Soapbox Comments: June '12 Spartan Sprint

NQ2W

This was a lot of fun. K1 running 5W to a mini-beam at 25 ft for 20 meters and an inverted vee at 40 ft for 40 meters. Made 14 Q's on 20 and 15 on 40. I thought the participation was excellent this month...but always could use more...great to hear so many QRPers during the sprint. The first hour and a half flew by, then things quieted down. Never went to 80 and only made a few contacts during the last half hour on 40. Worked W5ACM on the second band with just a few minutes to spare. AA4GA and N4KV also made it into my log on 2 bands. All in all, a very enjoyable sprint.  I've uploaded my log to LoTW and eQSL...hope you'll consider doing the same. Looking forward to next month! Thanks to all of the participants and thanks to the organizers.





W1PID
I ran the HB-1B into an OCF dipole. Best DX was W7OM in Washington. Not much activity. Only 4 Qs on 20M. 4 Qs on 40M and 2 on 80M. Stations on 40 were REALLY strong. Worked WB4MNK in FL on 40. One minute before the start (0059Z) I worked UN7PL in the Ukraine on 20M and I was hoping for lots of contacts. Thanks, all.


WB4MNK
Had a ball using the little KX1. Thanks to all who let me work them. See everyone next month.


K3RLL
Up north for the summer and what a difference with an outside antenna! FT-817 to G5RV at 40’.  Nice to work familiar calls and a few new ones tonight.  Conditions seemed good and I didn’t miss the digi-QRM one bit.


AA4GA
I got a 40 minute late start, but the bands seemed much better than last month...I kept dozing off in the chair and ended up only working about 45 minutes of the Sprint, but still managed to get within 2 QSOs of last month - probably could have had a pretty good total if I'd started on time and worked the full two hours!  ATS-3b at 2w out to an 80m doublet up 45' or so on 20m and 40m only this time around.  Thanks all - see you next time!


N5EM
Very good conditions.  FT817 - 5 Watts - R7 Vertical plus Dipole at 20 ft. on 40.


K6CSL
I started this eveninng on 10m with no joy. Same on 15m. I moved to 20m at 01:30UTC and soon after worked NW2K in NY. Band conditions were not very good. Very noisy this evening. I moved to 40m at 02:00UTC. I called CQ and tried to call several stations. 40m was also very noisy this evening. Bill, W6QR, near Los Angeles, CA returned my call at 02:55Z. He was QRO 100 Watts and gave me a 329 report. I hope next months Spartan Sprint will be a little better.


W3KC
Rig: IC-703 at 5w;Antenna: Sloping ZS6BKW doublet (24 ft at high end); 6 Qs on 20; 23 Qs on 40; 5 Qs on 80. Band condx: Lots of atmospheric QRN. First SP in quite a while - fun as always.


AB9CA
Another good sprint. Activity seemed a bit higher. Rig was K2 at 5w to one of two wires. 20m was the money band this evening. 32 contacts there including a short chat with Rumi in Bulgaria. Also had 8 Qs on 40m. The prop on 20 was somewhat flaky. Some QSB but not as bad as it is sometimes. 40 was noisy and also appeared to be in not so good shape. The few contacts there were tough. Also called on 15 and 80 but netted nothing from either. 20 was open to TN, VA, and FL as well as WA, NY, and ME. The few on 40 were fairly close by. Did not work anyone from GA which is unusual, although did hear N7KDL in LA. As usual it was an interesting and enjoyable evening. Thanks to all who called and to the organizers who do the real work. See ya' next month.


NW2K
5W, inverted V fan dipole at 50'.  9 QSOs on 20M, 24 on 40M (all around 7040), and 4 on 80M with storms in the area.  Operated for the first 75 minutes.  Thanks!


KE9V
40 and 20 weren't in great shape but I managed to work a few Spartan Sprinters. After 10pm (local) I switched to 80 and never heard a single CQ SS. Had fun despite the light participation. Anxious to see the other results. See you all next month!


W5ACM
The backup rig – my HEAVY ATS-3 continues to perform quite well with three LiPo batteries, providing 5W out. Conditions were very good to the east on 20M, but the Western stations and Midwest stations could not hear me. It was good to work stations in NH and NY though. I was using my backyard vertical. The same was true for 40M, but with a higher noise level. The total QSO count was split almost evenly with seven on 20M and eight on 40M. I might even use this rig on Field Day if I can get a bit better with the homebrew keyer paddle. It is constructed from a few old relay parts.


