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Nov 2010 Straight Key/Bug Sprint (#73) Despite the very poor conditions in most of the country for our sprint, you came through again with flying colors. We received 106 logs that contained a total of 1,073 QSO's. For those reading this who may not be familiar with our sprints, we actually mean complete 'logs', not just reporting how many stations were worked. I think that makes the fact that we've now gone over 100 logs for 8 straight sprints all the more remarkable and impressive. It's a tribute to you, our wonderful members. You all too often thank us for 'all the work we do'. Well, it should be the other way around - we thank you for all you do for YOUR club. I am impressed and pleased by the number of first-time entrants (14) we had this month. More and more newcomers are discovering just how user-friendly and how much fun our sprints are. If you have any doubts about our sprints, don't believe what one person wrongfully called 'our hype'. Instead read this montage of excerpts from this month's soapbox comments. They say it all. AA9L: Worse total in a long time but still the best sprint around. K9KHJ: What fun. Spread the word about this fun, mellow, and exciting event. K2GLS: As always it is a fun sprint with different propagation challenges each month. AE5KM: the challenge is part of the fun. KI6NTB: first time submitting log. had fun KX9N: 1st time sprint--had a lot of fun NE5DL: First NAQCC sprint lots of fun K5SEE: The contest was my first and it was fun. K3RLL: ...our Sprints are fun. KA9FQG: Fun as always K9OSC: Had great time and thanks to all the TX stations for those contacts! N3GGT: I had a good time. K4KRW: Had a great time. AF3Z: Arrived late and had fun KB3AAG: Great fun and thanks to all! WF5W: Fun stuff N8QY: Thanks for making it fun N0TA: Fairly slow evening, but fun. VA3PEN: ...the outcome was not so good ;-) I enjoyed it nevertheless as always. K9FO: QRM made for a low QSO count. Fun to try though. AA2YV: Tough night, but fun anyway. K3AEA: QSB, but fun anyway N9QU: Lots of fun in spite of zero results. WB0QQT: Pretty rough copy all around...... Oh well, still fun! WD0K: 40 started out good and died.....80 was not as good....Then a 60 cycle hum came on....Oh Gee it was still fun! WX4RM: This was a fun contest for me. KA8HFN: Nice Sprint. KK5NA: I was only able to operate a short time...but always fun! Final Official Results SWA Category - W1 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna K1IEE 13 13 26 9 234 x2 468 g5rv@30' KQ1P 9 9 18 7 126 x2 252 invV@40' WB1HGA 8 8 16 7 112 112 windom@27' KB1PBA 3 3 6 3 18 x2 36 67' dpl@28' SWA Category - W2 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna W2SH 35 34 69 14 966 x2 1932 180' dpl@40' AA2YV 24 22 46 11 506 x2 1012 40 dpl@45',80 efz@30' W2JEK 15 15 30 9 270 x2 540 40 dpl&80 ef wire@20' KA2KGP 9 9 18 7 126 x2 252 gnd mtd vert,dpl@25' K2GLS 7 7 14 6 84 x2 168 40 dpl@30',80 dpl@20' WA2JSG 7 7 14 5 70 x2 140 elev vert@12' N2YHQ 4 4 8 4 32 x2 64 invL@40' KC2MJT 5 5 10 4 40 40 g5rv@25' WA2OQJ 2 2 4 2 8 x2 16 80 dpl@25' WA2CCD 1 1 2 1 2 x2 4 150' rnd wire@??' SWA Category - W3 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna KB3AAG 31 30 61 15 915 915 80 loop@35' K3WWP 19 19 38 12 456 x2 912 ~110' attic random wire AF3Z 18 18 36 10 360 x2 720 dpl@15' N3GGT 12 12 24 6 144 x2 288 dpl@35' KC2EGL 8 8 16 6 96 x2 192 fld dpl@25' WV3U 1 1 2 1 2 2 lw@??' N3AEA 0 0 0 0 0 0 slantV@15' SWA Category - W4 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna K4BAI 44 41 85 19 1615 x2 3230 40dpl@50',88'cfz@55',80invV@55' K4ORD 34 34 68 17 1156 x2 2312 40 dpl@40',160 dpl@35' K4UK 20 20 40 10 400 x2 800 