Please click on the Scoreboard for an enlarged view.
Saturday, October 8, 2016
SOAPBOX: 2016 October Spartan Sprint
K3RLL
I know I’m getting older but am concerned that conditions are not going to come back while I’m still around. (Sigh) Many thanks to those skilled ops who pulled my call out of the noise on 40m & 80m tonight. 72/73 … Don
K4BAI
QSOs by band: 20M = 2; 40M = 17. 80M: 2. Only QSOs on 20 were in CA. 40M was good to W1/2/3/5 and 8. Both QSOs on 80M were in AL 1:45 minutes of operation. Thanks for all QSOs. Lowest power station worked was N3OO running 500mW. 73/72, John, K4BAI.
W3KC
Good to get in a few SP contacts after lapse. IC703 (5w) to a 90 ft doublet via a homebrew link tuner on 40 and 80. 72 Chas W3KC
KBØETU
Thanks to WA4ZOF & K4BAI for my first two contacts in years for the Spartan Sprint. Thought the bands were really noisy - hard to hear anyone. Nevertheless, a fun sprint. Hope to work more. 72, Phil
W5ACM
Not quite what I wanted, but it was fun! I had been listening to 20M earlier in the evening, and decided that it would be best to skip 20M and go straight to 40M for the event. What I found was certainly acceptable – very little QRN and a rift in the space continuum providing a pipeline to Georgia. Nearly half of all of my contacts were with stations in GA land. Everything else was random. I only managed one contact on 80M – K4BAI in Georgia… The ATS-3A was solid at 3W out for the two-hour period – no problems this month. Let’s hope for better 20M ops next time! 72 de Andy W5ACM Houston, TX EL29eq
AA4GA
Well...I thought about the Sprint on the way into work, and since it's been a while, decided I'd give it a go. I even gave the Sprint a little publicity on the NoGA QRP reflector. After an unfortunately long day at work I stopped at the store for groceries and a 9v lithium battery. No luck on the battery. Had a nice visit with Mrs. AA4GA, and we watched TV until about 9:15...but I figured a 15 minute late start wouldn't hurt much. Up in the shack, I put my rig together and discover that the power lead for my rig has a broken wire. After an inordinate amount of time fixing that, I pulled out my old 9v Lithium, and sure enough, it's no good. So, I dig in my SOTA bag for a small LiPO and come up with a little 950 mAH battery. By the time I get it all put together and make my first contact, it's 9:47. I mostly CQ (I've got plenty of battery for it!) and plug away....by 10:28, I've made my last 40 meter QSO...so I QSY to 80 meters. I make one contact there and....that's it. Back to 40 for the last 10 minutes...I'd probably have had a better Skinny score if I'd never gone to 80. Oh well. All-in-all, lots of fun - I don't know why I don't work this more often than I do! Rig: ATS-3b in Altoids tin, LiPO, Micro TeNeKe, cheap no-name earbuds to a 1/4 wave GP for 40 and 1/4 wave GP for 80. See you next time!
W5WIL
Heard K6EU on 20m but he couldn't hear my 1w. No other signals so moved to 40m and worked a few despite QSB. Back to 20m and worked NK6A. Back to 40m to finish the hour I had. Thanks to W4QO for diligence. MTR3 at 1w to 240' doublet. 73 ... Dennis
KB1M
Managed to work 4 states from N.H., Al., Ga., Tx., and Me., nobody was very strong, only one QSO on 20 mtrs, other six on 40. My thanks to the good ears that pulled my sigs out of noise. Hopefully there will be better conditions next month. 73/72 Walt KB1M
AB9CA
Unfortunately did not appear to be a lot of activity. Noise level was moderate. Ended up with 42 spots on RBN (mostly on 40) so condx seemed to be fair. Started on 20 and worked NK6A and K6EU in CA. Heard no one else. Went to 40 and worked a few. W5WIL was loud with his 1w from OK. Later worked another OK station, KV6Z, who was also loud. Must have had a good path from south AL to OK. Ended up with 11 on 40, 2 on 20, and 2 on 80. There were no 2 banders nor 3 banders. Most interesting Q of the evening was K0ZK, Arn, up in ME. He was right at ESP levels but very patient. Took a few repeats but we got it done. I did get lectured for 5 or 10 min by a guy from NC who said my QRP signal was so weak I would never be heard any anyone. I then proceeded to work OH NH TX TX NY MD OK and ME on that freq. Could have worked plenty more if there had been more activity. Thanks for the Q's and see everyone next month. 73 de dave, ab9ca/4
WB5BKL
K2 @ 5W to a 2-element 15M delta loop, a 20M wire delta loop, a 40M dipole or a 40M extended double Zepp. Back to using the re-aligned and updated K2. Quite a radio. Conditions have been uniformly poor here in central Texas recently. Worked Don (NK6A) on 15M then the band closed as if a switch was thrown. Only 9 S/P/Cs this time. Best signals: 15M - NK6A, 20M - WA2FBN, 40M - K4KJP. My closest contact was Dave, AB9CA in AL. Had fun.
