work with 100 milliwatts tonight. Started out on 20, heard a few stations but could not QSO anyone. Went to 40 and found the band in very good condition. Worked 9 stations, first one was a VE3, probably best DX from OH was WA8ZBT in TX. Rig was Softfock 6.3 cranked down to 100 mw, Software was Rocky, Antenna was fan inverted vee for 40,20,10. I had fun, thanks everyone for picking me out of the mud!
W1PID
Nice to see more participation. I only operated about 35 minutes.Best DX CA, WA and ID. 12 SPCs. HB-1B and OCF dipole 4 Watts. 7 QSOs on 20M and 7 on 40M. One on 80M. Thanks all for the contacts.
K3RLL
Both 20 and 40 sounded pretty good this evening and found the propagation interesting as I had the pleasure of working many of the same stations on both bands. 80 meters isn't really workable here in FL on my attic antenna so just happy to have had a good first hour. Thanks to those patient ops who pulled me out of the noise tonight.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Soapbox: February 2012 Spartan Sprint
AB9CA
Rig was K2 to 100' wire at 40'. Kinda slow going early on. I began calling on 20 at 0200z but got no answers. Moved to 40, but got no answers there. Moved back to 20, but no answers. Then back to 40 and finally got the first answer at 0209 from Alan, KB7MBI, way out in WA. Could spend only an hour on the test and ended up with 10 contacts, all on 40. SPC's were WA, NY, VA, OH, IL, CA, PA, MA (2), WI. The band seemed to be in pretty good shape and noise was not bad. WA8PGE was running all of 750 mW but had a pretty darned good signal. If you did not get in you missed a good evening of playing radio!
WA8PGE
The evening started out with a bang then seemed to really die down for the last half hour. I decided to run QRPp, running Vectronics TX and Softrock RX, 750 mw to an inverted vee. Laptop was running Rocky. My TX was semi-rock bound (XCO), from about 7.039 to 7.040 so I couldn't work stations on the other side of 7.040. Thanks everyone that picked my signal out of the mud! Best DX from Ohio was WB5BKL, TX 1,077mi. Had lots of fun!, will try 500mw next time!
WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40m extended double Zepp. Not one of my better outings. Tried 15m briefly. Most of my Qs were on 40m, but did work K4ORD and K4BAI on both 40 and 80m. Nothing after 0330z. My first QSO was with WA8PGE who was running 750 mW - that's better than 1,000 miles/Watt by my calculation. Worked another station at 1 Watt. All the other Stations were at the 5W level. Had fun.
K4ORD
Conditions were fair tonight, 40 was noisy with lots of digital noise the first hour. made 16 qso's on 40M and 5 on 80M. Thanks to all.
K4BAI
FT1000MP, 5W, TH6DXX, dipole, inverted vee. Band conditions pretty good on 20, 40, and 80. Activity almost NIL. I think some of the problem may be in log submission difficulties that must be running off participants. The link from the webpage for "log submission" no longer works and takes you instead to last month's results. 20M was wide open with very strong signals from W1AW, west Africa, Central America, and much of the US, but only NQ2W and I seemed to know it. One QSO on 20M. 40M was open to most of the country, with stations as close as VA readable in GA. Best DX was KD6L in CA. 15 QSOs on 40. Heard no activity around 7030 kHz this month. 80M was open to the whole country with best DX being W7GB in WA. 13 QSOs on 80. Hope for more activity in next month's Spartan Sprint.
NY4G
Could not find many sprinters tonight. Rig was a KX1 and AA batteries. Maybe my KX1 will have better luck next time.
WA5BUC
I was skunked. Started on 20m. Band was dead. Listened on 40, but could hear no Sprint activity. Went down to 80. The noisiest I've heard 80 in quite some time. Went back to 40. Still no Sprint station heard. Gave up and tried to work HU2DX. Called several times. Nada. Hurry up March!