160 invV@??' AA4W 18 16 34 9 306 x2 612 43' vert K4JPN 16 16 32 7 224 x2 448 80 cfz@32' WX4RM 15 13 28 7 196 x2 392 gnd mtd vert KU4A 13 13 26 9 234 234 40 slp dpl@40',80 slpr@40' K3RLL 12 10 22 6 132 132 indoor dpl W4DUK 8 8 16 4 64 x2 128 efz@25' K4NVJ 6 6 12 5 60 x2 120 88' dpl@35' K4JC 8 6 14 4 56 x2 112 gnd mtd vert N4ESS 7 5 12 4 48 x2 96 160M dpl@50' K4KRW 5 5 10 4 40 x2 80 windom@30' K4AHO 6 6 12 6 72 72 invV@40' N4FI 4 4 8 4 32 x2 64 115' rnd wire@20' W4CUX 3 3 6 3 18 x2 36 80 loop@55' KB0ETU 2 2 4 2 8 x2 16 g5rv@35' W4HH 2 2 4 2 8 x1.5 12 ocf dpl@25' WB5NMZ 3 1 4 2 8 8 6btv vert N4ES 1 1 2 1 2 x2 4 vert $AI4SV 1 1 2 1 2 2 40M 1/4 wv vert SWA Category - W5 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna W5YDM 35 33 68 20 1360 x2 2720 40 dpl@20' K5SEE 26 23 49 15 735 x2 1470 cf dblt@45' NE5DL 21 20 41 14 574 x2 1148 dpl@??' WD5IYT 19 17 36 13 468 x2 936 40 dpl@25' W5IQS 21 21 42 14 588 588 dpl@30' AE5KM 11 10 21 10 210 x2 420 g5rv@25' WA5HDL 5 5 10 5 50 x2 100 gnd mtd vert K5GQ 6 6 12 4 48 x1.5 72 dpl@18' KK5NA 3 3 6 3 18 x2 36 edz@55' WB5UAA 3 3 6 3 18 18 invV@20' $WF5W 35 30 65 17 1105 x2 2210 dpl@72' $KN5L 28 25 53 16 848 848 40 dpl@30' $WB5BKL 7 7 14 7 98 98 efz@35' @N5SM 1 1 2 1 2 2 dpl@45' SWA Category - W6 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna KI6NTB 5 5 10 5 50 50 vert on 20' roof K6MGO 5 5 10 4 40 40 64' indoor dblt K6KQV 3 3 6 3 18 x2 36 160-10M vert KI6IMK 1 1 2 1 2 x2 4 efz@20' @N6HE 6 5 11 5 55 55 mb trp dpl@30' SWA Category - W7 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna AA7CU 7 5 12 3 36 36 mobile whip@12' KH6OZ 2 1 3 2 6 x2 12 40M windom@32' SWA Category - W8 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna N8QY 19 18 37 10 370 x2 740 g5rv@25', hf9v N8BB 14 14 28 10 280 x2 560 ocf dpl@50',col dpl@55' KB8FE 12 12 24 5 120 x2 240 80 ef invL NF8M 9 8 17 6 102 x2 204 80 ocf dpl@35' KA8HFN 11 11 22 4 88 x2 176 dpl@8' WB8LZG 7 6 13 5 65 65 dpl@30' WB8ENE 5 4 9 3 27 x2 54 135' dblt@15',4-btv@25' N8XMS 6 5 11 3 33 33 r7 vert WA8SAN 6 4 10 2 20 20 windom@25' N8IUP 4 3 7 1 7 x2 14 40 dlta loop@35' KD8IFJ 2 2 4 2 8 8 g5rv@33" SWA Category - W9 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna W9CC 13 13 26 9 234 x2 468 80 loop@15' AA9L 13 10 23 6 138 x2 276 trp dpl@50' KA9FQG 9 8 17 6 102 x2 204 g5rv@35' K9KHJ 11 8 19 5 95 x2 190 ef sloper@15-35' K9PL 8 6 14 4 56 x2 112 dpl@25' K9FO 7 7 14 4 56 x2 112 40 dpl@40',130' rnd wire@??' N9RLO 6 6 12 4 48 x2 96 dpl@25' KX9N 4 3 7 2 14 x2 28 6btv vert N9KR 3 2 5 2 10 10 zepp@20' W9HLY 1 1 2 1 2 x2 4 dpl@50' K2HT 0 0 0 0 0 0 40M dipole in hotel room N9QU 0 0 0 0 0 x2 0 ef slpr@25',115' wire@25' SWA Category - W0 Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna N0TA 26 20 46 17 782 x2 1564 gnd mtd vert KD0V 21 21 42 13 546 x2 1092 g5rv@50' W7JI 13 12 25 10 250 x2 500 invV@45' KA0RJY 13 12 25 10 250 x2 500 hustler 6btv K9OSC 18 14 32 7 224 x2 448 cf zepp@30' K0HJC 12 11 23 7 161 x2 322 cfz@35' WD0K 8 7 15 7 105 x1.5 158 dlta loop@36' KI0J 11 9 20 7 140 140 dxb sloper@35' N8LA 6 6 12 5 60 x2 120 dpl@35' WB0QQT 3 3 6 3 18 x2 36 gnd mtd vert K0MC 2 2 4 1 4 x2 8 invV@35' NO2D 1 1 2 1 2 2 132' dblt@20' KA8HDE 0 0 0 0 0 x2 0 g5rv@30' SWA Category - Canada Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna VE3RCN 6 6 12 4 48 x2 96 gnd mtd vert VA3PEN 4 3 7 3 21 x2 42 gnd mtd vert VE3MO 3 3 6 3 18 x1.5 27 windom@40',invL@25' VE3FUJ 3 3 6 2 12 x2 24 130' lw@12-35' VE5CUL 2 2 4 2 8 x2 16 g5rv@40' SWA Category - DX Division Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna NP3CW 3 3 6 2 12 x2 24 dpl@23' GAIN ANTENNA Category Call QSOs Mbrs Pts Mul Sco Bon Final 80-40-20 Antenna NG7Z 24 22 46 11 506 x2 1012 40 2el yagi, 80 