NAQCC Oct 2009 Sprint

SWA Category - Eastern Division
Call   QSOs Mbrs Pts  Mul  Sco Bon Final  80-40-20 Antenna
N8BB    34   33   67   16 1072  x2  2144  mystery ant@50', g5rv@50'
*W2SH   29   27   56   17  952  x2  1904  Inv L 85'+85'; 80m dpl@35'
N8QY    24   23   47   17  799  x2  1598  hv6v vert
*K3WWP  26   24   50   14  700  x2  1400  ~110' attic random wire
*N4BP   33   30   63   19 1197      1197  40/80 dpl@62'
*WB8LZG 20   19   39   14  546  x2  1092  lw@30',inv L@30'
*KB3AAG 30   29   59   18 1062      1062  80m loop@35', g5rv@40'
*N1LU   24   24   48   13  624 x1.5  936  cobra ultralite@40'
KC2EGL  18   16   34   12  408  x2   816  fld dpl@25'
K2ZC    18   17   35   11  385  x2   770  inv v@35'
*KJ4IC  17   17   34   11  374  x2   748  102' dblt@30'
W9CC    15   15   30   11  330  x2   660  80m loop@15'
AC6NN   13   13   26   10  260  x2   520  80m horiz. loop@20'
K4UK    15   15   30   12  360       360  160m inv vee@??'
*W2JEK   7    7   14    7   98  x2   196  dpl@20',110' efw@20'
K4JPN    8    8   16    6   96  x2   192  80m cf zepp@32'
W3RT     7    7   14    5   70  x2   140  sloper@22'
W9ILF    7    6   13    5   65  x2   130  gnd mtd vert
W3IK     5    5   10    5   50  x2   100  135' ef wire@15-40'
VA3RKM   6    5   11    4   44  x2    88  dpl@20'
N4FI     5    5   10    4   40  x2    80  115' rnd wire@20'
N8XMS    4    4    8    4   32  x2    64  r7 vert
VA3PEN   4    4    8    4   32  x2    64  44' dblt@7'
W0EJ     5    5   10    4   40        40  205' g5rv@45'
KA2CAQ   3    3    6    3   18  x2    36  40m dpl@25'
WA2JSG   3    3    6    3   18  x2    36  elevated HF9V vert
AA2YV    3    3    6    3   18  x2    36  dpl@35'
WA9ZES   4    4    8    2   16  x2    32  inv vee@35'
KU4A     4    4    8    4   32        32  sloping 40 dpl@??',1/4wv 80
                                          sloper@??'
N2COD    4    4    8    2   16  x2    32  9' mobile whip
N3RBN    2    2    4    2    8  x2    16  6b vert
VE3FUJ   2    1    3    2    6         6  33' vert gp@12'
VE3KQN   0    0    0    0    0 x1.5    0  3' dia magloop, windom@??'
KD2MX    0    0    0    0    0         0  none used
@VE3KI  11   11   22    8  176       176  gnd mtd vert

@ - Non-member

SWA Category - Central Division
Call   QSOs Mbrs Pts  Mul  Sco Bon Final  80-40-20 Antenna
*K9FO   23   22   45   16  720  x2  1440  40 dpl@30',lw@75'
AB9CA   23   22   45   13  585       585  80 inv v@36', inv v@30'
W5AG    10   10   20    7  140  x2   280  sloper 80m dpl@35'
K9IS    12   12   24    9  216       216  330' horiz loop@30'
N4SAM   11   11   22    8  176       176  delta loop@55'
KB5JO    4    4    8    4   32  x2    64  88' dblt@20'
K5ENA    3    3    6    3   18  x2    36  g5rv@40'
KD5MMM   2    2    4    2    8  x2    16  inv v@40'
N5RDN    3    3    6    2   12        12  dipole@35'
KE9DR    1    1    2    1    2  x2     4  380' rnd loop@50'
AA9L     1    1    2    1    2         2  trap dpl@50"

SWA Category - Mountain Division
Call   QSOs Mbrs Pts  Mul  Sco Bon Final  80-40-20 Antenna
NO2D     5    5   10    5   50  x2   100  dpl@32'

SWA Category - Pacific Division
Call   QSOs Mbrs Pts  Mul  Sco Bon Final  80-40-20 Antenna
*NU7T    4    4    8    3   24 x1.5   36  90' inv L@25'
W6JDG    2    2    4    2    8  x2    16  GAP titan@18'

