RESULTS: 2012 ARS Flight of the Bumblebees

The Adventure Radio Society 2012 Flight of the Bumblebees, held Sunday, July 29, is in the books. We received 87 logs and from reports, there was a whole lot of activity. Fabulous!

Among Bumblebees, George Fuller, KXØR / BB24, took top scoring honors with 101 contacts and 69 bees for a multiplier of 207. Total score: 20,907.

Atop of the Non-Bee category is Bob Patten, N4BP, with 118 contacts and 72 bees for a multiplier of 216. Total score: 25,488.

Here are the top 5 in each category:

BUMBLEBEES:

KXØR

N7OU

K7TQ

W4ZV

NK9G

NON-BEES

N4BP

K4BAI

KEØG

NS7P

KØZK 

Click here for complete results, or visit:

< http://bit.ly/NrF65U >

We will be publishing the stories and photographs of your 2012 FOBB experiences soon.

On behalf of ARS, thanks to everyone who took part in the 2012 FOBB. You have contributed to its success and we hope you are looking forward to the 2013 FOBB as much as we are.

Richard Fisher, KI6SN

The Adventure Radio Society

< http://www.ARSqrp.blogspot.com >

Results: August '12 Spartan Sprint

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Soapbox Comments: August '12 Spartan Sprint

W3HI
This was my first Spartan Sprint, but not my last!  With the PFR-3 set up with a wall wart and miniature hand key, I had been looking forward to it for a month and got company just as it began!  So, I worked five contacts in the 1st hour, and finally gave up when my no-code buddy started yawning.  Maybe next time I'll go out in the yard and work portable. That way, my XYL can tell visitors I'm not home. . .  Anyway, I decided awhile back I wanted to do WAS 2XCW/QRP and thanks to NK6A, snagged my first California. Thanks Don.  Heck of a nice signal into the West Virginia mountains.  Pse QSL!

K3RLL
Good signals tonight on both 20 and 40 meters with no apparent digital QRM.  Only worked the first hour, but what a great Sprint! Good to work WB4MNK back in FL.  NQ2W and, as always, K4ORD seemed to have the strongest of many nice, strong signals. Really enjoy the relaxed pace of the Spartan Sprint.  Many thanks to those who make it possible. See you next month.

K7TQ
20 m started out good.  Loud ones were W1PID, N0EVH, and KE0G.  I gave 40 a try at 0140Z, but nothing going, so back to 20.  It played out around 0200Z, so off to 40.  K4BAI was holding court so I got him, but that was about it for a long time.  Finally I got three stations on both 20 and 40.  They were K4BAI, K4ORD, and NK6A.  I was at home with the K3 and C4SXL at 60 feet. Thanks to all who stopped by.

WA5BUC
Great to be back for this month's Spartan Sprint. Three Q's were TX; the 4th was K4BAI in GA. Texas Q's were K5JHP, WB5BKL, and, for a first, long-time fellow HQRP-er W5ACM. Rig was my faithful FT-817 and end-fed wire antenna. Bands were a bit noisy. Need to put the finishing touches on my magnetic loop antenna to see if I can get rid of some of the local noise.'Til September, best 72.

K5JHP
TA33JR and on 40 and 80 meters. Twenty was the band tonight. Worked most ot the contacts there. Hope it's good next month.

W1PID
I operated for about 45 minutes exclusively on 20 meters with an FT-817 and OCF dipole. I worked Russia (UA4WI) and Germany (DL5MC)! Worked Randy K7TQ in Idaho, Rod,  W7OM, in Seattle, and Don, NK6A, in California. The band was clearly long. Thanks all for the fun.

K4BAI
10 and 15 seemed dead.  Good band conditions on 20, 40, and 80.  20 was open to the north and west at the start, but faded after about 15 minutes.  40M was strong to most areas including WA, CA, and ON, with most activity around 7040, but a few around 7030.  80M was quiet with contacts from NY to TX.  QSOs per band: 20M: 7.  40M: 28.  80M: 5.  QSOed on three bands:  WB9G (NY), WB5BKL (TX).  Hope for more activity next month. I will be on a QRP forum to talk about QRP contesting at the Huntsville Hamfest August 19.  Hope to meet many of you there.