KB1M
Managed to work 4 states from N.H., Al., Ga., Tx., and Me., nobody was very strong, only one QSO on 20 mtrs, other six on 40. My thanks to the good ears that pulled my sigs out of noise. Hopefully there will be better conditions next month. 73/72 Walt KB1M
I know I’m getting older but am concerned that conditions are not going to come back while I’m still around. (Sigh) Many thanks to those skilled ops who pulled my call out of the noise on 40m & 80m tonight. 72/73 … Don
K4BAI
QSOs by band: 20M = 2; 40M = 17. 80M: 2. Only QSOs on 20 were in CA. 40M was good to W1/2/3/5 and 8. Both QSOs on 80M were in AL 1:45 minutes of operation. Thanks for all QSOs. Lowest power station worked was N3OO running 500mW. 73/72, John, K4BAI.
W3KC
Good to get in a few SP contacts after lapse. IC703 (5w) to a 90 ft doublet via a homebrew link tuner on 40 and 80. 72 Chas W3KC
KBØETU
Thanks to WA4ZOF & K4BAI for my first two contacts in years for the Spartan Sprint. Thought the bands were really noisy - hard to hear anyone. Nevertheless, a fun sprint. Hope to work more. 72, Phil
W5ACM
Not quite what I wanted, but it was fun! I had been listening to 20M earlier in the evening, and decided that it would be best to skip 20M and go straight to 40M for the event. What I found was certainly acceptable – very little QRN and a rift in the space continuum providing a pipeline to Georgia. Nearly half of all of my contacts were with stations in GA land. Everything else was random. I only managed one contact on 80M – K4BAI in Georgia… The ATS-3A was solid at 3W out for the two-hour period – no problems this month. Let’s hope for better 20M ops next time! 72 de Andy W5ACM Houston, TX EL29eq
AA4GA
Well...I thought about the Sprint on the way into work, and since it's been a while, decided I'd give it a go. I even gave the Sprint a little publicity on the NoGA QRP reflector. After an unfortunately long day at work I stopped at the store for groceries and a 9v lithium battery. No luck on the battery. Had a nice visit with Mrs. AA4GA, and we watched TV until about 9:15...but I figured a 15 minute late start wouldn't hurt much. Up in the shack, I put my rig together and discover that the power lead for my rig has a broken wire. After an inordinate amount of time fixing that, I pulled out my old 9v Lithium, and sure enough, it's no good. So, I dig in my SOTA bag for a small LiPO and come up with a little 950 mAH battery. By the time I get it all put together and make my first contact, it's 9:47. I mostly CQ (I've got plenty of battery for it!) and plug away....by 10:28, I've made my last 40 meter QSO...so I QSY to 80 meters. I make one contact there and....that's it. Back to 40 for the last 10 minutes...I'd probably have had a better Skinny score if I'd never gone to 80. Oh well. All-in-all, lots of fun - I don't know why I don't work this more often than I do! Rig: ATS-3b in Altoids tin, LiPO, Micro TeNeKe, cheap no-name earbuds to a 1/4 wave GP for 40 and 1/4 wave GP for 80. See you next time!
