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Oct 2010 Straight Key/Bug Sprint (#72) I think of all our 100+ logs performances so far, this one is most impressive. Not only was there the potential problem with the PJpedition (which never really materialized that much), but horrible QRN that pervaded all but a few select areas of the USA. Still you wonderful NAQCC members showed up to the tune of 108 logs this month (including one late log). That's seven months in a row now over 100 logs. Congratulations and sincerest thanks for doing so much to help CW in these troubled times for our wonderful mode. You, quite simply, are the greatest members of any radio club in the world. - K3WWP Final Official Results SWA Category - W1 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna KK1W 28 25 53 17 901 x2 1802 80/40 trp dpl@35' KQ1P 15 15 30 11 330 x2 660 80 zepp@30' K1IEE 12 12 24 11 264 x2 528 g5rv@30' W1MSW 14 14 28 9 252 x2 504 mb dpl@40' KB1PBA 12 12 24 9 216 x2 432 dpl@28' N1FJ 1 1 2 1 2 x2 4 g5rv@40' SWA Category - W2 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna AA2YV 35 34 69 20 1380 x2 2760 40 dpl@35', 80 ef@35' W2SH 18 17 35 12 420 x2 840 180' dpl@40' W2JEK 12 12 24 11 264 x2 528 40 dpl@20',80 ef wire@20' KD2MX 6 6 12 5 60 x2 120 600' loop@25' W2HWW 6 6 12 5 60 x2 120 gnd mtd vert K2NPN 6 6 12 6 72 x1.5 108 zepp@40' WA2JSG 5 5 10 4 40 x2 80 elev vert@12' WA2OQJ 4 4 8 4 32 x2 64 80 dpl@25' KA2FIR 4 4 8 4 32 x2 64 80 invV@50' KC2MJT 4 4 8 4 32 32 g5rv@25' N2COD 1 1 2 1 2 x2 4 hustler whip SWA Category - W3 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna K3WWP 36 36 72 16 1152 x2 2304 ~110' attic rnd wire KB3AAG 23 23 46 14 644 644 80 loop@35',g5rv@40' W0EJ 9 8 17 9 153 153 g5rv@45' AF3Z 7 7 14 6 84 x1.5 126 dpl@15' N3AEA 0 0 0 0 0 x2 0 hor loop@??' $WA3AAN 5 5 10 5 50 50 dpl@30' SWA Category - W4 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna K4ORD 30 30 60 21 1260 x2 2520 40 dpl@40',160 dpl@35' N4ESS 24 23 47 18 846 x2 1692 160dpl@50' AA4W 18 18 36 13 468 x2 936 40 dpl@??',31' vert N3LL 18 18 36 11 396 x2 792 1/4 wv 40 slpr KG4QLX 12 11 23 11 253 x2 506 40 wndm@25' KM4QQ 12 12 24 7 168 x2 336 80 hor loop@30' N4UN 15 15 30 11 330 330 ocf dpl@25' N4ES 9 9 18 8 144 x2 288 dpl@40' K3NLT 10 10 20 7 140 x2 280 80/40 dpl@30' K4NVJ 9 9 18 7 126 x2 252 88' dpl@35' AI4VA 8 8 16 7 112 x2 224 attic lw K4JPN 8 8 16 7 112 x2 224 80 cf zepp@??' WX4RM 8 5 13 8 104 x2 208 4btv gnd mtd vert K4UFT 7 7 14 7 98 x2 196 indoor 30' wire on ceiling K4KRW 7 7 14 6 84 x2 168 wndm@30' K3RLL 10 10 20 7 140 140 stealth vert K4JC 6 6 12 5 60 x2 120 gnd mtd vert KU4A 6 6 12 5 60 60 slping dpl@40' NA4O 4 4 8 3 24 x2 48 40 car wndm@45' N4FI 3 3 6 3 18 x2 36 115' lw@20' KA8VZB 2 2 4 2 8 x2 16 40 ef wire@20' AF4LB 3 2 5 1 5 x2 10 dpl@40' SWA Category - W5 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna AE5KM 11 10 21 9 189 x2 378 g5rv@25' N5KIP 12 12 24 10 240 240 vert KE5YUM 7 7 14 6 84 x2 168 invV@30' N5ATM 7 7 14 6 84 x2 168 car wndm@45' W5TVW 7 7 14 5 70 x2 140 115' ef@15' N5DUX 7 7 14 5 70 x2 140 gnd mtd vert W5IQS 5 5 10 5 50 50 dpl@30' KD5MMM 2 2 4 2 8 x2 16 dpl@40' KB5JO 2 2 4 2 8 8 88' dblt@20' WB5UAA 1 1 2 1 2 x2 4 fld dpl@20' SWA Category - W6 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna K6MGO 4 3 7 4 28 28 indoor dblt KA6AIL 3 2 5 3 15 15 ocf dpl@35' SWA Category - W7 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna KK7S 4 4 8 4 32 x2 64 dpl@50' KD7KD 2 2 4 2 8 x1.5 12 dblt@15' @K6ZY 1 1 2 1 2 2 260' lw@??' SWA Category - W8 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna N8XMS 17 17 34 10 340 x2 680 r7 vert KB8FE 15 15 30 10 300 x2 600 invV@25',ef invL@60' K8WSN 15 14 29 9 261 x2 522 vert@4',135'ef@5' N8BB 10 10 20 9 180 x2 360 ocf dpl@??',coll dpls@??' KI8AF 13 13 26 13 338 338 invV@45' AC8AP 11 11 22 7 154 x2 308 g5rv jr@50' WB8ENE 8 8 16 7 112 x2 224 135' dblt@15',4btv@25' W8VFM 8 8 16 6 96 96 mobile whip on roof NF8M 4 4 8 4 32 x2 64 hamstick on car W8DW 4 4 8 3 24 x2 48 windom@??' KD8FKD 2 2 4 2 8 x2 16 g5rv@50' W8TAF 1 1 2 1 2 x2 4 dpl@??' SWA Category - W9 