loop, K9AY rx Those marked with the following are not eligible for certificates/prizes: $ - not a member @ - QRO AWARD WINNERS: 1st SWA W1: K1IEE 1st SWA W2: W2SH 1st SWA W3: KB3AAG 1st SWA W4: K4BAI 1st SWA W5: W5YDM 1st SWA W6: KI6NTB 1st SWA W7: AA7CU 1st SWA W8: N8QY 1st SWA W9: W9CC 1st SWA W0: N0TA 1st SWA Canada: VE3RCN 1st SWA DX: NP3CW 1st Gain: NG7Z First time entrant high scorer: K5SEE Knob/handle drawing: KX9N The following appeared 5 or more times in submitted logs, but did not submit a log themselves for whatever reason: K4OSO - 28 W8DW - 8 W4FSV - 7 W7IEX - 6 W7OM - 6 K0NWT - 5 K3YP - 5 N6VOH - 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: 106 Total participants found in cross-checking spreadsheet: 157 Total QSO's in master cross-checking spreadsheet: 1073 States represented: 37 + ON SK KP4 GOLDEN LOGS (perfectly formatted, all info accurate): AA2YV AA4W AA7CU AE5KM AF3Z AI4SV K0HJC K2GLS K4KRW K6KQV K9FO K9KHJ K9OSC KA8HFN KB0ETU KC2EGL KC2MJT KI6IMK KI6NTB KN5L KU4A N4ES N8LA N9KR N9RLO NE5DL NO2D VA3PEN VE3FUJ VE3MO VE3RCN VE5CUL W4DUK W4HH W5YDM W9HLY WA2JSG WA2OQJ WA5HDL WB5NMZ WB8ENE WD5IYT WV3U WX4RMIf 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- Without a doubt, the worst conditions I've ever had for a sprint. Some kind of local QRN just about made copying anyone impossible. Or maybe it wasn't so local as after reading the later soapbox entries, I see many similar complaints. Of the 20 QSO's I eked out, only about 3 or 4 were easy copy. My deepest apologies to what must have been several stations I just couldn't pull through this excruciating QRN. I forget who said it in their soapbox last month, but I'm doing the same this month - cleaning the QRN out of my ears with not only a Q-tip, but some baby oil to soften it up first. I'd be very disgusted and embarrassed by my showing tonight if I didn't know it was something beyond my control that caused it. I love some of the comments made about our sprints being the best and a lot of fun no matter how many or how few QSO's are made. K2HT/9 - Tried to operate from hotel room in Manmouth, IL. Heard AA4W es W8DW, no contacts. QRN extremely heavy due to storms in Northern Missouri. Will be back soon for additional sprints. 73 Dick KC2MJT - Who let the aliens out on 20 and 40! I heard a few spaceships, I SWEAR!!!! Did hear one faint call on 40. Otherwise, all the activity here was on 80. Until next time. - 73 K6KQV - 40 meter propagation was poor here in CA. N8XMS - An injured right hand ruled out using my straight key so I worked the sprint with my left hand and paddle. I only had about a half hour to play but still had a lot of fun. There was a real pipeline between MI and TX - 4 of my 6 contacts were with TX and a 5th one was with neighboring LA. Thanks and 73 to all who participated. AA4W - Band conditions were pretty good, for a change. I worked a number of stations I hadn't worked before. I only heard one station out of the northeast, KC2LSD. K3RLL - K2 to indoor dipole - Heard nothing on 20 meters but nice to hear so many new call signs on 40. One hour is enough for me, but our Sprints are fun. 72 ... Don NP3CW - At the begining of the Sprint heard many stations in 40 meters including AA9L,KI4XH,KA0RJY,KE4DYG,WX4RM,K9FW but they never heard me. Later became noisy and many stations calling on the same frequency. 