NAQCC October 2004 Sprint

Call   QSOs Mbrs Pts  Mul  Sco  Bonus  Final Awd Antenna
AA4XX   14    8   22   11   232  n/a     232  1  dipole
K3WWP    9    7   16    7   112  n/a     112  2  ~110' attic rndm wire
KB3LFC   8    4   12    7    84  n/a      84  3  ~225' rndm wire @ 16'
KU2US    6    5   11    5    55  n/a      55
VE3DPC   4    3    7    4    28  n/a      28
AA0VE    2    2    4    2     8  n/a       8
KD9B     2    2    4    2     8  n/a       8

SOAPBOX:

KB3LFC - Well, conditions were a bit on the rough side and the turnout was low, but all participating agreed that we had a whale of a lot of fun. This being the club's first sprint we did accomplish several objectives, one of which was to promote use of the 80-Meter band. Despite several interruptions I did manage to garner 84 points and while the results are not yet official, that places me in third place. My friends Paul, AA4XX, and John, K3WWP, came in first and second respectively. I encourage all to work the GAW Week (for the remainder for the week anyhow). Just FYI I don't think we should call "CQ GAW" because few if any will know what the heck "GAW" is, unless they have visited the club's website. GAW should provide an opportunity to introduce fellow CW enthusiasts to the club, and introduce QRO ops to the wonderful world of QRP. When the idea for the club first came to mind, John, K3WWP and I both though it would be great if we could have 50 or so members and we both agreed that 100 members would be astounding. Well, the membership list has now topped 200 and is still growing, and the club isn't even one month old. Astounding, yes, but a testimony that QRP is alive and well and that CW is far from "dead." Please visit our "Awards" page for details on some exciting and unique awards and stay tuned for announcement concerning our next sprint..

K3WWP - Not a bad start for our club activities. The turnout was good considering it was only publicized on my and the club web sites. We'll publicize the next one more.

KU2US - Hi Tom. I participated for the fun of it, to brush up on my cw skills and to collect members numbers for awards. I only had 6 contacts. All were club members. I had TERRIBLE white noise, QRM here thursday night. Thanks, anyhow. Time to invest in a scaf filter I guess. I have an Icom-706 mk11G, but the DSP is worthless and I have no inboard filtering for it. I dropped the 706 down to 5 watts and dove in..It was tough, but I had mucho fun.

AA4XX - Hi Tom. It was great hearing you last night. John asked me if I worked you, and we both grinned at each other when we mentioned that KB3LFC was our first log entry. Your HW-9 was sounding very nice! I like the laid back atmosphere of the contest. A lot of us started exchanging names along with the other info so we could start getting acquainted. The band was rather noisy--S5 QRN baseline here in central NC, but propagation was good. I was pleasantly surprised to hear NF5U (TX) and AA0VE (MO) in the fray. Most sigs on this end were 579, with a number of true 599's--proof that QRP can get the job done on 80M. Thanks for sponsoring a very fun event on a band that deserves a lot more activity. I had been off 80M for several years, and the NAQCC spurred me to put up an 80M dipole last weekend. I'm sure others will do likewise as word of the new club gets around.

VE3DPC - This was my first ever contest and I made some nervous mistakes and walked on top of someone late in the game around 1:57 UTC anyway I'm hooked..just have to get my code speed up. I was excited that I exactly worked John (K3WWP) I visit his site many times.

KD9B - I had storm noise from all over the US. My attenna can hear lightning better than any CW signal. At least that seems to be true on 80 mtrs. Enjoyed the time spent and getting K3WWP in my log. How about a sprint(?) on 40mtrs in the novice segment? It would be great to help those learning CW improve their speed and copy. Thanks for the new club and a good sprint.