Soapbox: March 2021 ARS Spartan Sprint

K3RLL

The party must have been moved to 80 meters because there were only Walt, Nick and me heard here on 40m this evening.Someday I need to figure out a way to put up an antenna for 80 on my less-than-postage-stamp-sized lot. Helium balloon? See (hear?) you next month.  72 ... Don

K4PQC

Great weather at 60*F a little rain and overcast.  Before the Spartan Sprint I didn't hear much activity on any of the upper bands and 40 was extremely noisy so I stuck to only the 80 meter band filter.  Even on 80 I didn't hear a lot of activity and only worked 3 stations. A few minutes before the end I called CQ and a ?3X? came back when I I sent a ? my battery died...  either good or bad timing.  Thanks to all who participate.  72

WB5BKL

K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp.  2 contacts on 40 and 5 on 80M (1 QRO contact on 40M removed).  Best signals:  40M - K3RLL, 80M - K5MUG.  Nearly half my contacts were named Don!  Gave up early but had fun.

N0AR

Heard no signals on 20 or 40. 80 was the band of choice. Lots of qrn. At one point I was heard by 20 RBN's across the country. Rig Kwd 590, ant vert. and nvis dipole, rx loop.73 to all - Scott

K3JZD

80m was really thin.  Did not check 40m.   This time I gave up before my batteries did.  KX3 w/500 mAH LiPo Battery Pack running at 5w with K0MBT 3D Printed Mini-Mini Key and Earbuds to a bent 107' EFRW up 20'.   73 - Jody - K3JZD

RESULTS: February 2021 ARS Spartan Sprint

 For an enlarged view please click on the Scoreboard.

SOAPBOX: February 2021 ARS Spartan Sprint

 K3RLL

Well, things were really looking up on 40 meters this evening with the best RBN spots I've had from my antenna-challenged HOA QTH in a while. Not real sure where all the Sprinters were, however.  Someday got to build something for 80 meters. I'm sure my HOA won't mind a nice 80m dipole stretched across four of my neighbor's homes. Anyhow, I'll bet 80m was where the party was tonight.  Many thanks for the five skilled ops with good ears this evening. 72/73 ... Don FL

K4BAI

Conditions on 40 and 80 seemed OK for higher power stations, but only heard NØTA on 40 and he was not as strong as usual. Went to 80M early and had 15 QSOs there. Think I was called by two stations that I couldn't identify.  Sorry about that.  All activity seemed to die out about 0330Z.  Operating time:  1:20.  73/72, John, K4BAI.

W5QLF

I only heard two stations on 40 meters: K3RLL, Michael in FL AND N3FCS, Ron in PA.  Most of the clan had already moved to 80 meters where I met old friends:  K4BAI, John; NØTA, John; WB9HFK, Mark; N4SO Charles; and

my local friend here in San Antonio W5MUG, Cray. Funny how the cross-town contacts are sometimes the hardest to make. Til March, Joe, W5QLF

NØTA

1Hr. 2 on 40, 10 on 80. 5 in TX. TwoFer with John, K4BAI. Thanks for the Qs.

WA4AAK

Could hardly hear any stations in North Alabama! One contact on 40m, 2 on 80m. Thank you NØTA, K4BAI,and N4SO. 72, Evan - WA4AAK

N4SO

Elecraft K2 and dipole inverted V, 4.4 Watts. Thanks to all 80m contacts. This is the most number of contacts in a long time. K4PQC stands out with 2 watts. Ken N4SO

K5MUG

Fairly rough evening - only heard and worked K3RLL/Don on 40m, spent the rest of the time on 80m.  Lot of repeats both ways, most stations at or just above my noise level.  Best station heard: K5BAI/John worked at 559, moments before he rose to 589/599 for quite a bit before Qsb set in again.  40m contact at 7.042, all 80m contacts around 3.560 +/-.  three stations worked were S&P, and three CQ SP.  Expected better response running but apparently not getting out well enough.  Checked on 40m occasionally, all was quiet on the 40m front.  Challenging but fun.  Stayed to the limit again, it's my job. Take care and stay safe,  72, Cray / K5MUG / San Antonio, TX

K4PQC

Very windy and chilly here in Bishop, GA 35 F but feels like 25. Lots of noise on 40 meters maybe from the wind across the antenna. I heard NØTA calling on 40 but couldn't make contact so I plugged in the 80 meter filter where that band was much better and a little quieter. 72' Phil - K4PQC

W5ESE

Conditions weren't great, but 80m seemed best. Used the Omni VI and a 300' Horizontal Loop.