W5WIL
Heard K6EU on 20m but he couldn't hear my 1w. No other signals so moved to 40m and worked a few despite QSB. Back to 20m and worked NK6A. Back to 40m to finish the hour I had. Thanks to W4QO for diligence. MTR3 at 1w to 240' doublet. 73 ... Dennis
KB1M
Managed to work 4 states from N.H., Al., Ga., Tx., and Me., nobody was very strong, only one QSO on 20 mtrs, other six on 40. My thanks to the good ears that pulled my sigs out of noise. Hopefully there will be better conditions next month. 73/72 Walt KB1M
AB9CA
Unfortunately did not appear to be a lot of activity. Noise level was moderate. Ended up with 42 spots on RBN (mostly on 40) so condx seemed to be fair. Started on 20 and worked NK6A and K6EU in CA. Heard no one else. Went to 40 and worked a few. W5WIL was loud with his 1w from OK. Later worked another OK station, KV6Z, who was also loud. Must have had a good path from south AL to OK. Ended up with 11 on 40, 2 on 20, and 2 on 80. There were no 2 banders nor 3 banders. Most interesting Q of the evening was K0ZK, Arn, up in ME. He was right at ESP levels but very patient. Took a few repeats but we got it done. I did get lectured for 5 or 10 min by a guy from NC who said my QRP signal was so weak I would never be heard any anyone. I then proceeded to work OH NH TX TX NY MD OK and ME on that freq. Could have worked plenty more if there had been more activity. Thanks for the Q's and see everyone next month. 73 de dave, ab9ca/4
WB5BKL
K2 @ 5W to a 2-element 15M delta loop, a 20M wire delta loop, a 40M dipole or a 40M extended double Zepp. Back to using the re-aligned and updated K2. Quite a radio. Conditions have been uniformly poor here in central Texas recently. Worked Don (NK6A) on 15M then the band closed as if a switch was thrown. Only 9 S/P/Cs this time. Best signals: 15M - NK6A, 20M - WA2FBN, 40M - K4KJP. My closest contact was Dave, AB9CA in AL. Had fun.
KB1M
Managed to work 4 states from N.H., Al., Ga., Tx., and Me., nobody was very strong, only one QSO on 20 mtrs, other six on 40. My thanks to the good ears that pulled my sigs out of noise. Hopefully there will be better conditions next month. 73/72 Walt KB1M
Friday, September 9, 2016
SOAPBOX: Sept. 2016 ARS Spartan Sprint
K3RLL
Nothing heard on 20m this evening and feel very fortunate that some of our best ops were able to dig me out of the noise tonight to make a grand total of (let’s see, … add the first one to the second two, carry the last one) of FOUR contacts. While our better ops strive and achieve ever higher scores, I think I’m working my way down the sunspot cycle. (SMILE) 72/37 … Don
K7TQ
I used my 1 Watter on 20 for the first 45 minutes. Six folks were able to work my 1 W in spite of what looked like poor solar numbers. Four were in TX, one in OK which was a two-way 1W, and one in IN. Pretty good for 1 W from ID. Switched to the big rig and 5W, K3, for 40 m and made 14 Qs with several two band folks. Tried 80 m, but heard nothing.
K4BAI
FT1000MP, 5W, zepp, inverted V. Only operated the second hour this month. QSOs by band: 40: 8; 80: 4. Hope for more activity next month. 15M was dead here. 20M was almost dead and no answers to CQs and no sprinters heard on that band this month. 40 and 80 were both OK. 73/72, John, K4BAI.
