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Soapbox for 2020
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AA4LR |
Had an issue where N1MM would start sending CQ when I was not at the radio a couple of times. I do not think my cats were involved. Apologies for any distraction this caused anyone. |
AC2YD |
First Sweepstakes in ~45 years! Good to be back! Many thanks to all the good ears (and antennas) copying my 2-watt QRP signal! Rig: Softrock RXTX Ensemble, Quisk s/w transceiver, 1/4-wave vertical with 32 radials. |
AC9EZ |
A great contest! Conditions were very good. Equipment was my Yaesu FT-450d and my Kent paddles. Antennas were my new 40m doublet, 160m doublet, and new K2AV inverted L over FCP. Thanks for the qsos everybody! 73 de Jim AC9EZ |
AE0TT |
This was my first CW Sweepstakes. I had so much fun! Looking forard to next year. |
AF3K |
Flex 9700, PGXL, 6BTV vertical. |
K0AU |
Where was NNY? |
K0HC |
( 899 * 2 ) * 84 = 151,032 IN 19:20 SWEEP WITH NG3R IN DE AT 0617Z HESSTON COLLEGE ARC |
K0JJR |
(357 QSOs - 2 dupes) * (2 pts/QSO) * 78 mults = 55,380 missed: ND, MB, NL, NT, PE, QC |
K0RF |
This was a remote operation and we had our difficulties with it but we were socially distant. |
K1TH |
I only had a couple of hours devote at the very end of the contest. But it was fun getting on and making over 100 contacts. |
K2EKM |
According to my logs, hadn't participated in SS since 2010! Was inactive for 7 years due to removal of my antenna supports (trees). Put up a 35 ft random wire with 9:1 unun attached to a 31 ft Jackite pole last May. Running 5w to that inefficient antenna. Was a challenge but it is great to be back. |
K2RP |
After decades of participating with my modest station, I tried something different. Operated QRP with a 35 year old Heathkit HW9 and a G5RV wire antenna. Was surprised to work 130 contacts in 52 sections. Lots of people with good ears out there. Show what can be done with very basic equipment. |
K3CCR |
K3CCR is the club station at the Collington continuing-care retirement community at FM 18OW in MD, just east of DC. N3UM and W3GB operated Multi HP in SS CW 2020. We did the same in the last 4 SS CW tests, but averaged just 16 hrs. BIC due to non-ham things like concerts. With these shut down, we easily put in 24 hrs BIC and beat our best past claim, in 2016, by 154 Qs and 27K points. Great condx helped; SFI of 90, and Kp mostly 1 or 2. We scheduled shifts, to avoid gaps. N3UM was on for 5 hrs. 21-02Z. First he ran for 125 Qs on 20 M, with loud sigs from most K and VE sects in the west, east to OH and GA, but no W1â??s. Then he got 82 Qs on 40 M and quit to sleep. W3GB did 5 hrs. 02- 07Z, clicking spots on 40 and 80 M for always-CQing stations and mults. He got all W1, most W2, and QC and MAR out to KY and IN. At QRT we had 285 Qs and 74 sects, our best ever. At 12Z N3UM ran for 111 Qs on 40 M in 2 hrs, then got 61 more Qs from clicks and brief runs on 20 and 40 M by 1626Z. For our last 9.2 hrs we each did 2 shifts of ~2.3 hrs. From 17-00Z we got 139 Qs, nearly all on 20 M, slow but steady at 19 Qs/hr avg. Got 4 Qs and AK on 15 M, 4 Qs and our last mult WPA on 40 M at 2129Z. From 00Z to our 24-hr limit at 0151 N3UM ran on 80 M for 84 Qs but no mults, while W3GB scoured 20 and 40 M for NT. There was one VY1 spot on 40M, uncopyable under a howling pileup. He went QRT in disgust. We got 1 Q each in DE, NNY, and PE. In 2019 CW SS, with 7 fewer BIC hrs and SFI of only 71, we got 1 Q each in 13 sections! |
K3TW |
"Band conditions are definitely improving!" |
K4XU |
A personal best. Must be all the Corona virus folks staying at home. I set up the contest in N1MM and just used my old SS tried and true function key file. I was past QSO #130 when I realized I had not change A to U. So, per the rules, I carried on. More than 50% of my Qs were S&P, I could not get a run going on 20 before some W6 or W7 would crawl in behind me and push me off. Last section was VO1HP on Sunday morning. Worked at least two of everything else. |
K5GN |
Only could be on for a little while before zzzz. It sounded like a fabulous weekend! |
K5RX |
