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Saturday, January 9, 2016
Soapbox: January 2016 Spartan Sprint
K3RLL
Really good night tonight despite the band conditions. This was fun! K4BAI on 3 bands - surprising on 20m as we are pretty close but awfully strong on 80m, WB5BKL on 2 bands. This is a fun hobby. 72 de K3RLL
K7TQ
Tough conditions on both 40 and 80 tonight. All 6 Qs were on 40 with nothing heard on 80. I used a straight key and the Digital Fist Recorder that was in the November QST. The recorder sent the CQs and I
answered with the straight key. It was an interesting evening. Catch you all next month.
WVØH
Yes, 2016 is off to a good start by me remembering to get on the air! We had some marginal conditions tonight as the band just gets long so quickly on 40 after sunset. My K1 doesn’t have 80 in it so I pretty much just made 3 QSOs and that was about it. I did pop up to 20 but there was nothing, not even a peep. I worked a local N1SMB – Allen, AB9CA – Dave, and N9NE – Todd. So my score is probably my all time lowest: 3 QSOs and my K1 setup normally runs 1.7981 lbs but tonight I left off the earbuds for an additional savings of 0.416 oz to make my grand total weight of 1.7721 lbs for this effort.
KD5KC
Very disappointing night. I am not sure if the band conditions were poor, or if my receiver has developed a problem. Usually 20m is good for something, 40m does real well, and 80m is questionable. This evening I got 1 on 20m, one on 40m, and 5 on 80m as follows: 20m = CA; 40m = CA; 80m = AL, GA, MS, TX and WI. Thanks, everyone, for the contacts. Vy 73 - Mike, KD5KC
AB9CA
Prop did not appear to cooperate this evening. Did not hear many and those heard were weak. Noise seemed high. A index = 4, K index = 1? Condx should have been pretty good. But they were not here. Tried 20 at the beginning but received no answers to my calls. Worked 7 on 40 and 6 on 80. Lost a couple, K1QO and KD5KC on 40 and N5EM on 80. Rig was IC7200 at 5w to 100' wire. Thanks to everyone who stopped by as well as to those who tried but did not get through. Hope to see Everyone - and more - next month. 73 de Dave, AB9CA/4
K4BAI
20M open to NY and FL at the beginning. 40M was pretty good to New England, MS, TX and FL. 80M was fair from TX to NH. Actually better than fair to TX. Could use more activity in this fun event. Worked K3RLL on all three bands. Thanks for QSOs. Happy New Year. 73/72, John, K4BAI
NQ2W
K1 at 5 W to a 2-element mini-beam at 25 ft for 10, 15, and 20 meters, an inverted V at 40 ft for 40 m, and a homebrewed, near-bottom loaded, ground mounted vertical for 80 m. Some new calls in the log. Hope they return often. 1 QSO on 20, 9 on 40, 4 on 80. Two-banders with K4BAI (20 and 80) and K1QO (40 and 80). Hope to hear you all and more next month. Thank you and 72, Will
N5GW
I had the KX3 with internal batteries at 3 watts into a hb balanced minituner to a cfz at 50 ft. Only 40M and 80M were tried, as 20M was dead at this QTH. The bands didn't sound very good, including mostly weak signals and QSB. The winter doldrums must have arrived. However I was able to pull out almost everyone I heard. Ten Q's on 40 and 9 Q's on 80. CU all next month.
WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M dipole or a 40M extended double
Zepp. Only 9 states split between 40 and 80M. Heard AB9CA on 20 - but wasn't quick enough. Tried to work N5GW three times on two bands but he declined... Best signals: 40M - K7ON, 80M - K4BAI. Happy New Year to you all. I hope for good propagation and more participants in 2016. My thanks to the organizers for their efforts in 2015. Had fun.