WJ9B
Contacts: 20m: WB5BKL, WB4BKR, WA8ZBT; 40m: NK6A, K4BAI, WA8ZBT, K7TQ, WB5BKL, AF7M. Total weight of Station (KX1, internal tuner, light headset) was 1.5 pounds. Total number of contacts during Sprint: 9. I used the KX1ON on an AC power supply at just under 5 watts output. No 80 meters on it! The antenna was an 80m inverted V fed with ladder line, the apex at about 90 feet. I'm sure I would do better with a regular dipole; precious loss in just 5 watts with the inverted V ends at about 30 feet, HI. I was surprised that John, K4BAI, could hear me as he was very weak compared to the August SP. I called CQ often with only two replies. Four stations calling CQ didn't hear my call: N7DQ/KL7, W5ACM, K5OPB, and K9QV. It was fun to work fellow Idaho station K7TQ, Randy. He sent an email to me right after SP was over. For a second straight month I would say participation in SP is down compared to what I recall from an increasingly distant past! Why the low participation in SP when there seems to be a resurgence of straight keys and qrp? See you next month! 73, Will, WJ9B
AB9CA
Icom 7200 to 100' wire. Things were kinda slow. Maybe that was due to it being the Labor Day holiday? But could stick around for only about an hour. Had to do some other stuff. Came back once or twice and found a quick new one. Condx did not seem to be very good. Very little was heard on 20m. I had started an hour earlier with the MI Labor Day QRP Sprint and had worked no one on 20 even then. I did get more spots during the SP than during the MI event. Maybe the band improved as the evening went along? 40m seemed to be in pretty good shape but had quite a bit of QRN. Heard only K4BAI on 80. Band breakdown is 1/14/2 on 80/40/20. Don't think I had any 2-banders. Thanks for the Q's and see everyone next month. 73 de Dave, AB9CA/4
WB9BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 20 wire delta loop, a 40M dipole or a 40M extended double Zepp. Got the K3 back in service. 9 states this time - and all signals seemed relatively weak with deep QSB. Best signals: 20M - WJ9B, 40M - NK6A, 80M - WA8ZBT. Also worked a Cuban, but did not include him in the total. I worked several Spartan Sprinters in the CWOpen on Saturday. My thanks to all. Had fun.
W5WIL
Used an MTR-3 with a 9V battery regulated to 6V gave me 1W QRPp. Used the palm paddle and ear buds to keep the weight down. Setup in the yard with a portable 40M dipole at 15'. Only two contacts; K7TQ and AB9CA as I had some confusion with a competing sprint and 40M had bad QRN. 73 and Thanks, Dennis, W5WIL
W5ACM
Wow! That was a serious strain! Can the bands get any worse? Although both 170 mAh LiPo batts were topped off, the bands were very difficult. I called CQ on 20 and 40M with marginal results. Let’s hope for better results next month! 72 de Andy W5ACM Houston, TX EL29eq
Nothing heard on 20m this evening and feel very fortunate that some of our best ops were able to dig me out of the noise tonight to make a grand total of (let’s see, … add the first one to the second two, carry the last one) of FOUR contacts. While our better ops strive and achieve ever higher scores, I think I’m working my way down the sunspot cycle. (SMILE) 72/37 … Don
K7TQ
I used my 1 Watter on 20 for the first 45 minutes. Six folks were able to work my 1 W in spite of what looked like poor solar numbers. Four were in TX, one in OK which was a two-way 1W, and one in IN. Pretty good for 1 W from ID. Switched to the big rig and 5W, K3, for 40 m and made 14 Qs with several two band folks. Tried 80 m, but heard nothing.
K4BAI
FT1000MP, 5W, zepp, inverted V. Only operated the second hour this month. QSOs by band: 40: 8; 80: 4. Hope for more activity next month. 15M was dead here. 20M was almost dead and no answers to CQs and no sprinters heard on that band this month. 40 and 80 were both OK. 73/72, John, K4BAI.
WJ9B
Contacts: 20m: WB5BKL, WB4BKR, WA8ZBT; 40m: NK6A, K4BAI, WA8ZBT, K7TQ, WB5BKL, AF7M. Total weight of Station (KX1, internal tuner, light headset) was 1.5 pounds. Total number of contacts during Sprint: 9. I used the KX1ON on an AC power supply at just under 5 watts output. No 80 meters on it! The antenna was an 80m inverted V fed with ladder line, the apex at about 90 feet. I'm sure I would do better with a regular dipole; precious loss in just 5 watts with the inverted V ends at about 30 feet, HI. I was surprised that John, K4BAI, could hear me as he was very weak compared to the August SP. I called CQ often with only two replies. Four stations calling CQ didn't hear my call: N7DQ/KL7, W5ACM, K5OPB, and K9QV. It was fun to work fellow Idaho station K7TQ, Randy. He sent an email to me right after SP was over. For a second straight month I would say participation in SP is down compared to what I recall from an increasingly distant past! Why the low participation in SP when there seems to be a resurgence of straight keys and qrp? See you next month! 73, Will, WJ9B
AB9CA
Icom 7200 to 100' wire. Things were kinda slow. Maybe that was due to it being the Labor Day holiday? But could stick around for only about an hour. Had to do some other stuff. Came back once or twice and found a quick new one. Condx did not seem to be very good. Very little was heard on 20m. I had started an hour earlier with the MI Labor Day QRP Sprint and had worked no one on 20 even then. I did get more spots during the SP than during the MI event. Maybe the band improved as the evening went along? 40m seemed to be in pretty good shape but had quite a bit of QRN. Heard only K4BAI on 80. Band breakdown is 1/14/2 on 80/40/20. Don't think I had any 2-banders. Thanks for the Q's and see everyone next month. 73 de Dave, AB9CA/4
WB9BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 20 wire delta loop, a 40M dipole or a 40M extended double Zepp. Got the K3 back in service. 9 states this time - and all signals seemed relatively weak with deep QSB. Best signals: 20M - WJ9B, 40M - NK6A, 80M - WA8ZBT. Also worked a Cuban, but did not include him in the total. I worked several Spartan Sprinters in the CWOpen on Saturday. My thanks to all. Had fun.