My only goal was to get a sweep after several years of failure. My antennas are too high for SS most of the time - nothing under 111' on 10, 15 and 20 m. and nothing under 180' on 40 and 80 m. VY1KX made the contest for me when he called Sunday afternoon. If he had called earlier, I would have quit much sooner and my QSO total would have been much lower. |
K5ZD |
My 44th consecutive year of over 1000 QSOs in SS CW! Was much more fun with all the extra activity this year. |
K6CSL |
Real rough, butstill fun. |
K6DF |
As always, great fun! |
K6FA |
First time doing SS in a very long time. Had fun just wish my brain would let me copy and type at the same time. Makes it hard to try to hold a frequency calling CQ. No problem the old way of paper and pencil. |
K6NR |
Fun contest, GREAT to have 15 meters open. If only I could stay in the chair longer! Thanks for the QSOs everyone. Dana |
K7SDW |
My ears are not as good as they use to be. Nice to hear all the good cw ops on the air. |
K7UAZ |
This was our first time entering the contest in 16 years. It was a lot of fun, especially with the 15m openings. Looking forward to next year! |
K7XC |
A fun event I almost missed! Was a bit late but stayed in the chair as long as my body felt up to it. Went to bed 10PM Sat night and woke up a bit before 2AM. Snowed all night and Sun Morning, dropping 8" which quieted all the leaky power lines. Stayed in the chair till the second half of the Steelers game when I watched them go 8 & 0 !!!! Great day! Got back on the air but my brain had faded so threw in the towel at 650 Qs and 83 Mults. Never heard A VY1 all weekend. 100W to a Fritzel Beam FB33 triyagi at 43ft, dual band 80/40 Meter Inv Vee at 38ft, 160M Inv L at 40ft. |
K8AC |
Excellent opening to west coast on 15 meters |
K8BZ |
Never heard NT |
K9IU |
Oh Canada... NT...as in ... No Transmitter?? Missed the sweep by 1... It's 2020, not surprised. Great band conditions with SFI hitting 93 this weekend ! Great to get the school club on the air after COVID shutdowns. Some software issues (old version, forgot about PEI now a new RAC section). LOTS of new callsigns on the air for this one. Welcome or welcome back...Only a handful of school clubs on the air. Hope to see you again in SSB!!! |
KA3TTT |
I had fun in my first Sweepstakes operating QRP from Philadelphia! |
KA8HOK |
The contest was a load of fun as always ! I ended up short two RAC sections this year, I was unable to work VO1HP and did not hear NT. Towards the end of the contest I worked K7JA and Chip said that my section, AL, gave him a clean sweep. I felt like rare DX for a few seconds. I am looking forward to next years SS CW ! |
KB4CG |
It was great to operate SS again after a 21 year absence! Conditions were excellent on 80 meters Saturday night and Sunday morning. Many thanks to all the CW ops who make this such a great event, and I look forward to next year. I was particularly impressed with the QRP stations that I worked. To get a signal through the wall of signals in SS with a QRP rig is an amazing feat! Returning to CW SS after 21 years just reaffirmed what I knew then: it was -- and still is -- the greatest contest of them all! |
KB6CA |
I worked only 20m and 40m. Enjoyed the contest. Jeff KB6CA |
KB8TL |
I worked all the CONUS sections, first time ever! Never did hear AK or HI. Bob KB8TL |
KB8TYJ |
Hadn't done this contest for a while, so it was good to get back into it. |
KC4TVN |
10.5 HOURS OF OPERATION |
KC8ZKI |
My first cw contest. Had a blast learning the ropes. |
KC9EE |
Personal best. Only wire antennas thrown up in a tree. Here's proof that a very modest station can compete in SS. I was a little apprehensive going into the contest this year because I knew I was out of practice and had not taken the time to do my pre contest research and strategizing. I knew I had better get out of the gate well. Did ok with that but still could improve greatly. Biggest change with this contest is it is a lot more steady and consistent on Sunday as compared to "back in the day". Years ago you couldn't buy a contact on Sunday afternoon. Now there are a lot of folks who show up just to be fresh meat. Many practice their running skills. Thanks all for the participation. 73, Gary KC9EE |