80 metrs was with less activity and unable to make any QSO on this band or in 20 mtrs that was closed from KP4 land. Thanks to KB1PBA,W5YDM and NE5BL from MA and TX for giving me the 3 contacts. Hope to do better next time. Julio NO2D - One Contact only. But, no time to play with work to do, so I just grabbed WX4RM because he was an honest 599 here in the Denver area. At least I got someone in the log, and thank him for that. Next month I will devote more time, and hopefully, have more success. Pete VA3PEN - It was one of the toughest band conditions. On 40m, I could barely hear the stations if I could hear at all. I tried to dig out those handful of stations but the outcome was not so good ;-) I enjoyed it nevertheless as always. VE3FUJ - I think I was stuck away in a black hole, its a long time since condx were this bad here, lots of crackle and heard very few signals. I was using my Sierra tonite at 4W. I heard K3WWP around 3562 but couldn't raise you, RST 349 Qsb. I packed it in at 0258. tnx to those who heard me, and see you next time. VE3FUJ Brion KI0J - first time and new software (GenLog), lots of fun at a noisy QTH but will do it again hi hi WD5IYT - No propagation on 20m. Worked the whole sprint on 40m. Steady stream of stations. Good signals on 40m. N4ES - Whew! Got home from the movies in time for 1 QSO! Now for the next order of business. K9OSC - Could not hear any stations on 20 meters and 80 was almost non-existent. 40 meters was best but really not up to par. Had great time and thanks to all the TX stations for those contacts! AI4SV - First time trying the sprint! N0TA - Fairly slow evening, but fun. Couldn't find anyone on 20 or 80m, so all contacts on 40. I was suprised to work so many non-members - think they felt sorry for me! Running K3/5w, SteppIR Vertical, and GenLog. K4KRW - Had a great time. Thanks! W7JI - Either poor conditions (YES - K3WWP) or lack of participation (NO - K3WWP) but didn't work many members. KH6OZ - I had S7 noise level. Brief contact with W8LDM and K9OSC but lost them in the noise. No signals heard on 80M. Happy Thanksgiving 72/73s George W9HLY - Too deep into a TV program which stole 97% of the operating time. (Need to reassess priorities. HI - K3WWP)Room for improvement. AF3Z - Arrived late and had fun... Stayed on 80 the whole time and signals were good. Thanks to everybody! -Jim KC2EGL - 40M was dead here in Brookville. 80M was just a little better. Seems like conditions in this area are not so hot lately. I hope things improve soon. Thanks to all who came back to my CQ. CU on the radio next month. 73 Mike (rig- K-2, key- Begali Spark). W5YDM - Got two DX contacts tonight, but one of them, CO8CML, never returned the exchange even though he was a solid 579, so I didn't log him. NG7Z - Been a long time since I've done this contest. Thought I'd give it run again. 40M was in fair shape but nothing worked on the east coast save GA. Lots of TX one the air. When 40 dried up switched to 80 but this early it's not really ready. Worked just two in MN. Later in the fall and winter 80 will perk up this time of the evening. Thanks to the NAQCC for putting on this event. 72 Paul KB3AAG - A better nite this time. Nowheres near as much noise! Nothing on twenty, and all I could find on forty was of all things was three Texicans! Not that wasnt fine but as an x Oakie we always figured that was where we parked our extra millionares to keep them out from underfoot! Realy guys I am glad you were there! After two months of 29 qsos I got over that hump from the hollar, better watch out John I am after you! (Thanks to my super high QRN and your quiet location, you caught and passed me easily this month - K3WWP) Great fun and thanks to all! Frank WF5W - Fun stuff, I joined up tonight.. cal white K9FO - QRN, Line noise, QRM made for a low QSO count. Fun to try though. Rig:Icom IC703 @ 5 watts, 40 Dipole and random wire for 80. 