W5ACM
My ATS-3a is STILL on the workbench, but I did find time after the event to isolate the problem in my favorite two-ounce radio. For this Spartan Sprint, I once again used the heavier ATS-3 in the Altoids box. I found 20M dead, but 40M sounded quiet, almost too quiet. I had a surprising number of contacts with NY and MA, with only one station to the west. QSOs from the Midwest and Southeast were typical, and greatly appreciated. The three 300 mAh LiPo batteries really took a beating as I parked on 7040 and called CQ. But it was worth it. I had to shut down half an hour early to avoid killing the new batteries, but it was nice to get a decent number of contacts - an even dozen! Hoping for better conditions on 20M next month!
KD2MX
I was mostly just listening on 40M while working on the build of my new G11 SDR. I heard WA8PGE with a great signal running 750mw so I had to jump in. FT897/5W to my all-purpose loop.
NQ2W
A newly built K1 running 5W to a mini-beam at 25 ft for 20 meters, an inverted vee at 40 ft for 40 meters, and ground mounted, near bottom-loaded vertical for 80 meters. Worked K4BAI on 20...only station I heard there. Went to 40 and worked K4BAI again whilst he was in a pile up...proceeded to work 13 more FB QRP stations on that band. Switched the filter board and went to 80 meters and worked K4ORD - second band - but the only sprinter I heard on that band. I was hopeful for more activity on 80 but it just wasn't there...maybe next month. The K1 performed well...the band conditions were up and down with QSB...thanks for all of the repeats...the filtering didn't get a real test or maybe it did because there wasn't a lot of QRM. Thanks to all of the participants and thanks to the organizers. Hope to hear you all again and more next month.
N5GW
Rig was a 40M HB one watt vxo tx from plans by W1FB (2N2222 vxo driving MPSU02 class A) into HB balanced Lnet tuner to CFZ. LIstened on an OMNI V. Band was quiet. It was fun.
K3RLL
40 meters sounded reasonably good with a minimum of digital QRM, but didn't hear many Sprinters. Oh well, someone has to come in last.
Rig was K2 to 100' wire at 40'. Kinda slow going early on. I began calling on 20 at 0200z but got no answers. Moved to 40, but got no answers there. Moved back to 20, but no answers. Then back to 40 and finally got the first answer at 0209 from Alan, KB7MBI, way out in WA. Could spend only an hour on the test and ended up with 10 contacts, all on 40. SPC's were WA, NY, VA, OH, IL, CA, PA, MA (2), WI. The band seemed to be in pretty good shape and noise was not bad. WA8PGE was running all of 750 mW but had a pretty darned good signal. If you did not get in you missed a good evening of playing radio!
WA8PGE
The evening started out with a bang then seemed to really die down for the last half hour. I decided to run QRPp, running Vectronics TX and Softrock RX, 750 mw to an inverted vee. Laptop was running Rocky. My TX was semi-rock bound (XCO), from about 7.039 to 7.040 so I couldn't work stations on the other side of 7.040. Thanks everyone that picked my signal out of the mud! Best DX from Ohio was WB5BKL, TX 1,077mi. Had lots of fun!, will try 500mw next time!
WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40m extended double Zepp. Not one of my better outings. Tried 15m briefly. Most of my Qs were on 40m, but did work K4ORD and K4BAI on both 40 and 80m. Nothing after 0330z. My first QSO was with WA8PGE who was running 750 mW - that's better than 1,000 miles/Watt by my calculation. Worked another station at 1 Watt. All the other Stations were at the 5W level. Had fun.
K4ORD
Conditions were fair tonight, 40 was noisy with lots of digital noise the first hour. made 16 qso's on 40M and 5 on 80M. Thanks to all.
K4BAI
FT1000MP, 5W, TH6DXX, dipole, inverted vee. Band conditions pretty good on 20, 40, and 80. Activity almost NIL. I think some of the problem may be in log submission difficulties that must be running off participants. The link from the webpage for "log submission" no longer works and takes you instead to last month's results. 20M was wide open with very strong signals from W1AW, west Africa, Central America, and much of the US, but only NQ2W and I seemed to know it. One QSO on 20M. 40M was open to most of the country, with stations as close as VA readable in GA. Best DX was KD6L in CA. 15 QSOs on 40. Heard no activity around 7030 kHz this month. 80M was open to the whole country with best DX being W7GB in WA. 13 QSOs on 80. Hope for more activity in next month's Spartan Sprint.