NK6A
Lousy conditions here on all bands.  20 did not play out like I thought.  Finally gave up after 45 minutes of noise. Did make it into NH, NY and ONT.  Good ears guys.


K4ORD
I was only on for the last hour, on 20M worked GA, AL, KP4, DL, LZ  on 80M only 1 qso and on 40M made 5. Activity was way down this month, hope it is better next month.


AK3X
I have dabbled in the SP several times but this is first log submission. I only operated for 11 minutes during the sprint due to other obligations, but 40M seemed good and I managed 4 contacts.  Thanks to WB4MNK for his patience in pulling me out of the QRN. Stuck to 40M using a DSW-40, battery powered. Hope to get more time next month.


WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40m extended double Zepp or a 20m delta loop.  Back after a three month absence (forgetfulness, vacation, T-storms).  Most of my QSOs were on 20m and during the first hour. Tried 15m with no luck.  Got 16 states along with both coasts.  My thanks and regards to all.  Had fun.

Results: May '12 Spartan Sprint

For an enlarged view, click on the image

Soapbox Comments: May '12 Spartan Sprint

N4BP
After 15 minutes on 20M, thunderstorms were getting too close to safely leave antenna connected. Static crashes were well over S9, so wasn't hearing anything but the strongest signals.


WA5BUC
Bands seemed a bit noisy tonight. Started on 15. Heard some DX activity, but no Sprinters. Went to 20 for N5GW and NK6A. Then on to 40 for AB9CA and AJ4AY. Listened on 80. Nada. Noise may have been due to a front headed this way. Looking forward to June.


K3RLL
Nice to hear 20 meters alive at 9 PM and fun to work 'old friends' tonight but didn't hear many stations on 40 meters. Thanks ARS, for all your hard work to make this happen. See you next month.


AI4SV
I recently got a hold of an FT817nd, and this was my first time using it in the sprint. Up till now, I've either used my main rig a Kenwood 450S (tubby) or a TenTec 1320 (skinny, but one band). I set it up and played with it for an hour before the contest and it seemed quite sensitive for working DX. After the sprint it's pretty clear that my next stop is to get a CW filter. I didn't hear much on 15m, but 20 and 40 had a lot of activity. I worked stations that I know have good antennas, but I think I need more selectivity to pull out the weaker signals.Tnx everyone, and hope to see you next month, qrv from Chicago.


K4ORD
Started on 20M and found the band open got a call from LZ2RS who said I was 5db over S9 in Bulgaria he was also running 5W, 12 qso's on 20M, 16 on 40M and 3 on 80M the QRN was terrible on 40 & 80 as much as S9 plus 10db made copy on some stations ruff. Rig K3 @ 5W ant's 40 and 160 dipoles.  Thanks for all the contacts.


AH6V
I used our garden 'run to' rain shelter to stay dry. (Hawaiian rain forest). The rig was KX-1 with internal battery and running 1.2 watts to a dipole supported by trees. Very few stations on other than a horrendous pile up at 14.027. All my contacts were easy but very few stations on air. I used only 20 mtrs. as 40 was not ready at my local time. I've used this setup on FD with good results.


AA4GA
I finally got my ATS-3b built and was able to operate my first Spartan Sprint with the new rig.  I was running about 2w from the ATS-3b using a 9 volt Energizer lithium battery, a thrown-together-at-the-last-minute touch paddle and some new earbuds.  Photos of the setup are at aa4ga.com. I was really hoping for at least 20 QSOs, but just couldn't make it happen.  I called CQ a good bit, but never got anything in the way of a run going.  I was afraid the battery was going to poop out before the contest was over, but it was at 8.6 volts when the contest ended.  Great signals from K4BAI and K4ORD.  With the QRN, it may be fall before the bands are really enjoyable for this one!


N5GW
I started out on 20M which was initially open because of longer late spring days. Then about 30 min. later 40M opened up. After the first hour, the pickings were slim, so I went back to the cabin where xyl and I are on vacation on the Tn Cumberland plateau. Rig was a K1 on battery to hb tuner & cfz apex 50' in oak tree. See you all next month from home QTH in MS.


