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Monday, June 8, 2020
SOAPBOX: June 2020 ARS Spartan Sprint
K3RLL
Just wasn't getting any answers or getting much attention
from RBN for first half-hour and then all of the sudden, someone turned up the
signals on 40 meters tonight! RBN started hearing me and great ops started
calling. I actually had a mini-pileup once. Amazing! It was great! It was like having a real, actual, working
good antenna or something! (GRIN) Thanks
for the contacts, the good ears and patient ops. 72/73 ... Don
AB9BZ
Fun sprint, ran 1W for 4 of the contacts, good to hear
stations active. Thanks for the QSOs 72 de ab9bz
KI4KZS
I caught this sprint on the air and looked it up to find it was QRP!
I love operating QRP, so I jumped in to make as many contacts as I could. This
was my first time. It was a lot of fun and I hope to catch it again. 73, Brent
/ KI4KZS
K3JZD
Something different this month: 40m Pixie II w/380mAH LiPo Battery
Pack Running 0.250w - K0MBT 3D Printed Mini-Mini Key - 40m dipole. But, being crystal controlled and sitting on
7.045, I seem to have worked more SKCC folks than Spartan Sprint participants. Jody - K3JZD
KW4JS
It has been
several years since my last Spartan Sprint. The hiatus was due to the work schedule. I use to be competitive in the top 10 of the skinny division but alas, I am out
of practice, Worked only S&P with my weak signal and crummy
antenna. Thanks to everyone who pulled me out of the static and
QRM. I had great fun.
K9WIS
Antenna was 40M
dipole up 8 feet strung between 2 bean poles in the back yard. Weather on the
patio was warm . . . no mosquitos yet. Won't be so lucky next month. It’s been
a long, long time since I’ve been in Spartan Sprint. A fun casual contest. Found
my original ARS member certificate No.80 back when I was AE9K. Brian, K9WIS
KI6SN
What an exciting evening from out here on the Left Coast. Lots of
signals on 40-meters. It was fun hearing the band get longer and longer from
SoCal as the Sun went down. Many thanks to K7PD, K7TQ, NK6A and WB5BKL for
pulling my signal from the QRN. Heard but not worked were WB9HFK, K4BAI and
W5ACM. It was so nice to finally work Nick, WB5BKL, after so many years. Our
first SP contact! Hope to see everyone next month – Monday evening, July 6. 73,
72, Richard, KI6SN, Riverside, CA
NØAR
Ran the TS590 at 5 watts tonight. Vertical antennas and RX loop.
All contacts on 20 and 40 meters. TS action so some QRN but 91 degs is a good
trade off to snow! Had a VE call me with QRO, he had never run QRP and wasn't
sure his rig would do it. So I told him what I was running and he came back and
cranked it down to 5 watts. I was his first QRP contact ever! So the bug has
bitten him and he's been directed to the web site and invited back to join in.
Good fun all around!
AB9CA
K3 at 5w to Inv Vee. Started on 20 and was surprised to work 6
stns there - 4 TX plus CA and ID. Moved to 40 and picked up 11 from IL KY GA FL
VA AL NH TN. Went to 80 and heard someone trying but could not get enough to
copy. Sorry for that. Heard no one else there. I don't think there were any 2
banders tonight. Thanks for the Qs! Hope to hear everyone plus more next month.
Dave ab9ca
W1PID
It was so great to see so much activity and so many old friends.
20 meters was tops. NK6A in CA. K7TQ in ID. WVØH in CO. Thanks, guys, for all the QSOs. Jim W1PID
NK6A
Band conditions were much improved this month. I started calling CQ on 20M and received a
call from ZL2IFB.He was QRO but I mention this because I worked him off the
back of the beam at 5W. Worked into NH twice and the usual bunch of
Texans. 40M was quiet here and grabbed a
few more stations. Don Minkoff, NK6A
KB1M
Had completely forgot about Spartan Sprint until 9:15 PM , and
then could not really get into it. 73, Walt, KB1M
WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp. Propagation at
last! Made 27 contacts, but three did not count. Biggest thrill: having a
ZL2 answer my CQ on 20 (he was QRO, so not counted). Also worked Richard, KI6SN! Best
signals: 20M - K7TQ, 40M - KJ5XF, 80M - W5ESE (also had a three-bander with Scott). Some regulars missing - hope all
is OK. Let's do it again next month. Had fun.