NY4G
Could not find many sprinters tonight. Rig was a KX1 and AA batteries. Maybe my KX1 will have better luck next time.
WA5BUC
I was skunked. Started on 20m. Band was dead. Listened on 40, but could hear no Sprint activity. Went down to 80. The noisiest I've heard 80 in quite some time. Went back to 40. Still no Sprint station heard. Gave up and tried to work HU2DX. Called several times. Nada. Hurry up March!
W5ACM
My ATS-3a is STILL on the workbench, but I did find time after the event to isolate the problem in my favorite two-ounce radio. For this Spartan Sprint, I once again used the heavier ATS-3 in the Altoids box. I found 20M dead, but 40M sounded quiet, almost too quiet. I had a surprising number of contacts with NY and MA, with only one station to the west. QSOs from the Midwest and Southeast were typical, and greatly appreciated. The three 300 mAh LiPo batteries really took a beating as I parked on 7040 and called CQ. But it was worth it. I had to shut down half an hour early to avoid killing the new batteries, but it was nice to get a decent number of contacts - an even dozen! Hoping for better conditions on 20M next month!
KD2MX
I was mostly just listening on 40M while working on the build of my new G11 SDR. I heard WA8PGE with a great signal running 750mw so I had to jump in. FT897/5W to my all-purpose loop.
NQ2W
A newly built K1 running 5W to a mini-beam at 25 ft for 20 meters, an inverted vee at 40 ft for 40 meters, and ground mounted, near bottom-loaded vertical for 80 meters. Worked K4BAI on 20...only station I heard there. Went to 40 and worked K4BAI again whilst he was in a pile up...proceeded to work 13 more FB QRP stations on that band. Switched the filter board and went to 80 meters and worked K4ORD - second band - but the only sprinter I heard on that band. I was hopeful for more activity on 80 but it just wasn't there...maybe next month. The K1 performed well...the band conditions were up and down with QSB...thanks for all of the repeats...the filtering didn't get a real test or maybe it did because there wasn't a lot of QRM. Thanks to all of the participants and thanks to the organizers. Hope to hear you all again and more next month.
N5GW
Rig was a 40M HB one watt vxo tx from plans by W1FB (2N2222 vxo driving MPSU02 class A) into HB balanced Lnet tuner to CFZ. LIstened on an OMNI V. Band was quiet. It was fun.
K3RLL
40 meters sounded reasonably good with a minimum of digital QRM, but didn't hear many Sprinters. Oh well, someone has to come in last.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Soapbox Comments: January '12 Spartan Sprint
N4BP
Quick three QSOs on 20M, then nothing. 40M condx were good, but sparse activity. Finished with K4BAI 2nd band QSO on 80M. Happy New Year to all!
K3RLL
K2 to indoor dipole - Tough sledding tonight with all the digital noise on 40 and didn't hear anyone on 80, but it was all fun. C.U. next month.
KS4L
ATS-4a at 3w, 11.1v, 1320 mah LiPo battery, 80m inv. vee. 2 contacts on 40m, rest on 80m. Best DX was VE3EDX and AA5B (NM on both 40 & 80). Sigs ranged from real 599 to almost ESP!
WBØOEW
2W to 3 ft mag loop
WB4MNK
The little KX1 got a good work out to night. Band was good here in FL and I had another great time working the Spartan Sprint. Thanks to the stations I worked tonight and hope you had as much fun as I did. See you next month.
NY4G
Good Sprint tonight. Rig was a pared and stripped down K2 (without internal battery and autotuner) - connected to a small external SLA and Palm Paddle. 20m was dead and 40m and 80m had the only signals. Tough operating under the QRM of PSK and other digital signals although 80 was trouble free. Antenna was a G5RV up 40 ft. Happy New Year to all.