NW2K
Only had 75 minutes but had a lot of fun.  See you next time.  5W, fan dipole at 40 feet.

K4ORD
Good to have 20M open, nice to work DL5MC on both 20 and 40M. Heavy QRN on both 40 and 80, but 20 was fairly quiet. 7 QSOs on 20, 23 on 40 and 3 on 80. I probably missed some in the QRN. Thanks to all.

W5ACM
Still using the backup rig - the ATS-3. It continues to perform quite well with three LiPo batteries, providing 5W out and a final total of 16 QSOs. Conditions were good on 20M, but I had to move to 40M after only half an hour since everyone I could hear, I had worked! I probably spent too much time calling CQ, but with contacts ranging from California, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin and Florida, I expected more. I was using my backyard vertical. The vast majority of my contacts were on 40M this month, and the noise level was minimal. I was pleasantly surprised at the great signals on 40M. The local Texas stations like WA8ZBT, W5WO, K5JHP and WA5BUC sounded excellent. At the end of the event I checked out 80M, but only found one station WB5BKL. Great Time this month!

NQ2W
K1 running 5W to a mini-beam at 25 ft for 20 meters and an inverted vee at 40 ft for 40 meters. Made 9 Q's on 20 and 18 on 40. Both bands were in pretty good shape and there was good participation again this month. All in all, a most enjoyable sprint. Worked three stations on both bands - K4BAI, WA8ZBT, & KE0G. One station called me on 20 but QSB won out - hopefully, next time we'll complete the QSO. I've uploaded my log to LoTW and eQSL...hope you'll consider doing the same. Thanks to all of the participants and thanks to the organizers.

WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40m extended double Zepp or a 20m wire delta loop.  Started things off with a dupe within 9 minutes (sorry K7TQ), but settled down and had a good time. Two QSOs on 80M, 3 on 40M and the rest on 20M.  Worked K4BAI on all three bands. Some of the signals were _very_ strong.  Worked 15 SPCs with HI being the best DX. Removed the dupe and a QRO station before submitting my score.  Had fun.

VA2NB
 I happened to be tuning around and heard CQ SP and realized that it was the Spartan Sprint so I decided to make a few contacts. I used to be a regular but haven't operated this event in what must be a couple of years. I'll be back next month.

WB9G
This was my second Sprint, but my first submission.  My farthest contact was from my QTH in Northern NY to NK6A in CA on 20m.  My 40m and 80m contacts were mostly East Coast.  Besides the other New York stations (NW2K and NQ2W), the best signal of the night was K4ORD at 20 over S9 on 40m.  K4BAI also was solid on 20, 40, and 80m.  Thanks for a great time, and I look forward to next month.

WB4MNK
Bands sure seemed to be in good shape. Thanks to all who stopped by. It was a fun evening.

Results: July '12 Spartan Sprint

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Soapbox Comments: July '12 Spartan Sprint

W1PID
I operated the FT-817 with an OCF dipole. Only one QSO on 40 meters. Good band conditions. I worked 2 DX stations: UA9FGJ and DL2HWI. Worked NK6A in California. Sorry the participation is down. Thanks to all for the QSOs.


WB2MNK
Too much static to copy. Sorry to the stations that called me but S9 plus static. Was fun while it lasted.


K3RLL
FT-817 to G5RVjr from rural PA.Nice to hear good signals on 20 meters, but the band emptied out fast.  40 Meters was noisy here so pulled the big switch early, but had fun. WB4MNK and W3KC had the big signals here.  Many thanks to those whose efforts make this fun possible.  Hope to ‘hear” you all next month.


K4BAI
20M was very good, but too little activity.  15 QSOs on 20M.  40M was fair with QRN and too little activity.  19 QSOs on 40.  80M had strong signals from K4ORD and AB9CA.  No other sprinters heard on 80M.  Hope to work you all and others next month.