K7TQ
I operated
the Sprint using my mobile rig sitting at the top of the Lewiston Grade in Nez
Perce county Idaho. There is a 2,500 foot drop to the east and south
which makes for great terrain enhancement. Two farthest QSOs were with
W1PID in NH and XE1ZYZ in Mexico. Twenty meters was productive for about
half an hour then 40 was the band to be on. Hope to catch many of you
again next month.
W5ESE
I was late getting to the shack this month, so just fired up the
big rig. Good participation this month and fair conditions. Was great to work
neighbor WB5BKL on 3 wavelengths. Pleased to meet some new entrants; Welcome!
K9QV
Finally dusted off the rig and got on the air again! I
was surprised how much activity I heard on 20m. About 70% contacts on
20m, 30% on 40m and only one on 80m. Battery was dead 10 minutes from the
end. Time to replace it. The Sprint was a great time, just like I
remember. Thanks to everyone. de Drew.
W5ACM
It was fun to make some 20M contacts this month, but the QSB was
difficult. All of my contacts were on 20M or 40M. There were the usual
suspects, but a few new folks in there! I was glad to hear good ops on 20M. It
looks like things will be improving for the summer months! Although my ATS-3A
can’t do 15M, it is quite effective on 20M. I am getting a bit skeptical on the
longevity of my elderly 130 mAh Lipo batteries. I will watch them closely
over the next few months. Sorry about the somewhat difficult CW on my end, but
I tend to forget to burnish the copper contacts on the homebrew keyer paddles. 72,
de Andy W5ACM, Houston, Texas.
x
Saturday, May 9, 2020
SOAPBOX: May 2020 ARS Spartan Sprint
K3RLL
QCX-40 & small LiPO: Not a lot of stations on, but I think the propagation "force" was active enough here in FL that most heard my peanut whistle. "The Fourth Was With Me" tonight as even RBN heard me, for a change. (SMILE) "Big Signal" was K4BAI who always hears me on the first call. Thanks for the fun, and for so many good ears tonight. 72/73 ... Don
W5QLF
No signals heard on 20 meters. 40 meters was quite active here in South Texas. One contact was made on 80 meters. For such a slow beginning, I was surprised at the amount of activity that showed up at about 9:00 pm CDT. I enjoyed all the contacts. - Joe, W5QLF
WB9HFK
Rig: Icom 7300 @ 5W, Antenna: OCF Dipole, Weight: 30 lbs. I only operated for first hour. The QRN here in IL was pretty bad this evening. I know I just could not pull out a few callers, unfortunately. 73/72, Mark - WB9HFK
NØTA
14 Qs, 30 lbs. 3 on 20m, the 11 on 40m. Quit a little early. First time I've worked KI6SN! Thanks for the Qs.
K4BAI
QSOs on 20 tonight; 18 QSOs on 40 including KI6SN; 2 QSOs on 80. Heavy static on 80 and only worked two stations in FL from my GA
QTH. 72, John, K4BAI.
NØZIB
This was my first Spartan Sprint and I could only operate for the last 45 minutes. Running 4 watts my farthest QSO from Missouri was NY at 814 miles. Pretty happy with that. Running QCX with the micro switch keyer, small battery and a qrp kit tuner. Looking forward to the next Sprint. 72s
W5ESE
Used my AT Sprint 3 (2 watts), whiterook MK-44 paddles and walkman type earphones. Had a couple of nice ragchews in the mix. 73 - Scott
K3JZD
40m Naked QCX - 2/3 AAA NiMH Pack - 3w - 40m dipole - KØMBT 3D Printed Mini Key. Jody - K3JZD
K7PD
First time in the Sprint in quite awhile - I miss the days when it was crowded. One contact on 20 meters - XE2M in Mexico wasn't in the Sprint. 3 contacts on 40
2 "Sprinters" KI6DS and AA6XA. One "Non-Sprinter". Used an N6HCN ATS-4 and 8 Rechargeable AAs - About 4 watts. 2-Band End-Fed Half Wave. 73, K7PD
KB1M
20 seemed to die very quickly after the first 15 minutes, but was rewarded with 3 Q's and 40 yielded 5 QSOs, total of 5 states worked. Worked K4BAI and AB9CA on 2 bands, also heard NØTA on 2 bands but not worked. Thanks for the fun evening, stay well! 72/73 Walt
KS4L
Brought out my 20+ year old K2 @ 5w into my multi-band EF antenna in the backyard trees. Fair conditions on 40. Nothing heard on 20. Nothing but static on 80 from approaching storm. Tnx for the QSOs!