W5WIL
Used an MTR-3 with a 9V battery regulated to 6V gave me 1W QRPp. Used the palm paddle and ear buds to keep the weight down. Setup in the yard with a portable 40M dipole at 15'. Only two contacts; K7TQ and AB9CA as I had some confusion with a competing sprint and 40M had bad QRN. 73 and Thanks, Dennis, W5WIL
W5ACM
Wow! That was a serious strain! Can the bands get any worse? Although both 170 mAh LiPo batts were topped off, the bands were very difficult. I called CQ on 20 and 40M with marginal results. Let’s hope for better results next month! 72 de Andy W5ACM Houston, TX EL29eq
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Soapbox: August 2016 Spartan Sprint
K3RLL
Tough going here for August's SP. Don’t know whether everyone got stung by bees during the FOBB or band conditions just continue to wane on us. Anyhow, happy for the ten skilled ops able to pull me out of weak conditions this evening on 20m and 40m. Two bander Andy W5ACM and the lone big signal tonight was Walt KB1M. Thanks to all and the full and entire staff sponsoring this fun monthly event. 72/73 … Don K3RLL
WJ9B
I worked K4BAI and W5ACM on 20m and 40m. I worked WB5BKL on 20m, and he was my only contact on 80m. N5GW (MS) had a good 559 signal on 40m running only two watts. There was a net on 3560 khz so I searched around 3562 kHz where I found WB5BKL. This is my first Spartan Sprint in quite awhile, and first Sprint since moving from FL to ID in 2011. I need to use my Elecraft KX1 (20m/40m only), purchased and built years ago for use in Spartan Sprint....complete with batteries and internal antenna tuner. It is very light but only about 3 watts output.
K4BAI
FT1000MP, 5W, TH6DXX, zepp. Very little activity tonight. Maybe everybody was worn out from the FOBB on Sunday. QSOs by band: 20M: 7. 40M: 14. No signals heard on 10 or 20 or 80. Called CQ SP on 80 for a long time and only heard static crashes. We had had rain and thunderstorms earlier in the evening. 20 and 40 seemed to be in pretty good condition, but lack of activity was a big problem. No QSOs in the last 43 minutes despite calling CQ constantly. Went to sleep in the chair and the computer was still calling "CQ SP" after the period was over. No answers then either. Let's try for more activity next month. 73/72, John, K4BAI
N5GW
I was using the KX3 with internal bats and ATU to a CFZ. 20M yielded only a few mostly weak sigs. 40M was QRNish as to be expected in midsummer. I didn't try 80M. Participation seemed to be down again, with only a few regular ops around. Maybe FOBB wore everyone out.
K7TQ
I went back into the mountains east of Moscow, ID where I had done FOBB the day before. Same rig, K2, and 20 m dipole at 40 feet between the pine trees plus a 20/40 m inverted Vee on a Jacklite pole. Not a lot of activity, but I did get four of the usual suspects, K4BAI, AB9CA, WB5BKL, and W5ACM on both 20 and 40. All the 20 m Qs were far to the east or TX as were the ones on 40. Bert, K6CSL, was loud from CA on 40, but I never did hear his exchange. 20 m was still open near the end, 0250Z, when I could hear K4BAI calling CQ. Catch you all next month.
NK6A
I once again used my MTR-5B with 9V battery and palm pico paddle. My battery after 2 sprints is barely 8V and might be time to retire it. Operating 3 W down to 2 W. 6 states. Thanks everyone for having good ears.