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna W9HLY 35 35 70 19 1330 x2 2660 slpr@0-60' K9PL 25 22 47 15 705 x2 1410 dpl@25' AA9L 28 25 53 13 689 x2 1378 mb dpl@50' KA9FQG 17 17 34 11 374 x2 748 g5rv@35' K9FO 11 10 21 7 147 x2 294 dpl@45' W9CC 6 6 12 6 72 x2 144 80 loop@15' KC9BSP 5 5 10 5 50 x2 100 dpl@25' KE9IX 4 4 8 4 32 32 dpl@20' W9ILF 3 3 6 3 18 x1.5 27 gnd mtd vert $K9KHJ 4 4 8 4 32 x2 64 ef sloper@15-35' SWA Category - W0 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna K9OSC 43 43 86 21 1806 x2 3612 cf zepp@30' N8LA 14 14 28 11 308 x2 616 dpl@35' NO2D 13 13 26 11 286 286 80 dblt@??' K0HJC 8 8 16 6 96 x2 192 cf zepp@35' N0EVH 10 10 20 9 180 180 invL K0MC 6 6 12 5 60 x2 120 invV@35' WD0K 4 3 7 3 21 x2 42 dlta loop@36' KA8HDE 3 3 6 3 18 x2 36 g5rv jr@35' K0MIS 1 1 2 1 2 2 ocf dpl@25' @WB0QQT 8 8 16 7 112 x2 224 gnd mtd vert SWA Category - Canada Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna VE3RCN 17 16 33 12 396 x2 792 gnd mtd vert VA3PEN 11 11 22 9 198 x2 396 gnd mtd vert VE3MO 11 11 22 6 132 132 20/40 sloper VE3FUJ 4 3 7 3 21 x2 42 40 dpl@21' #VE3EZP 12 11 23 7 161 x2 322 172' dpl@30' SWA Category - DX Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna NP3CW 2 2 4 2 8 x2 16 dpl@23' 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 80-40-20 Antenna 9/W9DLN 50 42 92 26 2392 x2 4784 invV@50' 1/N1LU 52 51 103 21 2163 x2 4326 cobra ultralite@40' 5/W5YDM 28 27 55 15 825 x2 1650 40 dpl@20' 8/WB8LZG 24 24 48 16 768 x2 1536 dpl@30' 4/K2UFT 38 36 74 19 1406 1406 80 dblt@40' 0/KD0V 22 22 44 11 484 x2 968 g5rv@50' 7/WY7N 14 14 28 10 280 x2 560 60' wire@20' 2/KA2KGP 12 12 24 9 216 x2 432 5b dpl@??', gnd mtd vert 3/KC2EGL 11 11 22 8 176 x2 352 fld dpl@25' 6/K6CSL 2 1 3 2 6 6 dlt loop,ind dpl,ind hor loop If marked as follows, not eligible for certificate or prize: @ - QRO $ - Not a member # - Late log AWARD WINNERS: 1st SWA W1: KK1W 1st SWA W2: AA2YV 1st SWA W3: K3WWP 1st SWA W4: K4ORD 1st SWA W5: AE5KM 1st SWA W6: K6MGO 1st SWA W7: KK7S 1st SWA W8: N8XMS 1st SWA W9: W9HLY 1st SWA W0: K9OSC 1st SWA Canada: VE3RCN 1st SWA DX: NP3CW 1st Gain: n/a 1st N#A: N9A (W9DLN) First time entrant high scorer: KG4QLX Knob/handle drawing: KB1PBA The following appeared 5 or more times in submitted logs, but did not submit a log themselves for whatever reason: WA1BXY - 29 (might have won the W1 division) KD5QAQ - 14 W7OM - 11 KC8LTL - 7 K3YP - 6 NS4Q - 6 VE3LR - 6 WA1LWS - 6 AE5X - 5 NV4T - 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: 108 (including 1 late log) Total participants found in cross-checking spreadsheet: 168 Total QSO's in master cross-checking spreadsheet: 1251 States represented: 34 + ON SK KP4 First-time entrants: 12 GOLDEN LOGS (perfectly formatted, all info accurate): AE5KM AF3Z AF4LB K0MIS K1IEE K3NLT K4JC K4ORD K4UFT K8WSN K9FO K9KHJ KA2FIR KA8HDE KA8VZB KA9FQG KB1PBA KB8FE KC2MJT KD8FKD KK1W KU4A N1FJ N3A N4ES N4FI N5ATM N7A N8XMS NA4O NF8M NP3CW VA3PEN VE3FUJ VE3RCN W0EJ W2HWW W2JEK W8DW W9CC W9ILF WA2OQJ WB0QQT WB8ENEIf you're not listed as a GOLDEN LOG or your posted score is different from what you computed and wish to know why, we'll tell you if you ask before 2400Z the second Sunday after the sprint. There will no longer be any automatic notification of score changes or "not in log" QSO's due to the greatly increased participation in our sprints. Email  with the subject "NAQCC Sprint Question".SOAPBOX: K3WWP - I was very anxious about this sprint because of the problem with the PJ DXpedition. I was glad that so many of you read your emails and were there in the alternate frequency segment on 40 meters. I didn't listen on 20 so I don't know what happened there. 