W5ACM
It was fun to make some 20M contacts this month, but the QSB was difficult. All of my contacts were on 20M or 40M. I listened for a bit on 80M, but the noise level was very bad. After the first hour my two 170 mAh batteries in the ATS3a were still going strong. They are getting close to the end of life, but I will run them until they start puffing up. No complaints! 72 de Andy W5ACM, Houston, Texas.
KI6SN
Worked 40 meters and had a blast. TS-140 running 5 watts to an inverted V at 15 feet. Many thanks to John, NØTA; Delbert, K7PD; and John, K4BAI for pulling my signal out of the noise. We really appreciated K4BAI's May SP announcement on QRP-Lreminding ops about the first-Monday event. 73, Richard, KI6SN, Riverside, CA
QCX-40 & small LiPO: Not a lot of stations on, but I think the propagation "force" was active enough here in FL that most heard my peanut whistle. "The Fourth Was With Me" tonight as even RBN heard me, for a change. (SMILE) "Big Signal" was K4BAI who always hears me on the first call. Thanks for the fun, and for so many good ears tonight. 72/73 ... Don
W5QLF
No signals heard on 20 meters. 40 meters was quite active here in South Texas. One contact was made on 80 meters. For such a slow beginning, I was surprised at the amount of activity that showed up at about 9:00 pm CDT. I enjoyed all the contacts. - Joe, W5QLF
WB9HFK
Rig: Icom 7300 @ 5W, Antenna: OCF Dipole, Weight: 30 lbs. I only operated for first hour. The QRN here in IL was pretty bad this evening. I know I just could not pull out a few callers, unfortunately. 73/72, Mark - WB9HFK
NØTA
14 Qs, 30 lbs. 3 on 20m, the 11 on 40m. Quit a little early. First time I've worked KI6SN! Thanks for the Qs.
K4BAI
QSOs on 20 tonight; 18 QSOs on 40 including KI6SN; 2 QSOs on 80. Heavy static on 80 and only worked two stations in FL from my GA
QTH. 72, John, K4BAI.
NØZIB
This was my first Spartan Sprint and I could only operate for the last 45 minutes. Running 4 watts my farthest QSO from Missouri was NY at 814 miles. Pretty happy with that. Running QCX with the micro switch keyer, small battery and a qrp kit tuner. Looking forward to the next Sprint. 72s
W5ESE
Used my AT Sprint 3 (2 watts), whiterook MK-44 paddles and walkman type earphones. Had a couple of nice ragchews in the mix. 73 - Scott
K3JZD
40m Naked QCX - 2/3 AAA NiMH Pack - 3w - 40m dipole - KØMBT 3D Printed Mini Key. Jody - K3JZD
K7PD
First time in the Sprint in quite awhile - I miss the days when it was crowded. One contact on 20 meters - XE2M in Mexico wasn't in the Sprint. 3 contacts on 40
2 "Sprinters" KI6DS and AA6XA. One "Non-Sprinter". Used an N6HCN ATS-4 and 8 Rechargeable AAs - About 4 watts. 2-Band End-Fed Half Wave. 73, K7PD
KB1M
20 seemed to die very quickly after the first 15 minutes, but was rewarded with 3 Q's and 40 yielded 5 QSOs, total of 5 states worked. Worked K4BAI and AB9CA on 2 bands, also heard NØTA on 2 bands but not worked. Thanks for the fun evening, stay well! 72/73 Walt
KS4L
Brought out my 20+ year old K2 @ 5w into my multi-band EF antenna in the backyard trees. Fair conditions on 40. Nothing heard on 20. Nothing but static on 80 from approaching storm. Tnx for the QSOs!
W5ACM
It was fun to make some 20M contacts this month, but the QSB was difficult. All of my contacts were on 20M or 40M. I listened for a bit on 80M, but the noise level was very bad. After the first hour my two 170 mAh batteries in the ATS3a were still going strong. They are getting close to the end of life, but I will run them until they start puffing up. No complaints! 72 de Andy W5ACM, Houston, Texas.