73, Will K9KHJ - Weird, weird, weird conditions. Texas boomed in like a rocket on rails to me in Wisconsin, but at about 0217Z everyone disappeared---except for WF5W, KN5L, and WD5IYT. Every time I thought things were picking back up and I'd hear a CQ---wham, it was my private Texas QSO party here in Milwaukee. Thanks to NG7Z's patience for pulling me out of the weeds from WA. And, K4BAI, always a pleasure hearing you boom in from Georgia. It was nice hearing my crosstown buddy Gary, WN9U. I know we were calling the same station for bragging rights, but I don't think either one made it. Gary, I used the straight key for the bonus so I could beat you. What fun. Spread the word about this fun, mellow, and exciting event. K4ORD - Started on 40M, didn't hear much, some signals were strong others very weak, then on to 80M, seems that's where most folks were at, qrn was very low, so made for good qrp conditions. 4 qso's on 40M and 30 qso's on 80M. thanks 72/73 Riley KB8FE - Almost no QRN on 80 meters but very strange conditions here near Akron Ohio! Some sigs went between S2 and S8 every 4 seconds. I could hear some stations very faintly yet very clearly but then they would dissolve completely. There was a very short but noticeable improvement about 0315 UTC for about 2 minutes when I worked W5IQS in TX. My 133' inv-L was considerably better than my 266' inv-V. With two stations I just could not complete the exchange and had to move on. AA2YV - Well, it started out dandy on 80. Got sparse after 30 minutes, so I switched to 40. Practically nothing. Back to 80 with 25 min. left. Heard but didn't qso: K4BAI; K4OND; KD0V; N8BB. Practically nothing west of New York, except for IN (N9RLO) and CO (N0TA) and OH (N8QY). No MI, IL, no mid-south. Tough night, but fun anyway. I used my Ten Tec Triton IV with my "new" digital readout and the SCAFA. KI6NTB - first time submitting log. had fun but dinner was ready after 1 hour..didn't hear much, but NC station was heard ( obviously, he didn't hear me, hihi...) N3GGT - This is the first contest I ever submitted a log. Usually I just give out points. I'm surprised how well my dipole worked. I had a good time. K9PL - Poor conditions on 40-meters and nothing heard on 20-meters. Eighty-meters was better, but QRN. Few Sprint participants heard on any band. PFR-3 on 20- and 40-meters. Ft. Tuthill 80 on 80-meters. J-37 key. NF8M - No 20 at all. 40 was spotty and very QSB, and 80 was noisy here, but still made a few. Hopefully with winter coming 80 will quiet down a bit. W5IQS - Good Sprint This is my best ever....Thanks, Evan KA0RJY - This probably will not be perfect but I will learn from this exerience. I think several things as this is my first NAQCC sprint.1. Stations need to do better job at zero-beating my call if I am the one doing the calling 2. Need to recognize that their big super 5 watts holds small flame to mother nature and other stations using big guns. Several repeats during the initial conact would be helpful. (That wastes time. If you don't get it the first time, ask for repeats. That's SOP for all types of contesting including QRP - K3WWP) Not complaining, just making observaions. WX4RM - Thank you TX,CO,and KS for hearing me tonight! It was like a pipeline to the west on 40 meters, or people out west have good ears! My North/South contacts were mostly on 80 meters, but I had a hard time being heard. I finally was able to work K3WWP, thanks for hearing me John. This was a fun contest for me. KA8HFN - Nice Sprint. Thank you for all of the contacts. Good Luck and 73, Larry VE5CUL - Forty meters was promising to begin with. When stations faded I went to 80. There were lots of stations faint in the QRN but no one heard me there. I sipped on my coffee and listened to see if anyone would come out of the