KD2KW |
I used the wrong precedence, "B" during the contest so I submitted as high power even though I used 100 watts. Live and learn. |
KD3TB |
Small Op from my Beach House in Delaware with only a vertical antenna. |
KD9QS |
Another fun SS and PB for me using a home brew keyer. My custom multiband vertical for 10-40m and old faithful 80m doublet got me out there in force. |
KE0TT |
K3/10 running 5 watts to wire antennas. Thanks for your copy of my QRP sigs, and thanks for the fun ! C U next time, 73, Dan ke0tt |
KE4S |
K3/P3, Expert 1.3K, 4L SteppIR @ 57 ft. Was having fun until I discovered my refrigerator was not working. Lost a lot of time salvaging the contents! Got most of it resolved in time to get back to the fun on Sunday afternoon. Good conditions on 20 and 40, missed only NT and NNY sections. Thanks for the contacts. |
KE5C |
I sent A and realized after a few hours I should have sent U. I continued to send A, but I was using N1MM's bandmap so I was U. Sorry. I am old and rusty. |
KG5STP |
my first cw ss ! Hoping to improve on the next one... |
KJ9C |
Testing the remote station antennas |
KK0U |
Funny how reality has a way with your plans. |
KO4DN |
Had a great time. Enjoyed the contest. |
KR0U |
KX3 to 43 foot vertical and low inverted Vees Good conditions on 80 meters provided many contacts and sections for my limited,mostlynight time operation. |
KS7T |
Wanted at least WAS in 2020 for this one and got it So then was on my way to try for a clean sweep which looked promising when VY1KX called me but my beam was on the east coast and wudn't rotate in the wind here and lost him! |
KV8Q |
Started out with great going on 40 meters; but, once the sun went down, the skip went long. 80 was very noisy, especially Sunday evening. Never hard a signal from AK, NL, or NT. Lots of fun bumping into friends from CWOps. Thanks - 73 tom Rig = TenTec Eagle @ 100 Watts Antenna = Mag Loop (40 thru 15) and an Isotron-80 in attic 12' above garage floor and an indoor 10 meter dipole. |
KX7L |
Reasonable conditions, and seemed like lots of activity, plus a generous amount of BIC time, gave me my highest score since 2014. Thanks for all the QSO's! |
KZ2I |
Missing VY1JA so much. |
N0JK |
I got on Sunday afternoon to hand out a few contacts on 20 M. Running 100 watts and a vertical. Despite what I thought was a reasonable set up -- had partial QSOs with several loud stations who should have been solid contacts. Some did not copy all my exchange in one pass. People would not stick with the QSO to complete it if any fills were needed, and were quick to sent "NIL." After about a half hour of this stuff, I shut down and took the grand kids to a park. I can see how a newbie with a similar station could get discouraged quickly. Not sure what the answer is... |
N1AW |
I almost didn't get into this one, but realized it would be a great way to test a new configuration of my SOTA equipment. Rig was FT-817 with a 10 x NiMH AA cell pack; quit when battery died after 3-1/2 hours. |
N2KW |
Thanls to Dave, K1TTT, for the use of his fine station! |
N3HCN |
This one is for my Lisa! |
N4GG |
Well, I always vacillate about getting in FT and decide to do it, then someting happens. Family breakfast out killed the important Sunday morning run, and a planned dinner took me out of the chair Saturday night. So, a little over 14 hours of chair time. The clock reads longer becasue I started taking off time less than 30 minutes at a time. When you already have over 9 hours of off time, bearks can be as short as you lime! Thanks for all the Qs. Great to hear old friends and a lot of checks of 00 and newer. Welcome! The station played perfectly as it always does. 80 sounded strange at times - there were solar goings on. 40 seems to be a bottomless pit. FTdx5000, FT1000MP, DXD, WRITELOG, 2 X ACOM 2000A, Wires in the woods. When it comes to HF radios, newer is not better. 73, Hal N4GG |
N4NTO |
Nice to get back on SS! Haven't done it lately. Seems 40 and 80 were the work horses, 20 was ok. Nothing on 10 or 15 from here. |