KI6SN
Worked 40 meters and had a blast. TS-140 running 5 watts to an inverted V at 15 feet. Many thanks to John, NØTA; Delbert, K7PD; and John, K4BAI for pulling my signal out of the noise. We really appreciated K4BAI's May SP announcement on QRP-Lreminding ops about the first-Monday event. 73, Richard, KI6SN, Riverside, CA
Monday, April 20, 2020
SOAPBOX: April 2020 ARS Spartan Sprint
WB5BKL
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp. Worked 8 states. 20M - 4 QSOs, 40m - 5 and 80M -1. Best signals were: 20M -NK6A, 40M - K5MUG, 80m - W5ESE. Some familiar calls missing. Hope it was merely scheduling or Propagation - nothing worse. 40M conditions seemed unusual - heard more Texas stations than normal. My time was limited, but I had fun.
AB9CA
Rig was K3 at 5w to vertical. Started on 20 and found 5 of those pesky Texans - WB5BKL N5EM W5ACM W5QLF W5ESE. I heard nothing but TX on 20. Then went to 40 and picked up 13 more. No 80m tonight. Only 2 banders were W5QLF and N5EM. Best DX would be either K6YK or NK6A in CA or K7TQ in ID. Had only 45 min as I needed to get some other stuff done. Thanks to all for the Q's. Hope to hear everyone, plus more, next month . . . 73 de Dave AB9CA
W5ACM
It was great fun to make some 20M contacts this month, and work some new stations. WB5BKL sent an event reminder via the Houston QRP remailer. Thanks Nick! All of my contacts were on 20M or 40M. I couldn’t get on 80M because I have not tuned the 80M whip on my new vertical antenna (Hustler 5-BTV), but it really didn’t matter. After the first hour my two 170 mAh batteries in the ATS3a were drained! They may have reached end of life, but I will run them again next month to see what happens. I have two 200 mAh LiPo batteries ready to go, but they will be slightly heavier. This has been the longest run for a pair of the small LiPo batteries I have had… No complaints.
WA4AAK
Pleased to see 20m open to TX, CA and NH at the start! Six contacts on 20m, two on 40m, zero on 80m. No luck after 1 hr. Forgot to pare down station weight before starting, so ran heavy. Mark, WB9HFK, once again had the strongest signal heard. Hope all stay well... 72, Evan - Huntsville, AL
KB1M
Nice to see 20 was open at the start, and was able to get 3 QSO's, 40 was very noisy and was able to make 3 Q's between static crashes, for total of 5 states. 72/73, Walt
WB9HFK
ICOM 7300 @ 5w. 40m - OCF dipole; 80m – vertical
W5ESE
Used an AT Sprint 3 from KD1JV I assembled about 15 years ago (2 watts).
Still a fun rig. Paddles were Whiterook MK-44 and used walkman type earphones. First entered Spartan Sprints in 2004, and glad that they're continuing! 73 – Scott
K5MUG
Hello to all, first time participating in the Spartan Sprint, nice event. Thanks to Joe, W5QLF, for introducing me to the ARS Qrp group (and for tonight's local contact), and thanks to all for the fun tonight. Got a late start, made all contacts on 40m. Hope to have 80m antenna to work with soon to add to the pot. Thanks again to the group! – Cray, K5MUG
K7TQ
First SP in way too long a time. Good to contact several old friends. KX2 at 5W in my recently-completed mobile set-up which just sits waiting for when we can once again roam the countryside.
NØTA
13 Q's on 40m, 3 on 80m. 7 of the Q's were with stations in Texas! Thanks for the Qs. K3, Doublet, GenLog.
K3JZD
DST and getting on 40m one hour earlier made a difference.
W5QLF
A reasonable day in the neighborhood. One Q on 20m and One on 80m plus and additional 8 on 40m. Apologies to John, N0TA for wasting valuable air time making him a dupe before I'd confirmed his call. He graciously worked me on 80m giving me a second valid contact. Thanks John. Charles, AB9CA, was my first contact on 20m and was the only signal I heard on 14 MHz. He graced my log again on 40m for another QSO count. Charles, your 40m signal held up quite well into the second hour. Cray, K5MUG, came back to me for an across-town contact on 40m. We both live in the San Antonio area and I'm sure we’ll discuss this contact at the next club meeting. Joe, W5QLF
N5EM
Running KX3 here on internal batteries. 2 Qs on 20M. Good signals, too. Hope to see more on 20 next month. Rest (6) were on 40M. I only had an hour, so cut it short. 72, Ed, N5EM
K3/10 @ 5W to a 40M extended double Zepp. Worked 8 states. 20M - 4 QSOs, 40m - 5 and 80M -1. Best signals were: 20M -NK6A, 40M - K5MUG, 80m - W5ESE. Some familiar calls missing. Hope it was merely scheduling or Propagation - nothing worse. 40M conditions seemed unusual - heard more Texas stations than normal. My time was limited, but I had fun.