WA5BUC
40 & 20 were virtually silent here. (Heard a Jamaican on 20.) Zero Q's for the Sprint. Hope February is better. 72s and Happy New Year de WA5BUC
W5ACM
Still using the ATS-3a with two 170 mAh LiPo batteries, providing 3W out to my antique 18AVQ vertical and a final total of a mere FOUR QSOs this month. I had ZERO contacts on 20M and 40M. The bands were absolutely dead from Houston. I parked on 80M for the whole event. The QRN wasn't horrible, but my ears and earbuds are still ringing! Many thanks to K4BAI, AB9CA, N5GW and WB5BKL. I did a little polishing on the key contacts prior to the event, and it helped. My CW was better than usual and less difficult to copy. The batteries survived the abuse, but it was close. Always hoping for more 20M ops! 72 de Andy, W5ACM - Houston, TX
K1QO
Fun, as always! 3 banded with neighbor N1IX and so cool getting QRP celeb' K1SWL in the log! N5GW, you are amazing, I forgot to turn the rig up to 5w. You got me running 1W on 40 nice going. K4BAI is incredible - 2 bander 40 and 80! Thanks, Will, NQ2W for a 2 bander 40/80 and loudest signal award goes to you on 80! And, Beasts team mate, N9NE: it was wild hearing you tune up the band, logging station after station and know you were in the sprint then getting you on 40! I missed AB9CA. I was weak calling him but figure I'd go back again later, then he was gone or I couldn't hear him. My mistake, Dave is a FB op and I should have hung in there I would have been able to count one more Q. Also heard was K3RLL on 80. See everyone next month! 72/88 Ann
Really good night tonight despite the band conditions. This was fun! K4BAI on 3 bands - surprising on 20m as we are pretty close but awfully strong on 80m, WB5BKL on 2 bands. This is a fun hobby. 72 de K3RLL
K7TQ
Tough conditions on both 40 and 80 tonight. All 6 Qs were on 40 with nothing heard on 80. I used a straight key and the Digital Fist Recorder that was in the November QST. The recorder sent the CQs and I
answered with the straight key. It was an interesting evening. Catch you all next month.
WVØH
Yes, 2016 is off to a good start by me remembering to get on the air! We had some marginal conditions tonight as the band just gets long so quickly on 40 after sunset. My K1 doesn’t have 80 in it so I pretty much just made 3 QSOs and that was about it. I did pop up to 20 but there was nothing, not even a peep. I worked a local N1SMB – Allen, AB9CA – Dave, and N9NE – Todd. So my score is probably my all time lowest: 3 QSOs and my K1 setup normally runs 1.7981 lbs but tonight I left off the earbuds for an additional savings of 0.416 oz to make my grand total weight of 1.7721 lbs for this effort.
KD5KC
Very disappointing night. I am not sure if the band conditions were poor, or if my receiver has developed a problem. Usually 20m is good for something, 40m does real well, and 80m is questionable. This evening I got 1 on 20m, one on 40m, and 5 on 80m as follows: 20m = CA; 40m = CA; 80m = AL, GA, MS, TX and WI. Thanks, everyone, for the contacts. Vy 73 - Mike, KD5KC
AB9CA
Prop did not appear to cooperate this evening. Did not hear many and those heard were weak. Noise seemed high. A index = 4, K index = 1? Condx should have been pretty good. But they were not here. Tried 20 at the beginning but received no answers to my calls. Worked 7 on 40 and 6 on 80. Lost a couple, K1QO and KD5KC on 40 and N5EM on 80. Rig was IC7200 at 5w to 100' wire. Thanks to everyone who stopped by as well as to those who tried but did not get through. Hope to see Everyone - and more - next month. 73 de Dave, AB9CA/4
K4BAI
20M open to NY and FL at the beginning. 40M was pretty good to New England, MS, TX and FL. 80M was fair from TX to NH. Actually better than fair to TX. Could use more activity in this fun event. Worked K3RLL on all three bands. Thanks for QSOs. Happy New Year. 73/72, John, K4BAI
NQ2W
K1 at 5 W to a 2-element mini-beam at 25 ft for 10, 15, and 20 meters, an inverted V at 40 ft for 40 m, and a homebrewed, near-bottom loaded, ground mounted vertical for 80 m. Some new calls in the log. Hope they return often. 1 QSO on 20, 9 on 40, 4 on 80. Two-banders with K4BAI (20 and 80) and K1QO (40 and 80). Hope to hear you all and more next month. Thank you and 72, Will
N5GW
I had the KX3 with internal batteries at 3 watts into a hb balanced minituner to a cfz at 50 ft. Only 40M and 80M were tried, as 20M was dead at this QTH. The bands didn't sound very good, including mostly weak signals and QSB. The winter doldrums must have arrived. However I was able to pull out almost everyone I heard. Ten Q's on 40 and 9 Q's on 80. CU all next month.
WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M dipole or a 40M extended double
Zepp. Only 9 states split between 40 and 80M. Heard AB9CA on 20 - but wasn't quick enough. Tried to work N5GW three times on two bands but he declined... Best signals: 40M - K7ON, 80M - K4BAI. Happy New Year to you all. I hope for good propagation and more participants in 2016. My thanks to the organizers for their efforts in 2015. Had fun.
WA5BUC
40 & 20 were virtually silent here. (Heard a Jamaican on 20.) Zero Q's for the Sprint. Hope February is better. 72s and Happy New Year de WA5BUC
W5ACM
Still using the ATS-3a with two 170 mAh LiPo batteries, providing 3W out to my antique 18AVQ vertical and a final total of a mere FOUR QSOs this month. I had ZERO contacts on 20M and 40M. The bands were absolutely dead from Houston. I parked on 80M for the whole event. The QRN wasn't horrible, but my ears and earbuds are still ringing! Many thanks to K4BAI, AB9CA, N5GW and WB5BKL. I did a little polishing on the key contacts prior to the event, and it helped. My CW was better than usual and less difficult to copy. The batteries survived the abuse, but it was close. Always hoping for more 20M ops! 72 de Andy, W5ACM - Houston, TX
K1QO
Fun, as always! 3 banded with neighbor N1IX and so cool getting QRP celeb' K1SWL in the log! N5GW, you are amazing, I forgot to turn the rig up to 5w. You got me running 1W on 40 nice going. K4BAI is incredible - 2 bander 40 and 80! Thanks, Will, NQ2W for a 2 bander 40/80 and loudest signal award goes to you on 80! And, Beasts team mate, N9NE: it was wild hearing you tune up the band, logging station after station and know you were in the sprint then getting you on 40! I missed AB9CA. I was weak calling him but figure I'd go back again later, then he was gone or I couldn't hear him. My mistake, Dave is a FB op and I should have hung in there I would have been able to count one more Q. Also heard was K3RLL on 80. See everyone next month! 72/88 Ann
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Monday, December 28, 2015
Soapbox: December 2015 ARS Spartan Sprint
NK6A
The A index was 26. Conditions were dismal here in Southern California. I tried 20M on a lark and that was dead. Next I tried 40, I saw no signals on my P3. I kept tuning and watching when finally I heard a few very weak ESP-type signals. Dave, AB9CA, has great ears. John, K4BAI, also has great ears. I was surprised that I was heard. Four contacts and four different states. All in the South. MS, TX, GA and AL. Where was everyone? I called it quits at 03:30Z.
K1QO
Conditions were a bit strange! The best signal award (besides neighbor N1IX who lives a half mile away) goes to N5GW I didn't expect to hear MS coming through like gangbusters ... cool, and second place goes to AB9CA ... nice signal Dave!!! Always a thrill to get "BAI" on multi bands I was so glad to get John on 40 and 80! Good to hear WA1CZQ/1, friend and glue for NEQRP club! I listened hard for local NH QRP'ers on 80 when I called but I didn't get any takers ... I'll try again next month. Thanks neighbor N1IX for triple bander and thanks to K3RLL for the contact on 40! See everyone next month and happy holidays to all! 72/88 de Ann
K3RLL
Once again, 20 meters was as empty as my wallet but action slowly started to build again this evening on 40m. Despite the fair propagation numbers published today, signals sounded weak this evening with a couple of notable exceptions: K2YGM and N9WAY. Thanks to all for the contacts and for those whose efforts make this monthly event possible.
NQ2W
K1 at 5 W to a 2-element mini-beam at 25 ft for 10, 15, and 20 meters, an inverted V at 40 ft for 40 m, and a homebrewed, near-bottom loaded, ground mounted vertical for 80 m. Not much activity for this sprint ... low participation or less than optimal conditions...maybe both. K4BAI accounted for half of my contacts and my only QSOs on 20 and 80. Thanks to AB9CA, K3RLL, and N5GW for getting me in their logs. Have a great holiday season and I hope to hear a lot of SPers in 2016. 72, Will
N1IX
Great conditions on 40M for the first 10 minutes then they deteriorated rapidly. John, K4BAI was very loud, stronger than I’ve heard him in a long time. It was great to work Jim, W1PID on 80M and work my neighbor Ann, K1QO on 3 bands. Sorry I missed you Carl, WA1ZCQ/1 but great to hear you in the Sprint. Overall participation in this sprint seemed very low but that may have been the poor conditions. Also, we have a new Randy, KCØCCR in KS called me. Hope you all have a great holiday. See you in the sprints next year. 72 Dave – N1IX
N5GW
I was running the KX3 at 3 watts with internal ATU and internal batteries to the CFZ. On 40M the antenna was loaded like a center fed dipole, and on 80M like a "T" vertical with metal porch roof ground. I listened on 20M at first but heard nothing. 40M was the main band with 19 Q's. Only 5 Q's on 80M. It is interesting why one of the two bands (40 or 80) will be the best on a given date this time of year.