N6DW |
All S&P. Thirteen plus hours. Hard time on 40 and 20 Saturday evening, but 80 was hopping. Late start Sunday but there was a steady availability of stations on 15, 20 and 40. Most CW speeds were in the 22-26 wpm range and not the eye-popping 26-32 wpm of the worldwide contests. |
N6HI |
Ran QRP, just ONE HALF WATT to a 20 foot end-fed wire, thrown into a tree out my window. Propagation seemed somewhat improved from the arrival of some new sunspots, but not great. I did not hear a single signal on 10 meters, but 15 meters was really good at times. I had a blast putting my new rig through its paces at my favorite 1/2W power level, and I ended up beating my previous best 1/2W Sweepstakes score from years back. Thanks to all for your patience and the QSOs. Keep those sunspots coming for CQWWDXCW! GO ARIZONA OUTLAWS! 73, John N6HI |
N6TV |
My first SS CW from home in the last 10 years, as I did not want to risk travel to W7RN this year, due to the pandemic. I made more QSOs 10 years ago than I made this year. Missed VO1 and VY1. |
N7EPD |
Had 2 VY1 call me but they both sent YT instead of NT so had to force log them. Hope the ARRL doesn't punish me for logging them that way. Missed NL for the sweep. |
N7WY |
On time 17:45 with interruptions.. |
N8AUC |
I finally managed to have the time to operate in CW Sweepstakes. My first one ever! Had a great time, even though I only made 94 contacts. Biggest problem was to string together enough hours to actually operate the contest. Even with that, this will likely become an annual event on my calendar, like Field Day is. Big fun! 73 de N8AUC Eric |
N8BB |
This is one of my favorite contests but this year was a challenge. A week prior to the contest I fell off a ladder and broke 6 ribs in my back and damaged my lung a bit and it was a bit of a struggle to sit in front of the radio long. I did work 250 stations with qrp and had a blast. Thank you fellow hams. Nest year I go for the sweep, only got 71 of them rascals but still great fun. |
N8LA |
KX3; 5W; 200' Dipole Up 35', Begali Adventure Paddles. |
N8VWY |
IC-7100, END WIRE, VIBROPLEX SINGLE PADDLE. TU ALL GL 73. |
N9TF |
Played when I could. Normally I don't run in this contest as my CW RX (brain) is a bit challenged with this exchange. But I Did give it a try for the first time "EVER" the second day. I hope I didn't bust too many calls or exchanges! I seemed to have gotten into a rythem after a while. I could tell though when the brain was starving a bit for glycerin (lunch) as focus on the the incoming exchange began to faulter and needed repeats as the mind wandered! I do feel I did improve on my copy capability by sticking with it, and found it also helped with confidence in attacking faster stations right away when S&Ping. Looking forward to SS phone in two weeks and my most favorite contest, the 160 contest! New antenna up this year for 160 that appears to be working very well for its size and twisty configuration on my small city lot. Very pumped!! 73 Gene, N9TF Rig, K3S 100 watts, antennas, 15/20 2 element triband at 37' 40&80 short loaded dipole at 35', 160, inverted L 30' vertical 99' horizontal, 65' East then turning South for remaining 34'. |
ND9M |
It used to be Id work a CT opn every dozen or so QSOs, but I didn't hear a single one this time around. I know prop is in the toilet, but that was unexpected |
NF6P |
First time in a CW contest in more than 10 years. Rusty, rusty rusty, but had a fun during my part time effort. Expect lots of issues with numbers being wrong. Brain needs to catch up. I hope that stations needed my section. All search and pounce. |
NG0C |
Being a new(er) CW op I was wrapped up with other business Saturday, but got on and realized the long exchange and speeds were over my concentration level. But, Sunday morning was quite nice, with many ops at speeds I could handle, and many ops slowed down for my 18wpm exchange. I had a great time chasing mults and the conditions were good. |
NG2P |