KB1M
20 m died in first 30 minutes here in N.H., but was rewarded with my first QRP Ca with NK6A. Not much heard on 40, only 2 contacts through the QRN. 73, Walt
WB5BKL
Used a new-to-me K2 @ 5W to a 20 wire delta loop, a 40M dipole or a 40M extended double Zepp. I am still in 'newbie' mode with the K2 - and apologize for the fumbling. My score is worse than last month but better than the month before that. Nothing on 15M, 4 on 20M, 5 on 40M and 1 on 80M. 40% of my contacts were from Idaho! Only 6 states this time. Best signals: 20M - N3VKM, 40M - N5GW, 80M - WJ9B. I guess Gene had is 40M rotatable rhombic pointed toward the Texas hill country again this month. Nice to work several FOBB participants again Monday evening. My thanks to all (including the organizers). Had fun.
NFØN
After my surprise win in July's Skinny division, it was good to see W5ACM back to reclaim the skinny crown! I did shave some weight by switching to three AA-size Three contacts on 20m and then 6 on 40m over about 80 minutes. It was coast-to-coast from IA to CA, PA, GA, MA and more. No two-band contacts, but lots of regulars. Let's hope we can keep promoting this fun event.
AB9CA
K3 at 5w to 100' wire. A bit of a late start. Ended up being active for only 45 min. 3 Q's on 20, 7 on 40. 20 was long - NH ID CA. 40 shorter - MS IL ID PA IA TX. Only 2-bander was K7TQ in ID. Most stations were weak, but prop has been rather strange lately. Hope to see everyone next month. 73 de dave ab9ca/4
W5ACM
Conditions were much better than I expected on 20M and 40M. Great fun with the ATS3a at 3W! 72 de Andy W5ACM - Houston, TX
Tough going here for August's SP. Don’t know whether everyone got stung by bees during the FOBB or band conditions just continue to wane on us. Anyhow, happy for the ten skilled ops able to pull me out of weak conditions this evening on 20m and 40m. Two bander Andy W5ACM and the lone big signal tonight was Walt KB1M. Thanks to all and the full and entire staff sponsoring this fun monthly event. 72/73 … Don K3RLL
WJ9B
I worked K4BAI and W5ACM on 20m and 40m. I worked WB5BKL on 20m, and he was my only contact on 80m. N5GW (MS) had a good 559 signal on 40m running only two watts. There was a net on 3560 khz so I searched around 3562 kHz where I found WB5BKL. This is my first Spartan Sprint in quite awhile, and first Sprint since moving from FL to ID in 2011. I need to use my Elecraft KX1 (20m/40m only), purchased and built years ago for use in Spartan Sprint....complete with batteries and internal antenna tuner. It is very light but only about 3 watts output.
K4BAI
FT1000MP, 5W, TH6DXX, zepp. Very little activity tonight. Maybe everybody was worn out from the FOBB on Sunday. QSOs by band: 20M: 7. 40M: 14. No signals heard on 10 or 20 or 80. Called CQ SP on 80 for a long time and only heard static crashes. We had had rain and thunderstorms earlier in the evening. 20 and 40 seemed to be in pretty good condition, but lack of activity was a big problem. No QSOs in the last 43 minutes despite calling CQ constantly. Went to sleep in the chair and the computer was still calling "CQ SP" after the period was over. No answers then either. Let's try for more activity next month. 73/72, John, K4BAI
N5GW
I was using the KX3 with internal bats and ATU to a CFZ. 20M yielded only a few mostly weak sigs. 40M was QRNish as to be expected in midsummer. I didn't try 80M. Participation seemed to be down again, with only a few regular ops around. Maybe FOBB wore everyone out.
K7TQ
I went back into the mountains east of Moscow, ID where I had done FOBB the day before. Same rig, K2, and 20 m dipole at 40 feet between the pine trees plus a 20/40 m inverted Vee on a Jacklite pole. Not a lot of activity, but I did get four of the usual suspects, K4BAI, AB9CA, WB5BKL, and W5ACM on both 20 and 40. All the 20 m Qs were far to the east or TX as were the ones on 40. Bert, K6CSL, was loud from CA on 40, but I never did hear his exchange. 20 m was still open near the end, 0250Z, when I could hear K4BAI calling CQ. Catch you all next month.