K4BAI
FT1000MP, 52, TH6DXX, dipole, inverted vee, zepp. 20M was open to New England, NY and TX at the start, but only two QSOs made there. 40M was pretty good all over with 14 QSOs from CA to MN to NH and ON. Heard and called several stations who could not hear me. Skip was too long for near by QSOs. 80M was also good with 9 QSOs form TX to MN to NH and as close as AL. Thanks for all QSOs. Hope we can have more activity next month. 73/72, John, K4BAI
W5ACM
The December 2015 Spartan Sprint was noisy at my QTH, but not impossible. I found no stations on 20M, so went directly to 40M since I missed the first 30 minutes of the event. Work got in the way… There were a few stations on 40M, but the bulk of my operation ended up on 80M, with an interesting exception. While tuning to 7040 from 7030 (power-on default for the ATS 3a), I ran across VP5/W5CW on 7033. No pileup and reasonable conditions between Turks and Caicos and Houston, so I got that one in the log. From my location, the strongest signal of the night was WB5BKL on 80M. Nick was booming in. The antenna continues to be my antique 14AVQ vertical and power out was a maximum of 3W. The 170 mAh LiPo’s are certainly puffing up, but I will keep running them until they blow! C U in 2016 es 72 de Andy W5ACM (Houston, TX)
W5QLF
I made only two contacts and these were both on 40 meters. Twenty was dead to me. Thank you Gene, N5GW and Charles, AB9CA I could copy other stations but the QSB took out critical characters voiding valid contacts. The rig is a FlexRadio 6300 using a Butternut HF-9V vertical over 60 radials. It is very disheartening to see a CW trace on the waterfall but not be able to copy the audio.
N5EM
Nobody heard on 20M. Went straight to 40M. Worked 3 there, and WB5BKL on 80M using my R7 (40 - 10). I have to get that 80M loop up before January!
WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M dipole or a 40M extended double
Zepp. Only 14 Qs and 8 states split between 40 and 80M. Heard a couple of below ESP signals that I could not pull out of the mud - though both bands were unusually quiet here. Sorry about that. Only one contact in the last 30 minutes. Best signals: 40M - K4BAI, 80M - AB9CA. Let's all hope for better propagation _and_ more participation next year. Happy Holidays to all and see you in 2016! Had fun.
WB8LZG
Hello sprinters, here's my SP Log. RAN HEAVY USING THE BIG RIG TURNED DOWN TO 5W. 30+ LBS. 73 Gregg
The A index was 26. Conditions were dismal here in Southern California. I tried 20M on a lark and that was dead. Next I tried 40, I saw no signals on my P3. I kept tuning and watching when finally I heard a few very weak ESP-type signals. Dave, AB9CA, has great ears. John, K4BAI, also has great ears. I was surprised that I was heard. Four contacts and four different states. All in the South. MS, TX, GA and AL. Where was everyone? I called it quits at 03:30Z.
K1QO
Conditions were a bit strange! The best signal award (besides neighbor N1IX who lives a half mile away) goes to N5GW I didn't expect to hear MS coming through like gangbusters ... cool, and second place goes to AB9CA ... nice signal Dave!!! Always a thrill to get "BAI" on multi bands I was so glad to get John on 40 and 80! Good to hear WA1CZQ/1, friend and glue for NEQRP club! I listened hard for local NH QRP'ers on 80 when I called but I didn't get any takers ... I'll try again next month. Thanks neighbor N1IX for triple bander and thanks to K3RLL for the contact on 40! See everyone next month and happy holidays to all! 72/88 de Ann
K3RLL
Once again, 20 meters was as empty as my wallet but action slowly started to build again this evening on 40m. Despite the fair propagation numbers published today, signals sounded weak this evening with a couple of notable exceptions: K2YGM and N9WAY. Thanks to all for the contacts and for those whose efforts make this monthly event possible.