40 seemed pretty much normal considering the longer skip and the high QRN. I worked just about what I expected under those conditions despite the change in frequency. That QRN was probably the worst it has been here in several months now, and just about all the 40M QSO's were rough, and I probably missed a couple stations calling me. 80 was bad also, but about 80 percent of the QSO's there were easy. However I just couldn't pull through some VA3 station near the end of the sprint. I apologize to him/her and anyone else I missed down there under the QRN. I am pleased with my results this month. I think I did as well as I could under the conditions. You who know me well know that is unusual as I am usually critical of myself and complaining - HI. It will be nice to get back to normal next month again though. Well, got to get to posting scores now. Maybe the soapboxes will wait till tomorrow morning. I don't know yet. N5DUX - Had a complete blast. First Sprint ever. Never worked CW contest before either. Lots of fun. My apologies to everyone on the receiving end of my straight key. 73 KA8HDE - My first NAQCC sprint - and my first QRP QSOs! I had a lot of fun, although not many QSO's (3). Got N5A on my first offical QRP QSO - how lucky is that. Looking forward to the next one now that the jitters are less. K0MC - Good signals to CO Worked N0A;N5A;N7A. Best I have done TNX to all WA2OQJ - Holy ear drums Batman! Sorry folks call me a wimp but....I bailed after an hour of "agn? QRN agn?" I sure hope N4A had my call right he answered me with my call but asked if my call was W(huge static crash)2OQJ? he had it right at the 1st so I assumed it was good...N9A was a trooper, worked hard to get me through the noise but in the end it was not to be...Tnx for trying...Miserable band conditions...Fall cant come fast enough! see ya next one...72, Jim W9ILF - Rig: MFJ 9040 key 1924 Vibroplex bug: I had a very short time to operate so I went simple and fun with this radio. I had so much fun I might have to keep working with it on sprints. Thanks for the three QSO's! Pretty heavy QRN tonight but I used a Scaf filter to help pull out signals. It worked well. I think sometimes the FUN factor outweighs the QSO factor! 73 and Great Sprint! N0EVH - Had to sandwich the sprint in between a few chores, but got to play on 40 meters for an hour. Nice action on the band, thanks. John AA4W - Heard qute a few signals on 40 but 80 never did develop. I added 5 of the N#A stations to my log (1,2,4,8,9) KB5JO - Condx for me were terrible, don't think the calling frequency change helped much. K3RLL - Well, I for one really liked our new 40 meter band placement for this evening's Sprint. We spread out a bit and no digital/RTTY QRM. Was running K2 to black "stealth vertical" that must come down before the sun comes up. Many thanks to those patient ops who pulled my signal out of the noise. ... Don KK7S - Not much of a showing for me this week. Got home late. Couldn't spend much time on the air. No signals heard on 20m. Lots of signals on 40m but the noise level was incredibly high. I think some of you were trying to call me but I just couldn't hear you. I'll try to put up a better antenna for the next one! W0EJ - Had a good time but 20 was dead, 40 was noisy but workable then headed for 80 to finish the night. Missed a couple of months so was determined to work tonight, glad I did. 72 de Bill AA9L - Forty was the meat and potatoes band. Lots of QRM and QRN. No problems with PJ's N3A/KC2EGL - It was hit or miss tonight in Brookville Pa. I had a few run's of 3 2 to 3 QSO's then a lot of calling CQ. Had fun anyway. Even if the conditions were not so hot here tonight. I thought I may have had a problem with my antenna with all the weak signals until I heard a few rag chews while scanning the bands. Thanks for letting me operate N3A during the sprint. CU on the radio. 73 MIke N4ES - Started late due to lightning. One end of the dipole broke in the wind and fell to the ground. Center and other end still up, so we worked the sprint anyway. 80m static cleared up toward the end. N1A/N1LU - 20 was dead. Spent until 0200 on 40m then went to 80m. 80m was tough pulling sigs out. Sorry for the ones I couldn't pull out. N9A/W9DLN - Love the one one dah dah number! Thanks everyone for the fun! NA4O - The alternate freq on 40 worked out pretty well, but I did not hear the usual number of stations on. W1MSW - Fun sprint. 