K3JZD

Didn't hear anyone on 40m. Went to 80m and dealt with the heavy QSB and the QRN from the weather in the North-East until I ran out of battery. KX3 w/500 mAH LiPo Battery Pack running at 5w with KØMBT 3D Printed Mini-Mini Key and Earbuds to a bent 107' EFRW up 20'. 73 - Jody - K3JZD

AB9CA/7

Slow night. Nothing on 20. Only one, Mike in El Paso, on 40. No antenna for 80 so can't go there. Noise level was high, as always at this RV park. Maybe next month? Dave, AB9CA/7

KB1M

Worked only station, heard K3RLL very loud QRN here. I expect that everyone must have been preparing for the next day - Groundhog Day Celebrations! 72/72 Walt

WB5BKL

K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp.  1 contact on 40 and 5 on 80M. Best signals: 40M - K3RLL, 80M - K4BAI. 5 states this month. Pooped out after an hour. Had fun.

RESULTS: January 2021 ARS Spartan Sprint

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SOAPBOX: : January 2021 ARS Spartan Sprint

 

WØPWE

40M was dead. From my RBN reports I would have thought 80M would have been more productive but I only worked 2 stations. Thanks N4SO and W1EAT for the contacts. Running a homebrew multiband XCVR at 5 watts out to an 80M doublet with remote balanced antenna tuner. 73 - Jerry

N4SO

All contacts on 80m, and this is better than my average on 40m.

W1EAT

Terrible local noise problem made qrp copy very difficult with no noise blanker in mini rig.

WB5BKL

K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp.  4 contacts on 40 and 2 on 80M. A double with K4BAI - and John had the best signals on both bands. Only 3 states this month. Next month I hope for an all QCX effort. Had fun.

K4BAI

QSOs by band:  40M: 13  80M: 8  Good activity at the start, but dropped off to almost none for the last half hour (just me and WB9HFK calling on 80M). 73/72, John, K4BAI.

NØAR

Running the KX3 at 5 watts to 88' dipole or 43' vertical. Conditions were dismal at best. I worked John K4BAI on 40 and the other three stations on 80. Best signal was John NØTA from CO. Other signals lost in the QRN. I gave it an hour and it was time to QRT to the TV. 72 Scott NØAR

WB9HFK

Rig: Icom 7300 @ 5W. Antenna: 150 Ft. Random Wire and OCF Dipole.

K4BAI

First hour was pretty active, but hard to find QSOs in second hour. QSOs by band: 40: 13.  80: 8. Both bands in good shape. No long skip and could work close in stations on both bands. On 40M worked ME to MN to TX. On 80M worked as far away as NØTA in CO. Happy New Year to all. 73/72, John, K4BAI.

NØTA

Interesting evening - barely heard (did not work) one station on 40m. All contacts on 80m, NØAR, MN, was the loudest, by far. Thanks for the Qs. K3, doublet, GenLog.

KE4I

Activity: 40M, 5 contacts; 80 meters, 2.

K3RLL

Slow start with minor local technical frustrations but pleased that six skilled ops with good ears found me this evening on 40m. Big signal tonight was K9DRP, just booming into FL. Sure wish I had 80m capability. I suspect that is where the party moves about 30 minutes into the festivities. Thanks for another enjoyable Sprint.  72/73 ... Don

W5QLF

Happy New Year. Joe, W5QLF

K4PQC

Great day here in Bishop, GA not a cloud in the sky and the bands were fairly quiet at least on 40 and 80. Signals that I heard were strong and also the most stations I worked all year on the Spartan Sprint.  And, I'll bet that everyone else who participated in January's Spartan Sprint can say the same! Wishing everyone a much Happier New Year. - 72, Phil - K4PQC

RESULTS: December 2020 ARS Spartan Sprint

 For an enlarged view, please click on the Scoreboard

SOAPBOX: December 2020 ARS Spartan Sprint

 NA5N

Bands lousy compared to past few days due to long duration solar flare earlier. Worked 5 on 80; nothing hrd on 40M with old Ten Tec Argo. Worked NØTA, K4BAI, WB5BKL, NØAR and AB9CA/7. Called WB9HFK 812 times no luck. Gotta be better next month.  72 to all. NA5N

NØTA

Couldn't find a soul on 40m - all ten Q's on 80m. K3, doublet, GenLog.