GAIN ANTENNA Category
Call   QSOs Mbrs Pts  Mul  Sco Bon Final  80-40-20 Antenna

N#A Category
Call   QSOs Mbrs Pts  Mul  Sco Bon Final  OP - 80-40-20 Antenna
N5A     30   27   57   20 1140      1140  W5YDM g5rv jr@30'
N2A     18   16   34   11  374  x2   748  KA2KGP gnd mtd vert
N0A     23   19   42   16  672       672  WG0AT gp on metal barn roof
N4A     16   14   30   12  360       360  WA3ZBJ shortened attic dpl
N1A     14   11   25    7  175  x2   350  KQ1P inv  v@40'
*N7A    11   10   21    8  168  x2   336  WY7N 80m dpl@44'
*N6A    10   10   20    5  100       100  W6AZ w7fg dblt@25'
N3A      5    5   10    4   40  x2    80  WY3H ocf windom@25'
N8A      1    0    1    1    1         1  N8ZYA indoor isotron
N9A      0    0    0    0    0  x2     0  WA9KPZ Force vert dipole

* - Special Award (most N#A QSO's) contender: K3WWP 2, N1LU 3, KJ4IC 3,
NU7T 3, W2JEK 1, KB3AAG 2, N7A 3, N4BP 6, WB8LZG 4, W2SH 4, K9FO 3,
N6A 4   
Drawing entrants: N6A, NU7T, K9FO, N4BP
Drawing winner: NU7T

AWARD WINNERS:
1st SWA Eastern: N8BB
1st SWA Central: K9FO
1st SWA Mountain: NO2D
1st SWA Pacific: NU7T
N#A: N5A (W5YDM)
1st Gain: n/a

The following appeared 5 or more times in submitted logs, but
did not submit a log themselves for whatever reason:
K4PQC - 13
NS2X - 10
KB3HBD - 6
KB4QQJ - 6
N5KIP - 6
WB4YZA - 6
K8JD - 5
KG0PP - 5

We hope these folks will continue to participate AND
submit their logs in the future. Remember your listing in the
results shows the ham radio world you are a Morse Code supporter.

STATS:
Logs submitted: 59 
Total participants found in cross-checking spreadsheet: 107 
Total QSO's in master cross-checking spreadsheet: 649
States represented: 32 + AB ON

If anyone wishes a list of errors found in cross-checking their
log, email K3WWP. If any errors cause a scoring change, you
will be notified automatically.

SOAPBOX FROM N#A OPS:
N1A (KQ1P) - Wow, what happen to the ionosphere? I started on 20M and it was 100% quiet. On 40M, very few stations made it through S-5 QRN, I made just one contact there. Moved to 80M and it was quieter, but making full exchanges was tougher than usual. I expected the special event call to have a pile up....I was lucky to make any contacts at all! Maybe when I operate N1A again later this week conditions will be better (could they get worse?). Thanks to all who were able to hear me. 73 John

N2A (KA2KGP) - Nasty band conditions this sprint, 20 was dead & 40 was not much better. Most contacts were on 80 with lots of atmospheric QRN here in WNY. Thanks to all who worked the sprint. Having fun as N2A.

N3A (WY3H) - Poor conditions and only being able to work a half hour kept my totals down.

N4A (WA3ZBJ) - Great fun using N4A call sign but the anticipated pileups didn't materialize. I know it couldn't have been my resounding signal strengh from my attic dipole. hi hi Love that call sign - makes me realize just how bad my own call really is! Heard zilch on 20 and can't get on 80 here so 40 is it and signals weren't as strong as they have been. Randy KB4QQJ had a great signal as always, however. Back to using my own call sign next month ... (Sigh). ... Don

N5A (W5YDM) - I usually start on 20m but it was dead so I did the whole thing on 40m (my K1 is 40/20 only). I didn't experience the bad conditions the rest of you described...there were plenty of signals. I was still trying to get stations in right at the final gun...VE3FUJ, I heard your CQ, called you, you answered, then disappeared, so I didn't log you. We have had endless rain here in the Dallas area for a month, so maybe it somehow helped with my propagation. I do wish cw stations would learn how to zero beat because I run the K1 on 400 hz bandwidth to quiet the atmospheric noise, so if you called very much off my frequency, then I probably missed you or thought you were in another qso. The whole two hours was full of high and low signals, and I never was sure if you were calling me or someone else. Maybe during this special event you should give the NxA call first then your call so we know its for us.