20 was dead and no real 80m ant here. 40 was were it was at for me. Score increased from last month and that good enough for me! Thanks for the QSOs everyone. VA3PEN - Whew, it was tough tonight. The signals were weaker than before and there was fast and deep QSB on 40m. I hear a signal at one moment, but it is gone after a couple of seconds. 80m was relatively stable but could hear only a few stations, and among them was K3WWP. I made contacts with N0A and N1A, then realized that their numbers are the same. I guess I may have copied one of the numbers (or callsigns) wrong. I enjoyed the sprint. (Nope, as a club station all N#A stations used (or should have) the club NAQCC number 1100 - K3WWP) W5IQS - QRN on both 20 and 40 was terrible here in Horseshoe Bay, Texas. N5ATM - 20m was dead tonight, not one QSO. 40m was alive but conditions were weak. Only stations I heard and worked were NE from TX, strange. KB3AAG - It was work tonite. 40 sounded like 80 in July! I started there and only two answered me. I tried search and pounce (like I type) and got no replies so went to 80. At least there was some action there, but they were sure hard to copy with the noise. Thanks for all the repeats fellows and I am sorry to all the calls that I could not dig out! Perhaps my rig,antennas, and I were just tired after making 281 contacts in the paqso party last weekend! Frank NP3CW - Poor propagation and QRN and QSB to my area. Heard W8VFM at 1:30 UTC, N4JPN,N4A but they did not copy me. No station heard in 20 M. Only one station heard in 80M. Julio NP3CW #2766 Puerto Rico WA2JSG - OOPS... took a nap after 12 hours in the salt mines and didn't get on 'till late. Rig: IC703 cut back to 5w, 12v battery, Bencher straight key, vertical antenna. KK1W - Second time around for me - decided to enter in the SWA category before I turned the rig on. Good thing, 20 was dead anyway so the beam wouldn't have made much difference! Had good opportunities on 40 but the band wasn't as long as last month. 80 was very NOISY! Still, the time went by faster than expected. Before I knew it 10:30 rolled around and it was time to pull the plug. Thanks again to all the participants and organizers for providing a fun evening. Jim AF3Z - I enjoyed some casual operating between the static crashes... after arriving late. 80m served me well; 40 and 20 had nothing to offer :-) TNX to everyone! N6A/K6CSL - Band conditions sound very poor here, very noisey. I had several callers that I was unable to pull even their complete calls out of the noise. I was also having problems time managing 4 band segments on 20 and 40M. I didn't even try 80M. Very discouraging experience. I have been doing somewhat better working time schedules for the rest of the N6A operation. I hope to do much better activity on through the balance of the week and the coming weekend which will be devoted to N6A operation. Bert K4JC - Wow - what tough conditions this month...the propagation gods definitely didn't smile on me! I couldn't hear anyone on 20, and without a working antenna on 80 I made all my (six) contacts on 40. I could hear lots of stations there, but apparently they couldn't hear me. Ah well, I still enjoyed the sprint and will aim to do better next month. K9KHJ - First contest after 10+ years of inactivity. 4 whole QSO's, but it was fun nontheless and I was very pleased to hear all the activity of fellow CW and QRP fans. N5A/W5YDM - The first hour was good but most stations disappeared in the 2nd. I worked N4ESS early on and later N4ES called and I thought it was N4ESS again so I told him "dupe." but he persisted until I finally realized what was going on. I almost lost those points. VE3FUJ - Condx were not great at this Qth, I also FUMBLED, I had a contact with what I read as N4A I lost him I hadn't locked the dial and must have accidentally turned it, and I just could not find him Back SORRY abt that. The 2nd and 3rd 1/2 hr was a black hole for me, I picked up two more in the last 1/2 hr for a grand total of 4, I then said to myself "SELF, better luck next time". Thanks to the ones that I did contact. See you all next Month. Brion K4KRW - Thanks for another fun sprint. FT-897D at 5 watts. The bands weren't great here in