I struggle with CW especially SS CW but I like to give it a try when I have time. Maybe now that I have retired I will have more of it. Usually I need to get most of the exchange down before I pounce as I can't get the fingers on the right keys fast enough. |
NI0K |
Only had time for a few Q's Saturday. Sunday the weather was so nice I went for a motorcycle ride for the last time of the season (northern MN). Had a great time, but boy-oh-boy is my CW rusty! |
NI2Q |
Check LogBojan |
NS0R |
Had a great time this year. Made efficent use of the panadapter for the last hour of S&P which was a great help. I wish I would have used my tools better in previous years. This is the best score that I've turned in so far. We'll see if it holds up past the error checking. Thanks for all the Q's. 73, Morgan, NS0R |
NU6N |
It is the longest time I operated in a contest! Wow! |
NZ6Q |
SNJ where were you ?? Watching the vote count over in EPA? Of well, there's always next year... CAN'T WAIT |
VA6RCN |
Missed Maine. |
VA7KH |
Good band conditions for the whole contest period. |
VE2EZD |
FT-950+AT2K+DIGI KEYER II+80m dipole+40 m delta loop on 40, 20, 15 |
VE2HEW |
Sent the wrong Prec A, didn't realize I was in the unlimited category until after the contest was over. Sorry for the error! |
VE3GFN |
Another SS without a Clean Sweep! Never heard NT, and I was amazed to pick up AK in the last hours of the contest ... oh well, maybe next year ... a great contest, other than that, and all systems (including the op) worked a treat! |
VE3MIS |
Enjoying a warm and sunny weekend took priority over a focused effort. In spite of the distraction SS offered up some decent conditions and some exceptional ops. Tks fer the fun! |
VE5CPU |
Part time effort hindered by blizzard and snow static |
VE7BGP |
I had a lot of fun with this years Sweepstakes contest. Radios used Classic IC-756Pro and Venerable Vintage IC-751A two great performing radios. 73 Gerry |
VE7CA [photo/doc] |
I used my Drake Twins, R-4C, T-4XC with a 1945 Vibroplex Bug a 3 20M Extended Double Zepp antennas at 90 ft. |
VO1HP |
Heard KL7SB very weakly...called a couple of times but no luck. Also missed NT, LA, SJV. Seemed like all the 7's were in AZ for a while....but eventually the rest wandered into the log. The pile ups were not big this time and spent a lot of time CQing with no replies. I know there were lots who didn't make it but I tried hard to dig out the weak ones. 73 Frank VO1HP CK 64 |
W0CP |
Great operators overall. Very few repeats. Need some designated slow speed band segments as sandbox for aspiring CW ops. |
W0FLS |
Had a good time with a casual operation. Things sure seemed slow at the start. |
W1JCJ |
Was a lot of fun to get back on the air for the SS here in 2020. Everything from cleaning off the gear stored in the basement to shooting a wire up into the trees re-stoked the allure of radio in this most weird of years. Thanks all! |
W1QK |
Thank you for sponsoring the contest. |
W2AAB |
15 was open, and 80 was hot. Beat last year's score by thousands of points, and that's what it's all about. Go FRC! |
W2BEE |
Early Sunday morning, 2 hours, a few Q's and a bit of fun! Vertical damaged and only works on 40, so that's what I did. |
W2KGY |
The West Point Amateur Radio Club, W2KGY, participated in its first November CW Sweepstakes. Cadet Nolan Pearce, callsign KE8JCT, operated for the duration of the event. We look forward to participating in more ARRL / CW / School contests! |
W2RQ |
First two hours were great. 40 was very strange Saturday night, so most of that time was spent on 80. |
W3FA |
Was never able to connect to any cluster even after starting the contest. Began contest sending "U" for the precendence and gave up on cluster but kept the precedence. Contest was ran as SO HP. |
W3GW [photo/doc] |
Hurricane Delta knocked down a bunch of trees that just missed the house but did not miss the antennas. I threw a random loop into the few remaining trees and entered as a QRP station from Louisiana using my old Ten Tec Omni d cranked down to 5 watts. As always, I had a great time. I did not hear anyone on 10 meters except for a LU station in Argentina who heard me with my haywire loop! Wait 'til next year. Joe W3GW |