W5ESE
I used my AT Sprint 3 and Whiterook MK-44 paddles supplied with a 9.6v wall wart.  All but one of my Qs was on 20m. The QRN on 40m was deafening. Will submit my log to the ARRL's Logbook of the World. I expect to use this same setup (except with batteries instead of the wall wart) in the FoBB, along with a 15m MFJ Cub. Hope to hear many of you on the air in it, too.


N5GW
XYL and I came up to cabin on Cumberland Plateau in part to escape heat at home QTH in MS. Unfortunately, it has been hotter up here! Rig was K1 at 5W to cfz. Band was noisy from local T-storms, but cloud cover cooled the shack a bit.


AB9CA
Interesting Sprint! Rig was the usual K2 at 5w to 100' wire. Condx seems to be pretty good except for some QSB and QRN, but neither was too bad. 80 was fairly quiet (you know, for 80) but no one home! Activity was spread out with 20 Qs on 20 and 19 on 40. Only 2 on 80. Best DX was K2ZU in WA on 20. Also worked N6GA (20m), NK6A (40m), and K6CSL (20m) in CA. Best DX to the NE was, I think, NH. A good evening but we could always use more participation. Never too many! Thanks to everyone who stopped by and we look forward to hearing you again next month!


NW2K
5W, inverted V fan dipole at 50'.  Got to the party late, with only 25 minutes remaining.  20m was open to the south and nothing heard on 80m. Thanks again and see you next time.


W5ACM
The backup rig - my HEAVY ATS-3 - continues to perform quite well with three LiPo batteries, providing 5W out and a final total of 14 QSOs. Conditions were very good on 20M, but I had to move to 40M after an hour since everyone I could hear, I had worked! I was using my backyard vertical. The vast majority of my contacts were on 20M this month, and the noise level was minimal. It wasn't even bad on 40M. I did not use this rig on Field Day, but stuck with the FT-847 we had for satellite contacts. It was easy enough to just turn the power down to 5W, so the Altoids box ATS-3 stayed in the car.


W3KC
Activity seemed down from June - possibly due to the lingering effects of the powerful and widespread Derecho. But I did make some contacts on three bands (20, 40, and 80 m). Thanks to all the ops who made it fun.


K4ORD
The qrn was bad again, but sure glad it was low at Field Day which made for more pleasant operating. 16 QSOs on 40M, 8 on 20M , 3 on 80M. Seem to have about ran out of contacts in last 45 minutes. Thanks to all.


NQ2W
K1 running 5W to a mini-beam at 25 ft for 20 meters and an inverted v at 40 ft for 40 meters. Made 11 Qs on 20 and 11 on 40. Worked K4ORD, K4BAI, and AB9CA on both bands. Worked 3 other NY stations on 40 ... cool. There was one station calling on 40 that I just couldn't copy...QRN and QSB...hopefully, next month we'll make it. Good participation again this month. I've uploaded my log to LoTW and eQSL ... hope you'll consider doing the same. Looking forward to the Flight of the Bumblebees on July 29 and to next month's sprint! Thanks to all of the participants and thanks to the organizers.


WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40m extended double Zepp or a 20m wire delta loop.  18 states with best DX N1WPU (ME) and closest W5ACM, 180 miles away in Houston.  Tried 15 and 80m with zero luck.  Signals on 40m seemed weak - even usually strong K4BAI was only 449 here in the Texas hill country.  My thanks to all.  Had fun.


W4ZV
My first Sprint in several years.  Operated from our lake house deck with a little QRM from some pre-4th fireworks. Answered SM7ZDI's CQ 4 minutes before the start so I had high hopes.  Unfortunately either conditions were extremely poor or we had low activity (or both).  A few good signals from TX and CA on 20m and NY on 40m but most CQs went unanswered.  Oh well it was still fun to fire up my ATS-3 using a new 1200 mHh LiPo battery, running nearly 4 Watts to an EndFedz 10-40 hanging in a pine tree next to the deck.  I may be back again if we happen to be at our lake house on a Sprint date.  Thanks to all for your GREAT ears!




   

Results: June '12 Spartan Sprint

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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.