Charlotte, NC. It was a challenge pulling stations out of the noise at times. But I still had a good time. Managed to snag 5 N#A stations. So, that was fun. Happy 6th anniversary. NO2D - 40 meters seemed good, so stuck with it until about 0215. No luck on 80 meters, but did hear W9HLY faintly. I like working 40 meters up at 7.100 - 7.110. Crowded, so perhaps we could expand that to 7.115 or so. Not much interference up there tonight. Lots of NxA on tonight. I worked six of them. Would have been fun to work them all. Why not have them use their own member numbers so we would know who they are? Always fun, and thanks to the committee (?? - gosh I sometimes wish we had a sprint committee to help me out - HI HI - K3WWP) and those who participated. NO2D, Pete. WX4RM - 40 meters seemed to quit here after 0200Z. Had some fun again as always. WD0K - It was; what it was!! KB8FE - The leaves are now falling fast here in northern Ohio. Marginal conditions overall but always fun to dig the tiny signals out. W9HLY was 5 over S9 but W2JEK had to repeat his call to me about six times before I finally got it!! VE3EZP had some WW2 equipment on the air running QRP which has that 'special sound' to it that I like to hear on the band. Looking forward to reduced static crashes as we head toward the cooler part of the year. K4UFT - Missed last several sprints and only got to operate the last hour or so of this one. Lots of noise on all bands here in upstate SC. All contacts were on 40M up in the "Novice Band." Nothing heard on 20M. 80M had S9+10 noise level. Forgot how great the IF DSP on my IC-7000 and FT-950 is compared to the 500 Hz crystal filter and audio DSP in the IC-703+. Running Icom IC-703+ @5W to indoor 30' end-fed wire run down down hallway taped to ceiling. Key is Navy Flameproof straight key. K9OSC - Band conditions were outstanding on 40 meters with no QRN this time. Had a great time. AE5KM - 20 meters was empty. 40 meters was closed, lots of non-reciprocal propagation at first, but then things cleared up and I made some contacts :). N8LA - The day was kind of a bummer. In the morning, I discovered the remains of a female cardinal next to my chair in the dining room with her feathers scattered all over the place. One of our cats had grabbed her on our balcony and made a present of her to me! Cleaning up the mess dampened my appetite for breakfast. Later in the day, my sister-in-law in Maryland informed us that their eight-year-old Brittany spaniel had succumbed to cancer. That dog led a full life, living in California, England, and finally in Maryland. I remember when we took her to Stonehenge with us in 2003. She jumped from the vehicle in the parking lot across the road from Stonehenge and disappeared from sight chasing a rabbit across the field next to it, only to reappear minutes later still chasing the rabbit who finally managed to disappear down its rabbit hole. In the 6th century, before QRP CW, Boethius had to rely on the "Consolations of Philosophy." Fortunately for me, in the 21st century I can rely on the consolations of the NAQCC Sprint! W9HLY - 40, so-so, great on 80. Fun time. Vern K9PL - No signals heard on 20-meters, one QSO on 80-meters and 40-meter QSOs made up the rest. PFR-3, Ft. Tuthill 80 and J-37. K8WSN - Stayed on 80 meters tonight. Called several stations from districts 1 thru 4 who couldn't hear me. This should motivate me to make some badly needed antemma improvements. I still had a lot of fun, as always. Thanks to all, and CUAGN soon. Bill N4ESS - 20 died here before the Sprint started. 