NQ2W
K1 at 5 W to a 2-element mini-beam at 25 ft for 10, 15, and 20 meters, an inverted V at 40 ft for 40 m, and a homebrewed, near-bottom loaded, ground mounted vertical for 80 m. Not much activity for this sprint ... low participation or less than optimal conditions...maybe both. K4BAI accounted for half of my contacts and my only QSOs on 20 and 80. Thanks to AB9CA, K3RLL, and N5GW for getting me in their logs. Have a great holiday season and I hope to hear a lot of SPers in 2016. 72, Will
N1IX
Great conditions on 40M for the first 10 minutes then they deteriorated rapidly. John, K4BAI was very loud, stronger than I’ve heard him in a long time. It was great to work Jim, W1PID on 80M and work my neighbor Ann, K1QO on 3 bands. Sorry I missed you Carl, WA1ZCQ/1 but great to hear you in the Sprint. Overall participation in this sprint seemed very low but that may have been the poor conditions. Also, we have a new Randy, KCØCCR in KS called me. Hope you all have a great holiday. See you in the sprints next year. 72 Dave – N1IX
N5GW
I was running the KX3 at 3 watts with internal ATU and internal batteries to the CFZ. On 40M the antenna was loaded like a center fed dipole, and on 80M like a "T" vertical with metal porch roof ground. I listened on 20M at first but heard nothing. 40M was the main band with 19 Q's. Only 5 Q's on 80M. It is interesting why one of the two bands (40 or 80) will be the best on a given date this time of year.
K4BAI
FT1000MP, 52, TH6DXX, dipole, inverted vee, zepp. 20M was open to New England, NY and TX at the start, but only two QSOs made there. 40M was pretty good all over with 14 QSOs from CA to MN to NH and ON. Heard and called several stations who could not hear me. Skip was too long for near by QSOs. 80M was also good with 9 QSOs form TX to MN to NH and as close as AL. Thanks for all QSOs. Hope we can have more activity next month. 73/72, John, K4BAI
W5ACM
The December 2015 Spartan Sprint was noisy at my QTH, but not impossible. I found no stations on 20M, so went directly to 40M since I missed the first 30 minutes of the event. Work got in the way… There were a few stations on 40M, but the bulk of my operation ended up on 80M, with an interesting exception. While tuning to 7040 from 7030 (power-on default for the ATS 3a), I ran across VP5/W5CW on 7033. No pileup and reasonable conditions between Turks and Caicos and Houston, so I got that one in the log. From my location, the strongest signal of the night was WB5BKL on 80M. Nick was booming in. The antenna continues to be my antique 14AVQ vertical and power out was a maximum of 3W. The 170 mAh LiPo’s are certainly puffing up, but I will keep running them until they blow! C U in 2016 es 72 de Andy W5ACM (Houston, TX)
W5QLF
I made only two contacts and these were both on 40 meters. Twenty was dead to me. Thank you Gene, N5GW and Charles, AB9CA I could copy other stations but the QSB took out critical characters voiding valid contacts. The rig is a FlexRadio 6300 using a Butternut HF-9V vertical over 60 radials. It is very disheartening to see a CW trace on the waterfall but not be able to copy the audio.
N5EM
Nobody heard on 20M. Went straight to 40M. Worked 3 there, and WB5BKL on 80M using my R7 (40 - 10). I have to get that 80M loop up before January!
WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M dipole or a 40M extended double
Zepp. Only 14 Qs and 8 states split between 40 and 80M. Heard a couple of below ESP signals that I could not pull out of the mud - though both bands were unusually quiet here. Sorry about that. Only one contact in the last 30 minutes. Best signals: 40M - K4BAI, 80M - AB9CA. Let's all hope for better propagation _and_ more participation next year. Happy Holidays to all and see you in 2016! Had fun.
WB8LZG
Hello sprinters, here's my SP Log. RAN HEAVY USING THE BIG RIG TURNED DOWN TO 5W. 30+ LBS. 73 Gregg
Monday, November 16, 2015
SOAPBOX: November 2015 Spartan Sprint
W5QLF
Very Spartan tonight. Worked N4BP in Florida, NK0E in Colorado and W5HNS about 5 miles away all on 40 meters. Twenty was totally dead. That’s it! Phooey.
NKØE
Happy to be on the air again after a year hiatus due to selling a house, buying another, and moving. Ran the KX3 at 5W into a half-size G5RV. Didn't hear a ton of signals but happy to work the usual suspects. Thanks all!
