NAQCC May 2005 Sprint

Call   QSOs Mbrs Pts  Mul  Sco  Bonus  Final Awd Antenna
K4BAI   39   24   63   15   945   x2   1,890  1  inv vee/zepp & dipole
*K3WWP  28   17   45   15   675   x2   1,350  2  Attic 110' random wire
W2LJ    30   17   47   13   611   x2   1,222     G5RV @ ?
K2EKM   27   19   46   13   598   x2   1,196  #  88' doublet @ 20'
VE3KZ   26   22   48   12   576   x2   1,152     dipoles
VA3NR   32   25   57   18  1026        1,026     135' inv L/V @ 30'/vert
KE3V    21   13   34   11   374   x2     748     135' ocf dipole @ 20'
N4FI    13   10   23    9   207   x2     414     110' rdm wire/atticG5RV
K8KFJ   16   10   26    7   182   x2     364     dipole/vert
AF4LQ   18    9   27    9   243          243     40M zepp @ 30'
K2BCL   11    7   18    7   126   x2     252     ??/??
KI4CKT  10    9   19    5    95   x2     190     multi-bnd dipole @ 20'
W1PID    8    5   13    6    78   x2     156     Windom OCF Dipole
*N2AUR  10    4   14    5    70   x2     140     Slinky dipole in attic
K4NVJ    9    5   14    8   112          112     ??/??
NU7T     4    1    5    4    20   x2      40     ??/??
KA2KGP   3    3    6    3    18   x2      36     40M dipole 
*W1OH    7    5   12    3    36           36     40M attic dipole
W5ESE    3    3    6    3    18   x2      36     300' horiz loop
WG5F     3    1    4    2     8            8     G5RV JR @ 25'

Check Log(s):
(1)N3JV  4    2    6    4    24   x2      48     15' flagpole vert.
(1) Sent after deadline

# - Top score from a previous non-winner

* - Special Award (Indoor Antenna) entrants:
K3WWP, N2AUR, W1OH

Special Award (Indoor Antenna) winner - K3WWP

SOAPBOX:

K3WWP - Very high line noise here. I'm sure I missed some answers to my CQ as a result. I apologize to those whom I missed. Turnout seemed decent this month, but activity gradually dwindled as the sprint went on, and only a few diehards were left at the end. We at NAQCC appreciate all who honored the spirit of this sprint by keeping your CW speed down. Hopefully it encouraged some who aren't CW speed demons to enter and have fun. If you haven't sent your log yet, you can send it directly to me instead of Tom since he will be in the hospital the next few days starting on the 19th. We missed you in the sprint tonight Tom. The 18th is Tom's birthday and his employer gave him the present of having him work this evening. Wasn't that nice?

K2EKM - High noise levels here made conditions challenging. There were some very strong signals and then there were others that sat just on top of the noise floor. The ears and brain were really challenged to pull some of the exchange info out of the ether! I stuck in there for most of the sprint, although there were long dry periods, especially towards the end. Heard and worked several new (to me) participants, so guess the word is getting out! Hope some of these will be giving their new NAQCC numbers as part of the exchange during next month's sprint!

VA3NR - I had lots of fun. Weeknight schedule works out great for me. Some signals were so loud I was amazed. Also enjoyed the challenge of some of the tougher QSOs. Might have been convinced to use my Bencher but had no desire to use a straight key. Rig was Mark-V Field at 5 watts. Thanks all for the QSOs. 73, Chris VA3NR.

WG5F - 1st QRP Sprint with my K1. I'll be back. 72, -Ed-.

N2AUR - I'm glad to have worked as many stations as I did using my "Roaring Retro" station. It consisted of a 25 year old unmodified Heath HW-8 putting out 1.8 watts, an 1888 nickel plated Western Union straight key, and a Slinky dipole. Not exactly a contesters dream package.

K8KFJ - I believe quite a few of our normal sprinters were already enroute to Dayton given the activity level. Heard some of our regulars sending slower CQ's as requested which I do believe brought out some of the slower ops (which was the goal). 80m is still holding out here with no Spring/Summer QRN as yet and accounted for most of my contacts.

VE3KZ - It's been a long time (close to 50 years) since I've used a straight key for other than emergency CW QSO's on VHF! Still need a little more practice to get the wrist in shape! Signing up so I can count for 2 points next time.