40 stayed good but the static crashes were huge. Lots of great signals here is WCF. Rich NF8M - Had time for just a few QSOs from the car, using one side of the paddle as a straight key. Moving to 7100 worked well, not only getting us away from the PJ QRM but the digital modes also, so we could spread out. Maybe consider moving there permanently? (Nope, that territory is used regularly by other clubs and we want to honor that plus we want to save the traditional CW frequencies at the low end of the band and not give in to the digital bullies there - K3WWP) K2NPN - Enjoyed the sprint. Lots of QRN on my end. 73 Phil N2COD - Way too much QRN to operate tonite. The worst atmospheric noise in several months. I hope bands get better for the N2A operations this week. 73 to all. VE3RCN - Again, a lot of fun. KC0RSX kept giving me SK CC NR 14 for his number. I am not sure what this meant. Nothing on 20m this time of year at this hour in Ontario. Nice to hear VE3EZP use WW2 gear. I heard it chirping away. Maybe next time I should use the vintage gear on warship Haida again. 73, Kevin VE3RCN (Royal Canadian Navy). N0A/KD0V - I am sorry I could not work everyone who call me. The QRN and QRM levels on 40 and 80 were high. It was interesting to be on the receiving end of a pile up. 73, Merlin W8VFM - A fun sprint but heavy QRN here in MI. 72, Ned N8A/WB8LZG - K2 at 5w to dipole tonight. Great sprint despite having the usuall QRP watering hole taken up wid high power dxer's. i found 7.113 a vy gud spot.Charles W2SH was 1st in the log.es had a nice run gg fer the first 45 mins. I went to 80 after the 1st hr, but not much activity heard so went back to 40 till late in the contest. Very noisy condx hr in central Michigan tonight. Tns fer the ops who stayed with me for repeats, es Sri to those guys i couldnt quite get. Had a 6 lander calling fer several go rounds but couldn't pull him out. Sri OM I really wanted that 6 land multiplier too! I had anticipated breaking 30+ QSO's this eve but only managed 24. still a gud showing. Nice to work some high #'s es old friends too. N8A operation here was most enjoyable. see u all next sprint.73 Gregg KD2MX - Not much good to say. Conditions were punk. Very high QRN. Heard nothing on 20m. Only stations from a circle in W9-land on 40m. 80M, noisy. The few stations I could hear were pretty strong. They had to be to hear them through the QRN, but I seemed fairly weak on their end. I can't even call this one a black hole as most everything was 'dark'. If my memory serves me, conditions last October were pretty bad too. I put in almost an hour with little to show. I'm interested to read how others did...The 7100 experiment seemed to work out. Seemed stations were spread out instead of everybody cramming into 7040-7045. Might be nice to stay up there except for those who do not have the flexibility. (Exactly, another good point for keeping 7030-7045 as our sprint frequency. A lot of QRP rigs don't cover above 7000-7100. - K3WWP) KQ1P - I was amazed at how well the sprint went with S5 to S7 QRN here. Plenty of action until about 10 PM. Tried 80M but QRN was even worse there. Thanks to all who were able to make some challenging QSOs ( I know I lost a few in the noise) and a few that were an honest 599! 73, John VE3MO - Another rough one in this location. My 1st contact was made 14 minutes after I started (N4A) and I didn't get another contact for another 32 minutes after that (K9OSC) then things started to pick up and I managed another 9 by 0159z and decided to pack it in at 0212z. The S9 qrn was most unbearable. Did anyone else have such high QRN levels on 40m? (OH YES!! - K3WWP) WB5UAA - 20 was flat lined for me. Sorry KD7KD and KU4A, I blame my antenna. I'll be putting up a good 40M QRP antenna before next sprint. I'll take last place this time. On a positive note, with only one line in my log, it should be GOLDEN! :) K3NLT - Well it was a fun night! Rig this time was K2 with good filters and due to the QRN I had them pretty tight. It seemed there were fewer operators on last night than the week before. Maybe John scared them away with his warnings about QRM from DX pile-ups. Ha! (Or a lot of folks have rigs that don't go above 7100. Although I thought activity was good here, especially on 80 - K3WWP) Nice to work you John, and the GenLog worked fine this time. Now if I can figure out how to get my log to move into the Autologger I am set. I will be working on that in the future. I hope to see more of you next time if my schedule allows it. Also I have a friend who I will tel about this fun group. Russ N2A/KA2KGP - Nasty QRN here in WNY. Bands were