K3RLL
Back in warmer FL for the winter and living again under the tyranny of antenna restrictions, but my highly compromised stealth antenna managed to find eight great Spartan Sprinters out there tonight on 40 meters. Didn’t hear a peep on 20m again tonight, even though the propagation numbers looked okay. Hot spots into FL this evening were TX and MD. Anyhow, thanks for the fun and appreciate each one of my pleasant eight contacts this evening. 72 de K3RLL
N9WAY
Still new to Spartan Sprints. Sat on my deck with an HB-1B, a gel cell, and a small homebrew paddle. Antenna is a 40m OCF dipole. Thanks for all the returned calls - another fun sprint.
W3KC
Contacts were sparse on 40 and 80 and nothing was heard on 20.
Rig was the venerable IC703 (5 watts) to a 90 ft doublet via a homebrew link tuner. 72 Chas W3KC
NC4RT
20 meters was problematic again. I switched over to 20 a few times, and called CQ a bit but heard no activity. After about an hour of calling CQ and making only 3 qsos on 40m, I returned to the Panthers game ;-). My rig: K1, LiPo battery with diodes to drop the voltage, ear buds, Vizkey: 1,426 grams.
72 de NC4RT
NQ2W
K1 at 5 W to a 2-element mini-beam at 25 ft for 10, 15, and 20 meters, an inverted V at 40 ft for 40 m, and a homebrewed, near-bottom loaded, ground mounted vertical for 80 m. Nothing happening on 20 meters. 12 QSOs on 40 but there was quite a bit of QSB and sometimes, digital QRM. I received a lot of RBN spots on 80 but only 1 reply to my CQs. Looking forward to next month's SP. 72, Will
W5HNS
An all 40 meter sprint for me this month. Heard very few signals but those stations were working folks I could not hear. So I knew there was more activity. My antenna for this event was an end fed 40/20 strung as an inv vee with apex at about 25 feet. Henry W5HNS
W1PID
2 QSOs on 40 meters. Operated just a few minutes. Not much activity.
AH6AX
This was my first Spartan sprint; I’m new QRP op. Enjoying the new challenge. I managed to find 5 SP stations – but only played for an hour.
WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M dipole or a 40M extended double Zepp. Well, that was better than last month - but not by much. I apologize to those stations I could not pull out of the noise. Though I operated the whole time, all of my QSOs except one were in the first hour. Several regulars were missing from my log. Best signals: 40M - NK0E, 80M - AB9CA (and Dave was my only QSO on 80). I sincerely hope you did better than I did. Happy Thanksgiving to all and see you in December. Had fun.
W5ACM
The November 2015 Spartan Sprint was noisy at my QTH, but not quite as BAD as October! In fact it was greatly improved, although I found no stations on 20M. There were a few stations on 40M, like W4VHH and NQ2W. A quick look at 80M found N5GW, and then back to 40M. NC4R and N9WAY finished that band for me. Back down on 80M found a strong AB9CA over in Alabama for contact number 6 on the night. The antenna continues to be my antique 14AVQ vertical and power out was a maximum of 3W. I had to do a few minor repairs on the ATS 3a prior to the event, and noted that the LiPo’s are certainly puffing up, but it all worked! C U in December es 72 de Andy W5ACM (Houston, TX)
N5EM
Conditions seemed OK on 40. Heard no QRP stations on 20M. Worked two on 40M with the dipole lying on the roof after storm took down a tree branch. Lost the 80M antenna (such as it was) completely. Got to be better in December! Usually run the KX3 at 3W but all the way to 5W this time! 72, Ed - N5EM
AB1AV
Used my newest portable Tx/Rx... Advantages: built-in key & tuner to save weight & clutter. Disadvantages: xtal-controlled Tx limits flexibility; regen Rx hears many stations at once; oak enclosure and 300v power-supply add to the weight! But I had fun with the Paraset making one contact each on 40 & 80 meters.
N5GW
2 watts - K1 on 800 mAh LiPO at 2W to CFZ. 20M was dead at this QTH. 40M in fair shape except sprinters few and far between. Very little heard on 80M. Don't know how much was band condx vs. poor participation.
Very Spartan tonight. Worked N4BP in Florida, NK0E in Colorado and W5HNS about 5 miles away all on 40 meters. Twenty was totally dead. That’s it! Phooey.