N6A (W6AZ) - I enjoyed my first NAQCC sprint. All the action seemed to be on 40, though I did get one contact on 80. I wish there were more stations to work here on the west coast. Thanks to everyone who gave me a QSO! 73, Ron (Yes, our WC members are not very active for whatever reason. I think your showing demonstrates that QSO's can be had out there if folks just get on. - K3WWP)

N7A (WY7N) - I almost didn't make it to the sprint this month. I have been working portable for the last few months, so my station was torn down. I was planning on setting things back up on Saturday, but my daughter went into labor on Friday. My first grandchild was born on Monday. They live in Idaho. I didn't make it home until about an hour before start. I barely had it all set up at 0:26 UTC. The first two stations I worked were VA6RF and KL8DX. I then looked up at the power meter, I was only running about 500 milliwats. No wonder VA6RF only gave me a 339 RST. They answered my CQ though! The problem ended up being my power cable. It was great to hear Steve-NU7T again! It's been a few months. (Congrats Grampa - K3WWP)

N8A (K8ZYA) - These were the WORST conditions I've EVER experienced since having my ticket. Only VERY faint signals on QRP sections of ALL bands. The radio seems to be functioning perfectly but the signals just aren't there! Sure hope it gets better the rest of the week.

N9A (WA9KPZ) - First try produce zero, however will try again. (Hopefully you'll have better propagation conditions - K3WWP)

N0A (WG0AT) - Jack Frost ate my center fed zepp 2-days before the sprint! Being N0A I was worried about being QRT and loosing my 80m capability for the sprint. Fortunately my old 4BTV on the barn metal roof is my backup antenna. It rocks! I made one 20m and quickly dropped to 40m it was slow but not having 80m I slugged out on 40 and did ok. I stayed there till the end. FUN stuff! 73, Steve

SOAPBOX FROM THE REST:
K3WWP - I think perhaps the stench from the rotten conditions here tonight travelled further than my signal most of the time. Only my experience from entering around 925 contests over the years allowed me to make the 26 QSO's that I did. Only about 7 or 8 were easy QSO's. The rest I had to work for, and work hard for some of them. Only 2 QSO's on 40M - Tom WY3H (N3A) here in Kittanning and K9IS in WI. The other 24 on 80 meters. Most all signals popped in and out of the noise and did it quickly. From glancing at the first couple dozen or so logs, it looks like poor conditions were widespread around the country. It's too bad this had to happen during this 5th anniversary celebration sprint, but we have no control over things like that. I'll see how many scores I can get posted now before going to bed. Thanks to all for your patience when working me. It was ruff copying you for the most part. After processing more logs I see there were pretty good conditions in some parts of the US or do those folks just have the better antenna systems and locations?

W0EJ - Tough conditions and had to leave early but still had a good time. 73 de Bill

N8XMS - Possibly the worst conditions that I have had for one of our sprints! I managed only 4 contacts during the first hour and decided to pull the plug with that. It was still fun because the "worst day of fishing (for QSOs) is still better than the best day of working." Thanks and 73. (That sure is true, and tnx for catching me as one of your 4 'fish' - K3WWP)

N5RDN - Bad wx, short air time, thanks to who worked me. 73, Rob

W9ILF - I gave it a good try. The QRN on 40M was awful. 80M was tough going also. I am anxious to see how conditions were for others. I heard many stations calling, but I just couldn't pull you guys out of the noise level. very sorry. 72 Ivin

KB5JO - Wish had started earlier.

N1LU - 40 was not good here and 20 was dead. 80 worked better. Worked 3 NxA's. Had fun as usual.

NO2D - Wow! A run of Club Stations, all with the same NAQCC number. Struggled to get N4BP, and finally did. He was the only non club station that I heard. Tried 80 meters at mid-contest, but heard nothing at all down there. How can one work into Europe at 5 watts on one day, and, two days later, not even be able to hear anyone stateside? Strange band conditions, for sure. NO2D, Pete.

KJ4IC - I haven't been able to participate in a couple of months, so I'm glad to be back. 20m was dead here in NC, 40m was OK, but 80m was the best. Good to hear some new ones, also. 73 until next month - Bob

KC2EGL - WOW! What a blast. That was the best flowing sprint that I have participated in. 80M was in pretty good shape for a change here in Brookville. Thanks to all who answered my CQ. CU next month on the radio 73 Mike

W2JEK - was only on for the last hour. very poor conditions on 40 and 80. used my yaesu ft-840 at 5w to dipole and end fed wires at 20 ft. used signal electric r-48 straight key. 72 and 73 don younger w2jek #1135

KE9DR - Second sprint. Ruff cpy on 40 es 80 and no cpy on 20. Only made two contacts but enjoyed it anyway. I contacted AB9CA abt 0038 and he was 559, but heard him later and he was 599. Also heard N0A most of the night. Heard a lot of 449 but nobody heard me. Looking forward to next sprint. 73 KE9DR Bert- by the way, what is 72?? (One of those 'oh, isn't that just too cute' things that QRPers send instead of 73 since they are operating at less power. I don't use it myself. - K3WWP)

N4SAM - I got started late but 40 and 80 seemed to be good. Thanks to all the good ops.