VERY poor condx. and 20m. was nil. I had to turn down my hearing aid cuz the air-buzz was giving me a headache! Hope bands clear up for N2A this week. 73 & CUL W8TAF - i also cud hear N3A calling but no qso. W1MSW - (Matt asked if not putting in his antenna height eliminated him from GOLDEN LOG contention. I said no, only the log itself counts toward a GOLDEN LOG. I thought his response was worth posting here as another example of how our sprints are helpful to hams. - K3WWP) OK great John and thank you so much for all the work you put into this. I really have a blast with these sprints and all the straight key practice is really helping my code skills. I had a really block against doing anything other that S&P and because of these sprints, I'm calling CQ in both these and the SOTA activations I've been doing. Now I'm really looking forward to the ARRL CW Rookie Roundup in December. Good stuff! 72, -matt AI4VA - Great fun! Tnx to all. W2JEK - was only on for the last hour. conditions did seem noisy with some qsb that required a few repeats. was pleased to work k3wwp, n1a and n9a. used my yaesu ft-840 at 5 watts to wire antennas with signal electric r-48 straight key. had a good time. 72 and 73 don younger w2jek #1135 KU4A - I have a new 80m antenna ready to use but it was too noisy there for any QSOs. Looks like the move to 7100-7120 to avoid the DXpeditions was a good idea. N3LL - Had to babysit my new grandson ,Kian Joshua ... I only had a short time to op before he got bored, I guess at 3 weeks old he's not ready for CW sprints yet !!! Bob N3LL K6ZY - I actually used 30W only on the first contact with N0A. I used 5W on the other. Had a good time and appreciated the slower speeds used. N8XMS - I was only able to operate for the first hour. Conditions were not that great but I had a lot of fun. 73 to all. N8BB - Qrm qrn and everything else, long night with poor results. Did enjoy revisiting all my friends, just wish there were more I could hear. I am looking forward to winter months here on the radio. WB8ENE - Heavy QRN here too. Rig is Elecraft K3. Vertical seemed to work better on 40 to the southern states this time. I usually only use the vertical on 20. Hope we have less noise next sprint, and I hope I get a golden log again. 73, Art N3AEA - no contacts - heard weak stations from W8, W9, bad propogation from this QTH, also QRN es QSB - 73 K4NVJ - Condx good on this end. WB0QQT - My first attempt at an NAQCC Sprint. I tried for an hour at 5 watts but could not seem to be heard so I upped the power to 50 watts. Shame on me eh ! Anyway, Scotty (N0AZN)has been encouraging me to give it a try so I did. Lots of fun ! Now I hope I just got the Autologger completed correctly. Steve, #292, WB0QQT, NE KD5MMM - only got two, was noisy. Glad to get NxA's. Used my FT847, K1 won't go that high on 40. (See! That's what I mean about 7040 vs. 7100 - K3WWP) Fun as always. 73 .. W5TVW - Absolutely terrible conditions here tonight! ALL signals were weak here. A lot of QRN. NNil heard on 20 meters, 40 meters active but many signals below static level. Tried 80 meters for a while and signals there but atmospheric levels were S9 many db. over. Gave up early as nothing new being heard on 40 that was readable. This my second try this year. First try I realized I was not giving the correct NAQCC number !!!! So I gave up and didn't submit that log! My XYL is still trying to recover from an almost two year bout with "Post Herpetic Neuralgia" from her shingles she had in February 2009, which has been extremely distracting and made any contesting very difficult. Hope to get on more as I can. KA6AIL - Lots of QRM out west. Tnx for the three I got. C U next month. W2SH - Spent the entire day gardening outdoors and never turned on the computer to learn of the additional recommended frequencies. 