W3USA [photo/doc] |
147 QSOs in two hours with a KX3 at 5 watts and a 20 Meter HamStick. Of course it didn't hurt that I was parked 10 feet from the salt water of Sarasota Bay! - Jim K8MR |
W4GHV |
IC-7610 EFHW |
W4KFC |
Again a great pleasure to sign W4KFC in the SS! Along with my late father, W4KFC was my mentor when I joined PVRC in 1953. My exchange CK was 33 the year Vic was licensed as W6KFC in AZ. Amazing the number of QSO's this year that said Hi Vic! Only one station requested a repeat of CK33. 73, Buddy W4YE |
W5DV |
Good CONDX on 15 both days, Saturday evening had almost complete absence of band noise, allowing QSOs every khz up the band - a most unusual experience. |
W6AQ |
True portable operation from Flint Peak. I brought up a Manhasset music stand to lash against a tree for an operating desk. In honor of Dave Bell, who's KX3 I used for this operation. |
W6K |
This was TRULY a last-minute ad-HOC WQ6X operation from W7AYT's QTH in Concord. A last-minute setup found WQ6X running the Fallbrook station remotely using WQ6X as a SOULP entry from San Diego (SDG) section. The last-minute decision was to register W6K for operation in the East Bay (EB) section. When it was all over, 4+ operating hours made it to the log; enough to make a not-insignificant presence in EB section this year. Overall the Sweepstakes turnout seemed to be increased over last year; altho somebody should have told that to the signal-vortex of W7AYT's QTH. Nevertheless, we make do with what we are given - part of the operator betterment challenge of radiosport contesting. Read more about this operation at: http://WQ6X.Blogspot.com |
W7LKG |
And yet again another fun weekend. Looking ahead to the next CW one. Think I'll move to PE |
W7XZ |
Biggest surprise was to find myself only three shy of a clean sweep at the end, 100W to wire antennas. |
W8ASA |
My goal was a clean sweep in fewer than 100 QSOs. I got 82 sections in 94 QSOs, but never heard NL or NT. It was fun anyway |
W8EDU |
W8EDU is the Case Western Reserve University club station. I'm the only CW operator left standing, so while showing a procession of COVID-separated students how a CW contest worked, I only wound up with about half an hour of operating time. I apologize for a couple of contacts that I know were busted while I was operating and talking at the same time. More next year, and more in SSB Sweepstakes. |
W8LVN |
Got a slow start for unknown reasons. Picked up later on as I warmed up. Built a 10 meter dipole prior to this contest, but didn't get it up. Which was OK, as I saw no hint of 10 meter activity. Worked all but Ak, Ab, Wy, Ewa, Nl and Nt. Satisfactory result on 80, but even though the antennas are the same, 40 ended up being much softer than 80 for me. There were some odd conditions at the end, with W9XT and I having trouble heach Lots of SMC folks--thanks for the QSOs. |
W9KHH |
No pin this year. Family priorities took precedence and limited time. Hope to be on next year. |
W9RE |
Nice to get NL and YT late on Sunday. Thanks for all the repeats. |
WA0LIF |
Why the ridiculously long exchange? This handicaps those of us who can't copy at the insane speeds most are using. |
WA2ALY |
IC 7000, TEN TEC 238C, INVERTED L, KT-34A |
WA2BOT |
First time I have ever entered a CW contest since licensed. An interesting experience. :) |
WA6KHK |
Transceiver problems on the last hour. Limped to the finish line! |
WA6URY |
Operated remote from Tokto, Japan |
WA7BNM |
Bad logger configuration caused SN 0001 to be sent twice, CK reflects what was actually sent, but again problems with configuration. |
WA8Y |
My Flex 6600 died, and so ended my 2020 SS CW effort |
WB0RUR |
No time this year to operate |
WB3AVD |
Used a homebrew key whose construction I had just completed ... a double lever "cricket". |
WB6JJJ |
Fun times playing radio... Just a few hours yesterday and today - too many family and friends things going on this weekend. My granddaughter (9 years old) even got into helping to push buttons near the end. She knows some Morse code but not fast enough for this contest. Thanks for all of the Qs. Bill |