NK6A
I once again used my MTR-5B with 9V battery and palm pico paddle. My battery after 2 sprints is barely 8V and might be time to retire it. Operating 3 W down to 2 W. 6 states. Thanks everyone for having good ears.
KB1M
20 m died in first 30 minutes here in N.H., but was rewarded with my first QRP Ca with NK6A. Not much heard on 40, only 2 contacts through the QRN. 73, Walt
WB5BKL
Used a new-to-me K2 @ 5W to a 20 wire delta loop, a 40M dipole or a 40M extended double Zepp. I am still in 'newbie' mode with the K2 - and apologize for the fumbling. My score is worse than last month but better than the month before that. Nothing on 15M, 4 on 20M, 5 on 40M and 1 on 80M. 40% of my contacts were from Idaho! Only 6 states this time. Best signals: 20M - N3VKM, 40M - N5GW, 80M - WJ9B. I guess Gene had is 40M rotatable rhombic pointed toward the Texas hill country again this month. Nice to work several FOBB participants again Monday evening. My thanks to all (including the organizers). Had fun.
NFØN
After my surprise win in July's Skinny division, it was good to see W5ACM back to reclaim the skinny crown! I did shave some weight by switching to three AA-size Three contacts on 20m and then 6 on 40m over about 80 minutes. It was coast-to-coast from IA to CA, PA, GA, MA and more. No two-band contacts, but lots of regulars. Let's hope we can keep promoting this fun event.
AB9CA
K3 at 5w to 100' wire. A bit of a late start. Ended up being active for only 45 min. 3 Q's on 20, 7 on 40. 20 was long - NH ID CA. 40 shorter - MS IL ID PA IA TX. Only 2-bander was K7TQ in ID. Most stations were weak, but prop has been rather strange lately. Hope to see everyone next month. 73 de dave ab9ca/4
W5ACM
Conditions were much better than I expected on 20M and 40M. Great fun with the ATS3a at 3W! 72 de Andy W5ACM - Houston, TX
Sunday, July 10, 2016
RULES:
Adventure Radio Society 2023 Flight of the Bumblebees,
Sunday, July 30
The Adventure Radio Society Flight of the Bumblebees is a four-hour event held annually on the last Sunday of July. It is open to all radio amateurs.
2023 ARS Flight of the Bumblebees
Sunday, July 30
1700 to 2100 UTC
CONTEST PERIOD BY TIMEZONE (Local Time)
· 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. – Eastern
· 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. – Central
· 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Mountain
· 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Pacific
· 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. – Hawaii
The contest period accommodates multiple time zones simultaneously. No matter where you live, there will be time for Bumblebees to travel to a field operating site, set up their station, operate the contest, and travel home.
WHO CAN PLAY?
WHO CAN PLAY?
Both home-based and portable operations are encouraged.
WHAT QUALIFIES AS A BUMBLEBEE?
Participants who operate portable from field locations are designated as Bumblebees. They get to their operating site principally under their own power by walking, biking, boating, and so on. The distance traveled to the site is at the Bumblebee’s discretion. Bumblebees add /BB to their calls. (NOTE: Home-based stations do not add /BB to their callsign.)
IF YOU’RE ELIGIBLE, GET A BUMBLEBEE NUMBER
If you plan to operate the 2023 FOBB portable – in other words, from a field location – you’re invited to request a Bumblebee identification number. Instructions for obtaining a Bumblebee number are in the next section, below, headlined "Apply for a 2023 Flight of the Bumblebees Number."
There is no limit to the number of Bumblebees. You may apply for, and receive, a Bee number at any time up to July 30 prior to the contest.
GROUP OPERATION
Group operation is welcome in the Flight of the Bumblebees. You may operate under a single call and report a single score, or under multiple calls and report multiple scores. In any event, you are limited to operating a single transmitter at a time.
POWER OUTPUT
To keep with its minimalist theme, maximum FOBB power output is 5 watts.
OPERATION
We operate CW on 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters, around standard QRP frequencies.
EXCHANGE
- /BB: If you are a Bumblebee, your exchange is RST, state/province/country, and your Bumblebee number.