20m was closed and almost nothing was heard around 7.140 mHz after the first half hour. 80m showed some activity but the QRN was frightful. I ceased calling CQ when it became clear that I couldn't copy the replies. N4A/K2UFT - Guess the PJ activity stole the N#A thunder. (Oh I wouldn't say that. It looks like we'll have 100+ logs again as usual from some 160 or so participants. Down a bit, but still what other 2 hour sprint can claim those kind of figures? - K3WWP) The highest member number worked was 4733. I made 38 Q's, where were the other 4,695 members hiding? Disappointed that I did not work the 3 guys from the North Georgia QRP Club that I recruited for N4A activation. Hope log is OK, had quite a bit of trouble with GenLog, not as intuitive as some other products I have used. 73 Dick KC9BSP - My second NAQCC Sprint. Having so much fun running my record high of 6 QSO's that I forgot to log the times of the last 2, so they are estimates. QRM was not bothersome here. K1IEE - 40 meters was the place to be from my QTH. Had poor conditions with heavy QSB and very strong static crashes QRN. It was a challenge pulling stations from the noise for sure. Still had a good time doing that. Thanks to everyone. Dick N4UN - K1 all on 40 meters this month. K0HJC - QRN was bad on all bands - for the fourth straight sprint! Heard K6CSL for the fourth straight sprint, but couldn't get through again! Still fun, good to work some new folks. KA9FQG - Enjoyed this month's sprint a lot in spite of noisy conditions on 40 & 80 and that 20 was totally dead. One highlight was getting a QSO with an area ham (W9HLY) who helped me with CW contacts at a Field Day weekend 30 years ago. K4ORD - Nothing heard on 20M, 40M had lots of qrn but managed 25 qso's, best dx on 40 were KK7S/WA, NO2D/CO. made 5 qso's on 80M through heavy qrn. Seems activity was down a bit, but still lots of fun. Used my J-38 key again. Well John hope you get 2 more logs so we can make it 100 logs again, was busy and late getting mine in. Thanks to all 72/73 Riley AA2YV - AA2YV - Yes, lotsa QRN. I had a honker of a cold but stayed at it. Coupla dry spells. Thanks for all the great QSO's out there. KE9IX - Only worked 4 but had a great time. I had only one hour to work. Heard nothing on 20 and 40 was noisy with QSB. But I did get to work N1A. :) Thanks John and all the others that make the Sprints happen. KM4QQ - Signal levels low and a good bit of QRM. Not as many signals as I normally hear. I was expecting a lot more activity, especially on 80 meters. Enjoyed! Hope to work many more next month! -72- Ed K9FO - Only 45 minutes in test. I have to plan ahead better! TenTec ORION @ 5w, 40 dipole, Key: a 1977 Nye with navy knob. Thanks for the contacts. 73, Will VE3EZP - My first NAQCC Sprint - Great fun.Only had just over one hour, coming from the WS-19 Net. Used 1940's gear: No.9 hand key, TX BC696A (cranked down to 5W out) and a glorious 1942 HRO-M with many original tubes! I'll be back - John See General Sprint Rules for rules common to every NAQCC sprint. RULES specific to this month's sprint: Date and time: Wednesday, October 13, 0030-0230Z IMPORTANT: Due to possible heavy pile-up QRM from the PJ DXpedition our frequencies are changed for this month only: 80 - 3555-3565 (normal) 40 - 7100-7120 20 - 14100-14110 Also check the regular 40 and 20 frequencies for those who may be there because they didn't read their email or check this page. Prize: The winner, to be decided by drawing among all who submit a valid log, gets a choice of paddle handles, straight key knobs, and/or K2 knob inserts donated by Gregg WB8LZG. See the Prizes page in the Main section of the web site for details and pictures. Here's how the drawing is made. In all sprints for our records we number the participants consecutively from highest to lowest score. We'll then use the random number generator feature of Excel to pick a number from those numbers. That way, the winner could be the one with the highest score, the lowest score, or anything in between. So be sure to submit a log no matter your score if you are interested in winning these beautiful hand-crafted items. We've given Gregg's masterpieces away before and every winner has commented on their beauty and usefulness. A member can only win once, then becomes ineligible after that. 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. |