W5ACM
My ATS-3a is still on the workbench, so I continue to use the heavier ATS-3 in the Altoids box (with a new lid). The two 650 mAh LiPo batteries in the ATS-3 were replaced (getting "puffy") 90 minutes prior to the event with three 300 mAh LiPo batteries. I got a reasonable charge on them and had 5W out this time! I even had enough "juice" for some "CQ" ops. The new pair of earbuds (JVC RIPTIDZ model HA-FX8-A) seem to be doing well. They fit in the ears, are sensitive and were inexpensive. TNX to KI0I for contacts on both 40 & 80. Hoping for better conditions next month!
KB1OOO
K1 running 5W into ZS6BKW. All contacts on 40m. Thanks to all for putting up with my sloppiness. I was forgetting to give pwr for the first few contacts.
AB9CA
Rig was K2 at 5w to 100' dipole. Could only spend 30 minutes. 2 Q's on 20 and 17 on 40. 20 seemed to be very long and 40 seemed to be in good shape. Was a fun evening. Thanks to all who stopped by and see you next month.
NQ2W
An OHR 100-A running 5W to a mini-beam at 25 ft for 3 Q's on 20 meters and a Ten-Tec 1340 at 5W to an inverted vee at 40 ft for 10 Q's. Things quieted down quickly on 20 meters but was able to work from FL to TX to CA. 40 was crowded...am looking forward to getting my K1 done, up, and running...from what I understand the filtering will be much tighter than the 1340's...I'll comment on that after I put it on the air...but was able to work stations as close as NH and as far away as NM. Overall a FB sprint. Worked N4BP on two bands. K4ORD was loud on 40. Thanks to all that participated and thanks to the organizers. Hope to hear you all next month. Happy New Year!
K4BAI
FT1000MP, 5W, dipole, inverted vee. No sprint signals heard on 20M. 40M was great for the first hour. 37 QSOs on that band. Only 12 QSOs on 80M. 80M seemed good with QSOs from TX to PA and NY, but very little activity. Great to hear so many sprinters on 40 at the beginning. Thanks for all QSOs and Happy New Year to all.
W1PID
Wow... not much heard, not much worked.
AA5B
I keep thinking that I'm going to catch this event on a night when I have enough time to operate the whole thing, but I guess that'll have to wait. Spent the first few minutes on 20 meters, calling CQ and searching for anyone, but made exactly zero QSOs. Moved to 40 meters and had 29 contacts in the next 37 minutes. Then had to run some errands. Came back for 10 minutes near the end and worked several more, including my sole 80-mtr Q with KS4L.
K4ORD
I made 31 contacts in the Spartan Sprint 21 on 40M and 10 on 80M conditions were pretty good on both bands except they were a bit noisy. My rig was K3@5w ant's were 40 & 80M dipoles. The weight of my station was 30 pounds.
WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5w to a 20m wire delta loop or a 40m extended double Zepp. Most of my Qs were on 40M. Tried 15m briefly. No three-banders, but worked K4ORD, NY4G and K4BAI on two. WB0OEW was the lowest power station I heard. HNY to all. Had fun.
VE3EDX
1 QSO on 20, 3 each on 40 and 80.
K5JHP
K3 with a 20mtr edz. All contacts on 40mtrs. Got in late - not much activity. Hope more next month - HNY to all.
VE3XT
First SS in a long time and had a great time, used my K1. Need to go and find my ATS3 and Bulldog paddle to make a try next month.
Quick three QSOs on 20M, then nothing. 40M condx were good, but sparse activity. Finished with K4BAI 2nd band QSO on 80M. Happy New Year to all!
K3RLL
K2 to indoor dipole - Tough sledding tonight with all the digital noise on 40 and didn't hear anyone on 80, but it was all fun. C.U. next month.
KS4L
ATS-4a at 3w, 11.1v, 1320 mah LiPo battery, 80m inv. vee. 2 contacts on 40m, rest on 80m. Best DX was VE3EDX and AA5B (NM on both 40 & 80). Sigs ranged from real 599 to almost ESP!