K4BAI

0 signals on 20M.  40M not much better with 2 QSOs.  I counted 9 QSOs on 80M. Actually made 8 more for a total of 17 on 80M, but had left the sprint to cover a CW net and forgot to take the amp out of the line afterward.  Transceiver was running 5W, but with the amp, it was about 150W. So didn't count those 8 QSOs in my totals.  I'll try to do better next month.  73/72, John, K4BAI.

WB9HFK

Rig: Icom 7300 @ 5W. Antennas: 40M OCF dipole; 80M 150 Ft Random Wire. Weight: 30 lbs.

KA5PVB

Pretty much a BUMMER tonight! Tuning across the 40 meter band I heard practically NOTHING in the CW portion of the band! Blasted away with my 650 milli-watt Little Joe (from September 1981 QST magazine. Called CQ SP for 1.5 hours and NO JOY at all here. Note - this xmtr is rock-bound and operated on 7.038 KHz. all evening. KA5PVB, no QSO's, station weight as follows:

Little Joe xmtr - 0.2 lbs.

Straight key - 1 lb

MFJ-971 QRP Tuner 0.5 lbs

FRG-100 receiver - 6.6 lbs

Headphones - 1 lb

Approximate station weight - 9.3 lbs.

Maybe next month will be better for this Sprint! Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 73, Chuck, KA5PVB, Alpine, TX

AB9CA/7

Weight: 30

Station: IC-7200 at 5w to vertical. No activity on 40, all Q's on 80. Maybe the ant needs some attention on 40? Worked only MN TX CO GA NM. John, K4BAI, in GA has magic ears and can hear anything. Being in AZ tended to skew things to the west. Also have a noise issue here which does not help. Thanks for the Q's, maybe things will be better next month. 73 de Dave, AB9CA/7

NØAR

That was sure an interesting sprint. No signals heard on 20 or 40 meters. 80 was it for the duration. Rig Kwd 590sg and 43' vertical. RX loop antennas and muffs. Happy Holidays.

K5MUG

Kx3 at 5w into inverted vee dipole at 40 ft, installed N/S.  Rough event, started out on 40m about 0210 UTC, very few signals,  worst I've heard on 40m in a very long time.  Set up on 7.039.5 and worked K0ZK/Arn in Maine at 0220 UTC, and W5QLF/Joe in nearby Helotes,Texas at 0230 UTC, both 559 and qsb - that was my only action. Intense thanks to each of you!  Thought I heard a few other attempts to reach me but readability was zilch so couldn't be sure.  Went to 7.031 and 7.041 to no avail, weren't even hearing the usual SKCC ops around 7.050 to .060 .  Stayed the limit - turned my radio off at  0402 UTC. Take care and Stay Safe. 72, Cray / K5MUG / San Antonio, TX

N4SO

Thanks to contacts  WB9HFK, K0ZK and W5ESE. Missing a few call signs. Rig this time was the Elecraft K2 and a 40 meter half square. Ken, N4SO

W5ESE

Used the Omni VI and a 300' Horizontal Loop. Nothing heard or worked on 20m, and only one QSO on 40m. 80m was the "money band" for me.

K3JZD

Had to use my not quite so Spartan KX3 to be able to utilize 80m.  Not much was happening on 40m in my neighborhood.  Even 80m was kind of long.  And I got pretty lonely during the second hour - I guess everyone was social distancing.   KX3 with LiIon Battery Pack running 5w with KØMBT 3D Printed Mini-Mini Key and Earbuds to an End Fed Random Wire.   73 & MC - Jody - K3JZD

K9EV

Wanted to make it for the final SS of the year. KX3 with a battery and random wire antenna. 40 was so noisy I gave up and moved to 80. Copied several sprinters there but they weren’t hearing me. Finally managed to work K4BAI so as not to get skunked. See you for the next one in a New Year. Happy Holidays! 73 de KE9V

K4PQC

Unfortunately I was tied up on a project and lost track of time and didn't start the sprint until about 1/3 of the way from the end.  I already had last month's 80 meter band module plugged into the transceiver and immediately heard John - K4BAI so I would stick with 80 meters.  The band was unusually quiet and I was able to work Then Mark - WB9HFK in IL with a strong signal and finally Jody - K3JZD with an extremely strong signal from PA. Between working these stations I also called CQ SP without any results.  Not as good of a performance as in previous months but fun nonetheless.

WB5BKL

K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp. No contacts on 40M - though I did hear K4BAI, briefly and faintly.  5 Qs and 5 states - all on 80m. Best signal: NØTA. Pooped out after an hour. Had fun.

KI5KZM

First time. A little cold here in Arkansas. - Julie