W1PID
I operated about 20 minutes on 20 meters with the HB-1B at 4W to an OCF dipole. Rapid QSB. No west coast. Nothing on 40 or 80. Thanks for the contacts.


AB9CA
For the first time in a long time 20m turned out to the workhorse band - 13 Q's there vs 10 on 40. QRM was high so did not try 80. Condx were different. The QSB on 40 was bad. Quick and deep. Guys would pop up then disappear. 20 was not so bad. Strongest station heard was AJ4AY - of course Jay is only about 40 miles away. He had a really good signal on 40. Best DX was Don in CA. There was one station, I think the call began with W5W... but can't be sure because I could never get decent copy. Sorry that I missed you. Only had about an hour available, but it was a fun hour. Station was the usual K2 at 5w to one of two wires up 40' - 50' between the trees. Thanks to the organizers and everyone who heard me. See ya' next month.


K4BAI
 FT1000MP, WM-2 QRP Watt Meter, 5W output, TH6DXX, dipole, inverted vee.  Activity still down from what we have had in the past. 20M was quite good with stations as close as VA and FL workable as well as New England, WI, TX, and CA. Best DX was a quite loud 5W signal from Rumi, LZ2RS, in Bulgaria.  We have been having thunderstorms this week and the lower bands were quite noisy.  40M was good with no real skip zone and stations in GA and nearby states were easily worked as well as out to New England and Texas.  No activity heard below 7039 kHz this month.  80M was almost a washout with only QSOs in FL, GA, and VA.  20M:  15 QSOs.  40M:  20 QSOs. 80M: 3 QSOs.


WB4MNK
Sure enjoyed operating the sprint. Signals seemed pretty good on the bands.


AE7CG
There were poor band conditions on 20M after the first half hour - heavy QRN, a "static blizzard." Thanks to K6CSL for my only QSO from 0215-0216Z on 20M. Rig here is an MFJ Cub running 2 watts to a 10-foot high dipole.


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 13 Q's on 20 and 10 on 40. Switched filter boards to try 80 but didn't make any Q's there. Participation was pretty good again this month...great to hear so many QRPers during the sprint. Good news/bad news...heard  more stations than I worked. Looking forward to next month! Thanks to all of the participants and thanks to the organizers.


AB1AV
ATS3, touch-keyer, 450mAh Li-poly, Zmatch  tuner, 88-foot doublet up 65 feet.  Got off to a great start on 20 meters with stations up and down Eastern US.  After 9:30 traffic net made 1 contact on 40m, then Rx seemed to go deaf after I called CQ a while.  Trouble-shooting time?  Beat last month, anyway.


W5ACM
I once again used the heavier ATS-3 in the Altoids box with three LiPo batteries running five Watts out. I found 20M exceptional, at least for the first hour, and then no one was left to work! 40M conditions were not as good, with plenty of noise. Only one of my 11 contacts was on 40M. C U next month! 


N9BT
Had fun, but was too sleepy to work many stations.

Results: April '12 Spartan Sprint (Please Click On the Image for Hi-Res View)

Soapbox Comments: April '12 Spartan Sprint

W1PID

Operated for half an hour with an HB-1B at 4W. Bands very noisy but worked NK6A in CA on 20.Thanks everyone for the contacts.


K3RLL
Clock coming up near 9 PM ... Rig on .... Computer booted ... Antenna up (in dark) ... 8:58 PM ... Ready .... 8:59 PM ...  Set ....  9:00 PM ... ring ... ring ... ring 

...  and at exactly 9 PM EDT, the phone rings.  Ever happen to you? Oh well, another abbreviated session but still nice to work familiar and friendly Spartan Sprinters 

even if I didn't hear too many tonight. Thanks to KI6SN and those who put on the Sprints.  These are fun.

K7TQ
I was in Missoula, MT so I did the sprint from the motel parking lot using my K2 and a 7 AHr gel cell and logged with an old Palm and GOLog.  It was just as much fun 

as getting to the field for the Sprints like I used to do during the summer months.  The MT rather than ID caught some folks who recognized where I ought to have been. 

NK6A, K4BAI, and K4ORD caught me on both 20 and 40.  20 held up quite a while, for more than 45 minutes, a sure sign of spring.  Catch you all next month.