static for more then a couple of seconds. It's a good challenge and not a bad way to spend a couple of hours. I would have been happier with a few more contacts but thanks to Paul and Paul for the 2 on 40. Until next time 73/72 Brian W4HH - Nothing but noise on 40; heard a lot of sigs on 80 but could not hook up with anyone. Using old 1950 Lightning Bug for first time. VE3MO - Terible condx. Nothing heard on 20m, very few heard on 40m and fast qsb/obsorbtion on 80m. Packed it in after 48 minutes. Hopefully next month will be better... how many times have we (I) said that? VE3RCN - It was sooooo quiet! I thought I had a loose coax connector. It was a fight to pull through the few signals I heard. Good work everyone. Kevin, VE3RCN (Royal Canadian Navy) WB8LZG - Whew! tough going tonite. 40m was solid noise here in MICH. I DID have a beeline to TX agn. but nary a thing from out east on 40m. Heard N6HE, AA4W ,K5GQ,WB0QQT, es a few others loud es clear , but they couldn't hear me calling. I went to 80m hoping fer better condx , but only snagged Charles,W2SH , es he was weaker than usuall. See u all next sprint. 73 Gregg KD0V - I did not hear any stations on 20 or 40 meters. The 80 meter band was not very stable at this QTH. I did hear many extremely weak stations calling me, but QSB got them. I was expecting better band conditions here in Minnesota, but it just did not happen. KB0ETU - Bands were really noisy and only got to work for 30 minutes. Hopefully next sprint will be better time-wise and condition wise. I keep forgetting to keep trace of the time of contact. Will do better in the future. Phill KA2KGP - Terrible! Very poor bands this sprint. 20 was nil, 40 & 80 both bad. Hpoe for better band conditions next sprint. 73 KQ1P - Ran 2 watts for the sprint and it was hard going at the start but stayed on 80M for the duration. Strange that we still have fair conditions with the SFI above 90 for the first time in many months. VE3's were coming in strong but the reverse path was not good last night. Thanks to all. 73 John K2GLS - 80 meters was the productive band this month. Nothing heard on 20. 40 was a disappointment. Stations heard were being QRM by wider band digital signals between 7.036 and 7.040. Little activity in the clear band from 7.040 to 7.045. As always it is a fun sprint with different propagation challenges each month. (That's a great way to look at it with the operative word being 'challenges'. It was quite a one this month for 80-90 percent of participants - K3WWP) K4BAI - 20M CW seemed dead before the contest, so I started on 40. 40 was fair to the north and west at the start and quite good to the Pacific NW. Was glad to work N6HE in CA on 40. Rate dropped off rapidly and I switched to 80 about 0215Z. 80 was quite good for the southeast, but sort of weak with bad QRN to the rest of the country. Was able to work MA, PA, MI, TX and heard MN. Sorry to be unable to copy the exchange from NF8M. QSB just took him out and I never heard him again. Thanks for all QSOs. Look for me (along with KU8E, K9YC, and N3ZZ) from the new DXCC entity of Bonaire Nov 24-30 as PJ4/home calls and as PJ4A in CQWW CW the weekend after Thanksgiving. 