KD5MMM - Some static here, and QSB. N5A very strong. Heard N4A, he didn't hear me.. 73 all

K5ENA - I enjoyed the sprint inspite of the noise and QSB. 73, John

VA3PEN - This is my second time challenging with a HW-8. I prepared a 44' doublet antenna in anticipation for 40M then realized, as soon as the sprint started, that everyone seemed to be on 80M this time, ouch. My antenna tuner had a hard time trying to match the antenna for 80M. Again, I could hear weak signals (with my poor HW-8) but only strong stations could reply to me. I would need some new strategy.

KB3AAG - Only found 80 to be of use tonite! But it was good! I heard someone working John but didnt hear him at all. I enjoyed it a lot but think I have had about enough cw for a while! i took my new K3, my poor slow code and one handed operation into the PAQSO SATURDAY (13 hours) and Sunday (9 hours)! I operated under N3GC (our club call)! I ended up with 247 QSOS, thirty some counties and fourty some sections. I sure wont win but at least made a showing for 5 watts, but I found that I am too old for those kind of streches!!! Frank

KA2CAQ - Short on time this evening. 40 meters was bad... not much of an ant on 80 meters.

W6JDG - I am still struggling with code. Not many people heard tonight. No one on 20, thought I heard N5A on 80. Thank you for your patience with a neophyte.

AB9CA - 40 was not too bad here tonight, or so it seemed. 21 Q's there. Only 3 on 80 - no one heard me. Maybe need a better 80m antenna? The noise on 80 was not bad but no one within range. Heard only N5A and N0A of the club stations. Was fun. Maybe it will get better as we get into the winter. Thanks to all who stopped by. Dave

VE3FUJ - I must have missed something 40 was very noisy at this qth, even W1AW only rated a 239, Usually comes in at 20 over 9. 2 QSO's better than nothing.

N4BP - As others have observed, horrible band condx. From SFL, 20M was dead at the start. Almost all 40M signals were at ESP levels, and 80M was a washout. Trying to copy reports and even repeats from straight keys at this level was brutal.

K2ZC - Tried 40m for about 10 minutes with no results. Switched to 80m and my first contact was John K3WWP with a booming 599 signal. It was all downhill from there.Band was very noisy and I picked up some local qrm also. I made contact with few stations only to lose them before the qso was completed. My apoligies to those stations if you're not in the log. Contest was still a lot of fun. I look forward to the next one, hopefully, with better band condx. Tnx everyone for the contacts es 73, Dave (An exact copy of conditions here, you were booming in also, then things went away and never came back - K3WWP)

WB8LZG - K2 at 5w. Wow the noise was terrible at the start of the contest. Heard several stns on 20 right at the start, but could only work N0A. I heard N7A but he didnt hear me. 80 was the best band fer me. most productive es least amount of noise. Got both Charles W2SH, es Don N1LU on 40 es 80m. I got 4 of the special stns , N0A, N2A, N4A, N5A. I got the N2A right at the end of the contest. Never Heard N1A or N3A , N8A or N6A. Great fun to see the bands alive with activity even with the noisy condx. See u all next time. 73 Gregg

K4JPN - Heard and only worked one station on 40M, despite repeated calls. 80M in GA had heavy QRN to go with the rain outside. Wait till next month. 73, Steve

KD2MX - Argh!!! For the first time ever, I completely forgot the Sprint. To add insult to injury, I was even on the radio, listening around on 160M and then checking to see if I could hear K4M anywhere. Then I went QRT. This morning I check out WA7BNM for the upcoming weekend's radio events and top of the list I see the Sprint, followed by the sinking realization that I missed it. Even worse was the realization that I somehow forgot all about it even though I had thought about it in the morning. Reading the Soapbox, I feel slightly better as I see I didn't miss much in the way of fun. It doesn't even seem that last night marked the reappearance of the infamous 'black hole' unless we are to redefine the black hole as covering most of the US. I guess this means I better start leaving yellow sticky note reminders on the radio. (Should we call it a 'black whole'? - K3WWP)

WA9ZES - Got started late - seemed to forget how to send CW - my apologies to my contacts for my poor fist - felt like I had just washed my key hand and couldn't do a thing with it - Will try harder next time Walt

N8QY - Not much going on 40 meters at my qth.80 was the best for me all night. Don't know how I got the contacts I had.