- Home Stations: If you are home based, your exchange is RST, state/province/country, and your power.
Here are examples of exchanges:
Bumblebee NE6SW / BB (Bumblebee No. 73) sends:
579
CA
BB 73 or NR 73
Home-based station WN1DWL sends:
579
MA
5W
PLAYING IN 2023 FOBB
Everyone in the contest can work anyone else in the contest. In other words:
· Home-based stations can work other home-based stations and Bumblebees.
· Bumblebees can work other Bumblebees and home-based stations.
SCORING
Here are the details:
· Each contact is worth one point.
· The same station can be worked on different bands for additional QSO points and multipliers.
· Contacts with Bumblebees generate a multiplier of three. NOTE: If you worked NE6SW/BB on two bands, it counts as two Bumblebee contacts.
Here’s an example of how your score will be calculated:
- Say, you make 21 FOBB contacts on 40 meters.
- You make 32 FOBB contacts on 20 meters.
- In that combined total of QSOs, you contacted 14 Bumblebees. NOTE: If you worked KI6SN/BB on two bands, it counts as two Bumblebee contacts.
- To determine your multiplier, multiply 14 Bumblebees times 3.
Using the FOBB Scoring Formuala:
- Contacts: 21 + 32 = 53
- BB Multiplier: 14 X 3 = 42
- Total: 53 QSOs X 42 BB Multiplier = 2,226 Total points
COMMENDATIONS
Separate but equal commendations are awarded to the high scores for the home based and Bumblebee participants. We will also commend Bumblebees in the following categories:
- Most interesting equipment
- Most fascinating FOBB venture
- Most beautiful site
SUBMITTING YOUR FOBB DATA:
Send your FOBB 2023 Reports via email to:
REPORT FORM:
Your:
- Full name
- Callsign
- Location of FOBB operation
- Total number of contacts (all bands)
- Total number of Bumblebees (all bands)
- Comments about your 2015 FOBB experience:
Photographs of your adventure are welcome and encouraged.
RESULTS:
Results and soapbox comments will be reported on the ARS Spartan Sprint and FOBB website. That posting will be announced on the QRP-L mailgroup.
SAFETY:
As with all ARS events, please keep safety in front of mind when conducting operations in the field. Such things as weather, power lines, terrain, dehydration and fatigue can be lethal. Above all, we want all participants to have a fabulous and safe experience.
– 73, Richard Fisher, KI6SN,
The Adventure Radio Society
The Adventure Radio Society
* * * * * * * * * *
FIELD STATIONS:
Apply for a 2023 Flight of the Bumblebees Number
Apply for a 2023 Flight of the Bumblebees Number
The Adventure Radio Society Flight of the Bumblebees is a four-hour event held annually on the last Sunday of July. It is open to all radio amateurs.
2023 ARS Flight of the Bumblebees
Sunday, July 30
1700 to 2100 UTC
CONTEST PERIOD BY TIMEZONE (Local Time)
· 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. – Eastern
· 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. – Central
· 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Mountain
· 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Pacific
· 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. – Hawaii
The contest period accommodates multiple time zones simultaneously. No matter where you live, there will be time for Bumblebees to travel to a field operating site, set up their station, operate the contest, and travel home.
IF YOU’RE ELIGIBLE, GET A BUMBLEBEE NUMBER
IF YOU’RE ELIGIBLE, GET A BUMBLEBEE NUMBER
If you plan to operate the 2023 FOBB portable – in other words, from a field location – you’re invited to request a Bumblebee identification number. Here’s how:
1. CHECK THE DATABASE: An online database has been set up to show assigned Bumblebee numbers. Visit: http://bit.ly/15aGgN1
2. OFFER THREE OPTIONS: Check the database http://bit.ly/15aGgN1 for eligibility. Then send an email to:
ARSBumblebees@gmail.com with:
ARSBumblebees@gmail.com with:
- Your Callsign
- Your First Name
- The field location you anticipate to be operating from
- Your Top 3 Choices for FOBB Number
3. YOUR FOBB NUMBER ASSIGNMENT: Check the database, http://bit.ly/15aGgN1 after submitting your top three choices to see which number you have been assigned. The number listed in the database is your official 2023 FOBB number.
– 73, Richard Fisher, KI6SN,
The Adventure Radio Society
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)