73/72, John, K5SEE - The contest was my first and it was fun. Had a lot of trouble with the genlog program. The log file is in CST even though I set it up on UTC. Nex time I'll have to set the computer to UTC. tnx es 73 de John KA8HDE - No contacts, nada, zip - just reporting so that you know I tried. I listened for 90 minutes and faintly heard a 4-call early but nothing after that, and no returns on CQ's either. Listened on 80, 40, and 20. I guess a bad night in the Twin Cities - at least for me. W4DUK - Started on 40 but conditions terrible there, so moved to 80 for the duration. Lots of QRN, and had to really work for the contacts tonight. N9QU - Used my K1 @ 5w on 80m and 40m. Heard the following list of stations at RST 349 or better and replied to each with no return. QSB was deep and fast. The propagation gods were not smiling on this QTH last night. Stations heard list by call area: AA2YV, K2VT, K3WWP, KB3AAG, N3GGT, K4OSO, WF5W, N8QY and NB0Z. Lots of fun in spite of zero results. Hope for better conditions next month. 73 de Leo. K1IEE - Tried 40 for the first half hour and only made one contact. Heard nothing on 20. Went to 80 and stayed there for the entire sprint. QRN was strong on certain freq's with some QSB at times which all seemed to increase each hour. Everyone did a great job pulling signals from the noise. Thanks to all. 73 Dick AE5KM - Another rough night, even with the solar flux above 90. 20 meters was dead, 40 meters was the most active, though I only have a low horizontal antenna for 80m, so I won't get much distance. QSB was happening really quickly, I answered K9OSC and N8UIP and they both just disappeared even though they started with a 589 level signal. But the challenge is part of the fun. I'm getting better at reading weak signals, I did one QSO where I could barely hear the other end. AA7CU - Worked the sprint from Sierra Vista, Arizona K4JPN - 80M wa the only band for me here in GA, tried 40M but could not raise anyone. Did hear IK1MOP on 40M, but could not raise him. 72, Steve KX9N - 1st time sprint--had a lot of fun N8LA - In the fourth sentence of Moby Dick, Ishmael states that, whenever it is "damp, drizzly November" in his soul, he accounts it high time to get to sea as soon as possible. The weather here, during the sprint was "damp, drizzly November." On the bands here, during the sprint, it was "damp, drizzly November." In my soul, during the sprint, therefore, it was "damp, drizzly November." My apologies to those whom I was unable to copy or who were unable to copy me, and my gratitude to those who allowed me to work them. Thanksgiving -- and Christmas -- are coming soon! I account it high time to get to Santa -- yes, Virginia (hams), there is a Santa Claus -- as soon as possible to ask him to bring me many contacts during the December sprint! WB1HGA - 40 was dead as a doorknob. 80 was better. Many weak stations in background getting covered up by the CQ stations sitting on one freq. I noticed no one spread out but ganged up in one area. I used the Oak Hills Research (OHR) 400. W2JEK - conditions not good last night. signals weak on 40 and 80 with qsb on 80 that would last just long enough to require a repeat on one or two letters or numbers. bands also seemed noisy. hope next month will be better. 72 and 73 Don Younger W2JEK #1135 K6MGO - With indoor antenna, band seemed long and noisy, and folded up at about 1 1/2 hours into Sprint. Still had fun. N8BB - Slow going for the start but after the first hour got a bit better. Always enjoy working qrp stations, fine group of fellow hams. Hope we get back to the great conditions we had before and try for the 60 plus contacts again. Very best wishes for Thanksgiving and happy holidays. KU4A - For the first time I was able to get my head straight enough to use GenLog. Big help. My 13 QSOs ties my record for personal best, set in September. Had fewer mults this time though. AA9L - Conditions not that great in my area. Worse total in a long time but still the best sprint around. WB8ENE - Got a late start. My son and daughter-in-law were visiting. Much local noise on all bands here at first, but it quieted down after a while. Amazing how many more QRP signals you can hear when the band is quiet. See you all next month. 