AI4SV
Hadn't been in the sprint for a while and felt like hopping back in. I had bad noise across the board, probably from a local source. 20 was clear, but started longish. 

40 was noisy but I made most of my contacts there -- thanks for heroic listening on the part of K3RLL. On 80, at first I heard a few calls, all on 3560.5. That spot 

later thinned to K4BAI, who sounded very echoey, so probably some weird multipath thing going on. A bit up the band, I could hear NQ2W well, but he couldn't hear me. 

I'm sure there are plenty of people who heard my CQs, but I couldn't hear their replies, so sorry! Looking forward to doing this again with skinnier equipment and 

better conditions.

K6CSL
I started about 10 minutes late this evening. Opened on 10M, nothing there. Went to 15M, nothing there. Moved to 20M and worked there for a 1/2 hour, working V

E3EUR/VE7 up in BC. Then moved to 40M for about 1/2 hour, working John, K4BAI and Don, NK6A, friends from the QRP Fox Hunts. Good to work you fellows in Spartan 

Sprint. As a note, where has all the info on ARS and specifically Spartan Sprint gone to. I tried to use the link from the WB7NBM Contest Calendar and the link is no l

onger good. Is a new link being established. (NOTE: The ARS Spartan Sprint Internet home is: < http://www.ARSqrp.blogspot.com >. - KI6SN)

NK6A
Noisy  static lousy conditions from Mar Vista tonight. Started om 20 and found K7TQ instantly from MT with a good signal.  Everyone else was in the noise. Sun was 

shining up until almost 0230 but 20M was giving up at 0200.  40 was not going to happen for me. Managed to snag a VE3 and a few stations from NH.  Great K3 filtering 

and antenna.


K4BAI
Started out with good rates, good signals, and fair skip on 20M.  Then 40M had fair signals and no long skip, but very high QRN.  Rates dropped dramatically.  Took out a few minutes for the state CW net at 0200Z.  80M had terrible QRN but worked GA, FL, and VA.  Think AI4SV called on 80, but couldn't hear his exchange on that band. Best DX was VE3EUR/VE7 on 20M.  Thanks for all QSOs and hope for better activity and better conditions next month.


W5ESE
KD1JV AT Sprint 3 @3W, with a 9.6V wall wart and Whiterook MK-44 paddles. Antenna is a 300' horizontal loop, fed with open wire line. First Sprint I've made since 

October. Hard to believe so many have slipped past. QRN was high on 40m. Will submit my log to ARRL's 'Logbook of the World'.

W5ACM
My ATS-3a is still on the workbench, so I continue to use the heavier ATS-3 in the Altoids box, but this month with three 300 mAh LiPo batteries. I had enough "juice" for some "CQ" ops, but should have started earlier with "CQ" via 20M. My "el-cheapo" earbuds have turned out to be the most sensitive of all tested, but they do have some distortion. For CW, that's not a problem! Conditions were excellent for almost the first hour via 20M. However, 40M and 80M conditions at my QTH were quite noisy 

- only two contacts on 40M this time, and none on 80M.

WB4MNK
Got in late but Enjoyed it. Thanks John K4bai for 80 meter contact.


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 11 Q's on 20 and 7 on 40. Switched filter boards to try 80 but didn't make any Q's there. I thought participation was pretty good again this month.  Some signals were strong, some not so strong. There was one station that called but I couldn't copy...maybe next month we'll make it. Thanks to all of the participants and thanks to the 

organizers. Hope to hear you all again and more next month.

AB1AV
Got a late start after traffic nets, but for once 20 meters was still alive.  Reached TX, MO, AL, and (barely) CA with my 4 Watt ATS3 feeding an 88 foot wire up about 

60 feet. Tried to switch to 40 or 80 but either my rig was acting up or we had no propagation, so called or quits after just a half hour.  Next month I'll try to stay 

in the chair... 

K4ORD
Conditions were fair on 20M worked TX, MT, & CA  and on 40M made 16 qso's and 80M only one, K4BAI. Signals on 40 were up and down a lot with plenty of QRN ( S8 TO S9 ) 

Turn out was down from last month maybe the QRN was wide spread? Until next month . . .

Results: March 2012 Spartan Sprint

Soapbox Comments: March 2012 Spartan Sprint

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.