NKØE
Happy to be on the air again after a year hiatus due to selling a house, buying another, and moving. Ran the KX3 at 5W into a half-size G5RV. Didn't hear a ton of signals but happy to work the usual suspects. Thanks all!
K3RLL
Back in warmer FL for the winter and living again under the tyranny of antenna restrictions, but my highly compromised stealth antenna managed to find eight great Spartan Sprinters out there tonight on 40 meters. Didn’t hear a peep on 20m again tonight, even though the propagation numbers looked okay. Hot spots into FL this evening were TX and MD. Anyhow, thanks for the fun and appreciate each one of my pleasant eight contacts this evening. 72 de K3RLL
N9WAY
Still new to Spartan Sprints. Sat on my deck with an HB-1B, a gel cell, and a small homebrew paddle. Antenna is a 40m OCF dipole. Thanks for all the returned calls - another fun sprint.
W3KC
Contacts were sparse on 40 and 80 and nothing was heard on 20.
Rig was the venerable IC703 (5 watts) to a 90 ft doublet via a homebrew link tuner. 72 Chas W3KC
NC4RT
20 meters was problematic again. I switched over to 20 a few times, and called CQ a bit but heard no activity. After about an hour of calling CQ and making only 3 qsos on 40m, I returned to the Panthers game ;-). My rig: K1, LiPo battery with diodes to drop the voltage, ear buds, Vizkey: 1,426 grams.
72 de NC4RT
NQ2W
K1 at 5 W to a 2-element mini-beam at 25 ft for 10, 15, and 20 meters, an inverted V at 40 ft for 40 m, and a homebrewed, near-bottom loaded, ground mounted vertical for 80 m. Nothing happening on 20 meters. 12 QSOs on 40 but there was quite a bit of QSB and sometimes, digital QRM. I received a lot of RBN spots on 80 but only 1 reply to my CQs. Looking forward to next month's SP. 72, Will
W5HNS
An all 40 meter sprint for me this month. Heard very few signals but those stations were working folks I could not hear. So I knew there was more activity. My antenna for this event was an end fed 40/20 strung as an inv vee with apex at about 25 feet. Henry W5HNS
W1PID
2 QSOs on 40 meters. Operated just a few minutes. Not much activity.
AH6AX
This was my first Spartan sprint; I’m new QRP op. Enjoying the new challenge. I managed to find 5 SP stations – but only played for an hour.
WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M dipole or a 40M extended double Zepp. Well, that was better than last month - but not by much. I apologize to those stations I could not pull out of the noise. Though I operated the whole time, all of my QSOs except one were in the first hour. Several regulars were missing from my log. Best signals: 40M - NK0E, 80M - AB9CA (and Dave was my only QSO on 80). I sincerely hope you did better than I did. Happy Thanksgiving to all and see you in December. Had fun.
W5ACM
The November 2015 Spartan Sprint was noisy at my QTH, but not quite as BAD as October! In fact it was greatly improved, although I found no stations on 20M. There were a few stations on 40M, like W4VHH and NQ2W. A quick look at 80M found N5GW, and then back to 40M. NC4R and N9WAY finished that band for me. Back down on 80M found a strong AB9CA over in Alabama for contact number 6 on the night. The antenna continues to be my antique 14AVQ vertical and power out was a maximum of 3W. I had to do a few minor repairs on the ATS 3a prior to the event, and noted that the LiPo’s are certainly puffing up, but it all worked! C U in December es 72 de Andy W5ACM (Houston, TX)
N5EM
Conditions seemed OK on 40. Heard no QRP stations on 20M. Worked two on 40M with the dipole lying on the roof after storm took down a tree branch. Lost the 80M antenna (such as it was) completely. Got to be better in December! Usually run the KX3 at 3W but all the way to 5W this time! 72, Ed - N5EM
AB1AV
Used my newest portable Tx/Rx... Advantages: built-in key & tuner to save weight & clutter. Disadvantages: xtal-controlled Tx limits flexibility; regen Rx hears many stations at once; oak enclosure and 300v power-supply add to the weight! But I had fun with the Paraset making one contact each on 40 & 80 meters.
N5GW
2 watts - K1 on 800 mAh LiPO at 2W to CFZ. 20M was dead at this QTH. 40M in fair shape except sprinters few and far between. Very little heard on 80M. Don't know how much was band condx vs. poor participation.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
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