73, Art NE5DL - First NAQCC sprint lots of fun N2YHQ - I was not able to manage more contacts mainly because of high QRN. K4JC - Conditions were pretty bad this month! I also heard the weird "spaceship" noise on 40 meters, but just attributed it to some digital mode. In the end I managed to eke out 8 contacts. Maybe next month... P.S. My apologies to K3HPS and KB1CL; I just couldn't pull you out of the QRM. K4NVJ - Wait until January (Hey Joe, don't write off December yet, or maybe you have a Christmas party or something that night. HI - K3WWP) K3AEA - no contacts, QSB, but fun anyway - 73 W2SH - At the start, an initial listen on 20m revealed total silence. Switching to 40m quickly brought up potent signals from K4BAI and K4NVJ, both over 800 miles distant. The band was hot, so I thought; alas, those were my first and last QSOs there. Settled in on 80m and ticked along as best I could, but only managed 10 QSOs during the final hour. K5GQ - Had S6 noise and about 8:15 some of it went away. Invited a friend WF5W and he work 35 stations and had a blast. I bet he will be back with a member number. (Yep - 4832 - K3WWP) He lives just a few miles away. KA9FQG - Like some have commented, 40m was not too good while 80m seemed to have improving conditions. Fun as always, though. WB0QQT - Pretty rough copy all around with lots of faded signals. Oh well, still fun! N8QY - FIRST TIME IN A WHILE I STAYED ON 80 ALL NIGHT. NOT MUCH ROOM TO WORK AND LOTS OF QRM. THANKS FOR MAKING IT FUN N9KR - Only had a few minutes but managed to make 3 contacts. Conditions were poor on 40 for this one. Nice to work a couple new folks. 73. WD0K - Greetings All !! Well, Dickens would have wrote "It was the best of times" It was the worst of times" 40 started out good and died after half hour. 80 was not as good but held signals, they would be their loud, then loose strength. Last but not least Vincent Price would write about the huge "black hole" here in the midwest! Then a 60 cycle hum came on deck and I thought I was on the set of Star Trek waiting to be beemed up?? Oh Gee it was still fun! Happy Tnxgiving and 72's....Rich/664 K4AHO - Decided to use my Rockmites this time. 40 meter Rockmite (somewhat optimized) running 400 mw into Inverted vee at 40' thru a Johnson Kilowatt Matchbox.. Antenna tuner 1000x size of rig. 80 Meter Rockmite (not optimized at all) 700 mw into same tuner/antenna. Had a real challenge as the band was noisy from a bad street light. Not many listening for us rockbounds guys... Please Listen off your tx freq for us RM's as I plan to optimize the 80 RM and give you guys a real shellacing... Will be signing /RM when running the little guys.. KB1PBA - I think I got on a little too late. All contacts on 40m where some seasonal local QRM is starting up. Worked everyone I heard except one TX stn. Hope to add 80m to my capabilities next month! K0HJC - Weird, really weird. I thought the rig was bad! 40 had the Texas Pipeline, then shut down. 80 was good short, then went soft. We didn't have a thunderstorm to blame this time! In short, we had a blast! P.S.: I heard you, John, just could not dig you out from under KD0V and KA0RJY! (That's OK, with my QRN, I probably wouldn't have heard you anyway - K3WWP) KI6IMK - Jumped in late. First stab at a sprint. KK5NA - Just a few as I was only able to operate a short time...but always fun! Rig:K3 @ 5W ANT:EDZ(44'each side)@55' See General Sprint Rules for rules common to every NAQCC sprint. RULES specific to this month's sprint: Date and time: Thursday, November 18, 0130-0330Z 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. |