WBØOEW
2W to 3 ft mag loop
WB4MNK
The little KX1 got a good work out to night. Band was good here in FL and I had another great time working the Spartan Sprint. Thanks to the stations I worked tonight and hope you had as much fun as I did. See you next month.
NY4G
Good Sprint tonight. Rig was a pared and stripped down K2 (without internal battery and autotuner) - connected to a small external SLA and Palm Paddle. 20m was dead and 40m and 80m had the only signals. Tough operating under the QRM of PSK and other digital signals although 80 was trouble free. Antenna was a G5RV up 40 ft. Happy New Year to all.
W5ACM
My ATS-3a is still on the workbench, so I continue to use the heavier ATS-3 in the Altoids box (with a new lid). The two 650 mAh LiPo batteries in the ATS-3 were replaced (getting "puffy") 90 minutes prior to the event with three 300 mAh LiPo batteries. I got a reasonable charge on them and had 5W out this time! I even had enough "juice" for some "CQ" ops. The new pair of earbuds (JVC RIPTIDZ model HA-FX8-A) seem to be doing well. They fit in the ears, are sensitive and were inexpensive. TNX to KI0I for contacts on both 40 & 80. Hoping for better conditions next month!
KB1OOO
K1 running 5W into ZS6BKW. All contacts on 40m. Thanks to all for putting up with my sloppiness. I was forgetting to give pwr for the first few contacts.
AB9CA
Rig was K2 at 5w to 100' dipole. Could only spend 30 minutes. 2 Q's on 20 and 17 on 40. 20 seemed to be very long and 40 seemed to be in good shape. Was a fun evening. Thanks to all who stopped by and see you next month.
NQ2W
An OHR 100-A running 5W to a mini-beam at 25 ft for 3 Q's on 20 meters and a Ten-Tec 1340 at 5W to an inverted vee at 40 ft for 10 Q's. Things quieted down quickly on 20 meters but was able to work from FL to TX to CA. 40 was crowded...am looking forward to getting my K1 done, up, and running...from what I understand the filtering will be much tighter than the 1340's...I'll comment on that after I put it on the air...but was able to work stations as close as NH and as far away as NM. Overall a FB sprint. Worked N4BP on two bands. K4ORD was loud on 40. Thanks to all that participated and thanks to the organizers. Hope to hear you all next month. Happy New Year!
K4BAI
FT1000MP, 5W, dipole, inverted vee. No sprint signals heard on 20M. 40M was great for the first hour. 37 QSOs on that band. Only 12 QSOs on 80M. 80M seemed good with QSOs from TX to PA and NY, but very little activity. Great to hear so many sprinters on 40 at the beginning. Thanks for all QSOs and Happy New Year to all.
W1PID
Wow... not much heard, not much worked.
AA5B
I keep thinking that I'm going to catch this event on a night when I have enough time to operate the whole thing, but I guess that'll have to wait. Spent the first few minutes on 20 meters, calling CQ and searching for anyone, but made exactly zero QSOs. Moved to 40 meters and had 29 contacts in the next 37 minutes. Then had to run some errands. Came back for 10 minutes near the end and worked several more, including my sole 80-mtr Q with KS4L.
K4ORD
I made 31 contacts in the Spartan Sprint 21 on 40M and 10 on 80M conditions were pretty good on both bands except they were a bit noisy. My rig was K3@5w ant's were 40 & 80M dipoles. The weight of my station was 30 pounds.
WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5w to a 20m wire delta loop or a 40m extended double Zepp. Most of my Qs were on 40M. Tried 15m briefly. No three-banders, but worked K4ORD, NY4G and K4BAI on two. WB0OEW was the lowest power station I heard. HNY to all. Had fun.
VE3EDX
1 QSO on 20, 3 each on 40 and 80.
K5JHP
K3 with a 20mtr edz. All contacts on 40mtrs. Got in late - not much activity. Hope more next month - HNY to all.
VE3XT
First SS in a long time and had a great time, used my K1. Need to go and find my ATS3 and Bulldog paddle to make a try next month.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
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.
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.
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