AF4LQ - A fun event, as always. I was only able to make it for the last hour again but I enjoyed hearing and working familiar calls and some new ones as well. Setup was a K2 at 5w and an endfed Zepp cut for 40m. I do think that if the hours were changed to maybe an hour later that it would improve east-west contact possibilities and western state participation, but I know it's tough to find a time ideal for all. Regardless, I'm looking forward to the next one and many thanks to all for the QSO's. Best wishes to Tom, KB3LFC for a speedy recovery. GB es 73.

W1OH - Sure didn't hear many signals - besides the ones I worked, barely heard K3WWP, K8KFJ and VA3NR. And KA3WMJ was loud, but only S & P - he never found me. I CQ'ed a bunch but no takers. So, better than last month, but usually I hear many more signals, even if I can't work them. Nevertheless, fun as always! Hope I see you next month if not buried in FD prep! 73 and keep these sprints coming! I try to mention them every month to folks I know.

KE3V - This was my first attempt at a sprint and my K2 and I really enjoyed ourselves. It was nice that I didn't have to invest a whole weekend in the contest, or have to copy 45wpm cw. Thanks for your time, hard work, and dedication to the NAQCC and to the radio art.

W2LJ - Rig here was my K2. It was nice to hear so much activity even though a lot of folks must have been on their way to Dayton. The VE stations were very loud into NJ. I was a bit dissapointed that there wasn't more activity on 80 Meters as the band was very quiet and QRN free that evening. Activity fell off dramatically into the second hour and pickings were pretty bleak after 0200 UTC. Best wishes to our Prez. for a quick recovery time!

NU7T - We had strong carrier on 7041 through the evening, 6 meters was open and 40m and 80m had qrn reaching 30 over, at times. I am a QRPr. I am tenacious, well, unless 6 meters is open. Thank you Tom and John

W5ESE - I participated QRPp this time, with a Rockmite on 40 and a Pixie 2 on 80. Thanks to the stations with good ears that were able to hear my signal and complete the exchange.

KI4CKT - Enjoyed the contest. This and Feb sprint are my only contest experience. Look fordward to next one.

KA2KGP - Yikes! What a headache after only 1/2 hr. into the sprint! QRM/QRN was intolerable. I still didn't get cw & Noise filters for my Ten-Tec Argosy yet, but this contest really put the filter search into hi-gear! Anyone have any Argosy filters out there? 80 M. was pretty dead here from the recent sunspot activity, so I opted to stay on 40 M. On another note, I'm still wishing against hope that op's will "LISTEN" between CQ's. I heard some op's calling CQ NA with about 2 seconds between calls and obviously not listening to dig out returns. I heard one op. with a near pile-up of return calls, and he went on calling CQ as if no one heard him. (This is a very common complaint and I am sure we've all had the same experience. - KB3LFC) (Some stations often have 10-20DB over S9 line noise, and could well have stations calling them that they just don't hear any trace of. As for the short pause between CQ's, that is the most efficient way of contesting. It only takes about 4-5 seconds or less for an op to tune his RIT up and down .5 kHz to tell if anyone is calling him. Most ops don't tune any further off frequency to listen, so it's very important to be skilled at zero-beating a CQing station and calling him immediately as soon as he pauses to listen to have the best chance of being heard, especially if you're operating minimal QRP. - K3WWP) Better luck to all in the next sprint! 73

K4NVJ - After I worked John, then I remembered the straight key. How about a bonus for signing up some of these non-members?

K2BCL - After the Sprint, K3WWP made contact and I became member number 900. When I lived in Rochester, NY area, I did some 2 meter tests. Am mainly a traffic handler. 73

N3JV - Icom 703+ at 5W and Force-12 Flagpole Vertical ( 15' ). While it works very well on 20M and & higher frequencies, a 15 foot vertical is just too inefficient on 40M, regardless of how well the antenna tuner seems to load it. Enjoyed working the few people that I was able to contact and found that I'm a little rusty with the J38.

RULES:
Date and time:
UTC (Z): Thursday, May 19, 0030Z to 0230Z
Eastern Daylight Time: Wednesday, May 18, 8:30 PM to 10:30 PM

Special Category:
This month a certificate will be awarded to the top score made with an indoor antenna. To qualify, at least 75% of your antenna's length must be inside a building.

Entry Deadline:
All entries must be postmarked or email dated before 2400Z on May 25, 2005.

Other Rules:
For rules that are common to all of our sprints, check General Sprint Rules