AB9CA
Rig was K3 at 5w to vertical. Started on 20 and found 5 of those pesky Texans - WB5BKL N5EM W5ACM W5QLF W5ESE. I heard nothing but TX on 20. Then went to 40 and picked up 13 more. No 80m tonight. Only 2 banders were W5QLF and N5EM. Best DX would be either K6YK or NK6A in CA or K7TQ in ID. Had only 45 min as I needed to get some other stuff done. Thanks to all for the Q's. Hope to hear everyone, plus more, next month . . . 73 de Dave AB9CA
W5ACM
It was great fun to make some 20M contacts this month, and work some new stations. WB5BKL sent an event reminder via the Houston QRP remailer. Thanks Nick! All of my contacts were on 20M or 40M. I couldn’t get on 80M because I have not tuned the 80M whip on my new vertical antenna (Hustler 5-BTV), but it really didn’t matter. After the first hour my two 170 mAh batteries in the ATS3a were drained! They may have reached end of life, but I will run them again next month to see what happens. I have two 200 mAh LiPo batteries ready to go, but they will be slightly heavier. This has been the longest run for a pair of the small LiPo batteries I have had… No complaints.
WA4AAK
Pleased to see 20m open to TX, CA and NH at the start! Six contacts on 20m, two on 40m, zero on 80m. No luck after 1 hr. Forgot to pare down station weight before starting, so ran heavy. Mark, WB9HFK, once again had the strongest signal heard. Hope all stay well... 72, Evan - Huntsville, AL
KB1M
Nice to see 20 was open at the start, and was able to get 3 QSO's, 40 was very noisy and was able to make 3 Q's between static crashes, for total of 5 states. 72/73, Walt
WB9HFK
ICOM 7300 @ 5w. 40m - OCF dipole; 80m – vertical
W5ESE
Used an AT Sprint 3 from KD1JV I assembled about 15 years ago (2 watts).
Still a fun rig. Paddles were Whiterook MK-44 and used walkman type earphones. First entered Spartan Sprints in 2004, and glad that they're continuing! 73 – Scott
K5MUG
Hello to all, first time participating in the Spartan Sprint, nice event. Thanks to Joe, W5QLF, for introducing me to the ARS Qrp group (and for tonight's local contact), and thanks to all for the fun tonight. Got a late start, made all contacts on 40m. Hope to have 80m antenna to work with soon to add to the pot. Thanks again to the group! – Cray, K5MUG
K7TQ
First SP in way too long a time. Good to contact several old friends. KX2 at 5W in my recently-completed mobile set-up which just sits waiting for when we can once again roam the countryside.
NØTA
13 Q's on 40m, 3 on 80m. 7 of the Q's were with stations in Texas! Thanks for the Qs. K3, Doublet, GenLog.
K3JZD
DST and getting on 40m one hour earlier made a difference.
W5QLF
A reasonable day in the neighborhood. One Q on 20m and One on 80m plus and additional 8 on 40m. Apologies to John, N0TA for wasting valuable air time making him a dupe before I'd confirmed his call. He graciously worked me on 80m giving me a second valid contact. Thanks John. Charles, AB9CA, was my first contact on 20m and was the only signal I heard on 14 MHz. He graced my log again on 40m for another QSO count. Charles, your 40m signal held up quite well into the second hour. Cray, K5MUG, came back to me for an across-town contact on 40m. We both live in the San Antonio area and I'm sure we’ll discuss this contact at the next club meeting. Joe, W5QLF
N5EM
Running KX3 here on internal batteries. 2 Qs on 20M. Good signals, too. Hope to see more on 20 next month. Rest (6) were on 40M. I only had an hour, so cut it short. 72, Ed, N5EM
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
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