W2SH - What would we ever do without 80 meters? Not much. At the start, my TenTec Argo V illuminated but wouldn't talk to me. I'd been running off a battery because of a recent power outage. Its terminal voltage must have dropped below a threshold point inside the rig because after I switched over to commercial power, it played, much to my relief. 20m was totally silent. 40m was filled with a raspy buzz and the only signal audible was the omnipresent N4BP, and he was much weaker than usual. Off to 80m before going QRT. It was perking, but with reduced signal strengths. Later I checked 40m a few times; it had little activity, but seemed quieter, enough so that my five Watts made it to TX, my best DX of the evening. Worked N1A, N2A, N3A and N5A, but I hadn't the foggiest idea with whom I was in QSO. (The ops were and are listed on the N#A calendar page on the web site. Also op names pop up in GenLog for all 10 calls - K3WWP)

K9FO - Nothing on 20 M but 40 and 80 not bad. Thanks for having the sprint! (Thank you for participating and submitting your results! - K3WWP)

W3RT - Only on ofr a little bit of time, bands noisy, stuck with 80 meters. Thanks to all that were able to pick me out/up! 73, Red

AA2YV - Bill from Rochester NY: Wow, that was a rough night. All of 36 points, as I count them. I was ready for bear, but all I got was QRN, weak signals and no reciprocal growls to speak of. Had to hang it up after about 30 minutes. Still, this is a really enjoyable 2 hr ditty: no pressure, just riding the waves. See you in November.

VA3RKM - K2. Enjoyed getting back to the FISTS and NAQCC sprints this week after a long abscence. Haven't tamed my work life yet. My thanks and appreciation to John K3WWP for all the CW activity on the bands that he promotes, year after year! (Thank you - my pleasure to do so - K3WWP)

N8BB - First did a S&P with very little luck and decided to CQ my way through the sprint. Also 80 meters worked best for me as 40 was very tough. 98% CQing was best and did manage 34 Q's and 16 sections but it was very tough through the qrn/qrm. Some very nasty qrm'ers but maybe they just didn't hear us. Many thanks to all who worked me and my heartfelt thanks to those who tried and failed, bands were just not there. Had a great time and did finally work John K3WWP, and also 3 SE stations, N1A, N2A,N3A. Thanks guy's. Werner

VE3KQN - Listened and called cq for 45 minutes on 40m and 80m - 20m was dead. The only stations I heard was N1LU and K3WWP but propagation wasn't going in that direction. Very frustrating! The previous 2 months I was in N/central Ontario and had a good time in the sprints BUT no TV and no internet so couldn't submit a log... maybe next month.

K4UK - Conditions not too good. Especially on 20 Meters. Worked 3 N#A calls

KU4A - Much better condx than September. No problems finding people to work.

N2COD - DREADFUL band conditions, absorption high & propagation nil. Lousy signals all during the sprint. 20m. was completely dead, 40 was terrible & only heard a few from the mobile on 80m. Lets hope the skywave improves quick! 72

W3IK - Lousy conditions, static was pushing way above S-9 most of the time on 80m, and 40m not much better. I had to fight to make the five contacts I made, and gave up after about an hour. I heard K3WWP, KB3AAG, N8QY, and for the life of me, their static must have been worse. I thank N8QY for the repeated attempts, but he never pulled me through. Last month was awesome, this month disappointing, but next month as winter comes, surely it will be spectacular on 80m. 73 John (Sorry - never heard anything resembling W3IK - K3WWP)

N3RBN - My first sprint. I need copy practice.

See General Sprint Rules for rules common to every NAQCC sprint.

RULES specific to this month's sprint:

Date and time:
Wednesday October 14, 0030-0230 UTC
(Remember that's Tuesday evening here in the USA)

Special Award:
To the winner of a drawing among the following: The one making the highest score in each division and having the most QSO's with our anniversary special event stations.

Autologger SA info:
Eligible for the Special Award.......' box - Select Yes if you are competing for the award
Special Award info.......' box - The total number of special event station QSO's.

Entry Deadline:
All entries must be RECEIVED before 2400Z on the Sunday following the sprint. So submit as soon as possible, especially regular mail entries.

Preferred method of submitting your log and report is our on-line autologger.