WB7GR |
My first foray into CW contesting. Not a big score but a big skill challenge. Looking forward to next year. |
WB7QMR |
Flex6300, Outbacker Ant, CW-Skimmer |
WB8LZG |
My Grid Square EN72qq Great condx for QRP Sweeps this weekend. Had fun grabbing some of the rare ones from the pile ups. Also got "skunked" on a few that just couldn't hear my peanut whistle. 58 sections in just under 5 hours of fun. Gregg WB8LZG |
WC5D |
My PREC should be AAA = Low Power, Antennas, Attic. |
WC7S |
GREAT FUN, seeing friends and new folks thanks for all the comments about my signal, new antenna, end fed long wire, and a new ground system, and the help of Momma Nature, and daughter Prop Princess, and Ol Sol, worked for all of us too. Hope to see you all next test too. WC7S |
WD0BGZ |
Operated 40-meters only with a goal of trying to collect all 84 Sections via S&P without assistance ... Rig: Yaesu FT-950 at 100-watts, Antenna: Cushcraft D40 Dipole at 55-feet |
WE6Z |
Wow, the bands were great. Lots of activity. 15 meters was great. 10 not so much. |
WN3F |
thanks to those with the patience to work my poor Morse code |
WQ6X |
This was another WQ6X remote operation from NX6T in Fallbrook. STN-1 was Single-OP'd by K4RB & N6KI while WQ6X ran STN-2, so we had to coordinate band usage in order to not walk over each other. Band condx. were actually quite Good; for a domestic contest anyway. 160 & 10-meters were essentially non-existent. 15-meters was quite surprising.This year, there were PLENTY of sections that were scarce last year; like, NE, EWA, ME, NH, RI, VT, DE and even NNY. The bummer was in trying to work VY1OC on 40-meters Sunday afternoon. The OP's were SO INCONSIDERATE that they eventually scared the OP off to parts unknown. If those IDIOTS would've listened before they transmitted more than 65 QSOs woulda made it to the VY1OC log. Y'all ruined it for yourselves and for the rest of us. There is LoTs more to say at: http://WQ6X.Blogspot.com |
WQ9T |
My thanks to K4RB for alerting me I had a chirpy signal. Found my feedline was damaged, and most of my radials were missing. Must have been some RF feedback causing the chirp. I switched to my back-up antenna - a random wire and tuner. Just moments before start time Saturday, I was called into work, even though it wasn't my weekend to be on call. Same thing happened again on Sunday. The antenna issues and work issues really put a damper on my efforts. |
WR4T |
New to contesting, this is my first sweepstakes, and other than CWTs, 5th contest overall. I am using a very modest setup (below). The complex SS exchange made this mostly an S/P effort for the first 300 Qs, which helped in tracking down multipliers (no spotting). After gaining some competency, I ran most of the last 100Qs late Sunday afternoon and early evening.. getting there but still have a long way to go. C-Line, 20/40m Dipole at 50 feet, 80m 3/4-Wave Inv-L |
WS1L |
Comments: Elecraft K3S, KPA500 amp, Hex beam @35 feet, dipoles and verticals for lower bands. I started Saturday afternoon on 20, with decent results, then moved to 40 and later 80 before calling it quits about 0300Z with 163 Q's and 63 sections. Sunday morning at 1030Z there was no activity on Top Band, so I worked 80 and 40 looking for mults until 1220Z. At that point I was at 193 Q''s and 74 sections, missing NE, NNY, AL, PAC, SJV, AK, EWA, WY, AB and NT. Sunday morning once the sun came up across North America I moved to 40 and 20, checking 15 every so often for activity. AL, SJV, NE and AB soon made the log. A little later two EWA's called me while I was running on 20. WY was one of my few QSO's on 15. NNY was the last of the 81 sections I worked - I had heard them on 20 at 1800Z, but they were unworkable from here in WMA, just too close. I made a note of their call, and managed to work them on 40 in the early evening. The last few hours were low in rate, as I had worked out everything I could hear. Never heard PAC, AK and NT, and never saw them spotted. Still, first Sweepstakes from our new QTH, and nice to see the antennas are working! 73 de Chuck, WS1L chandlerusm@gmail.com |