FTDX10, RGv 200-ft RainGutter-v Antenna, LDG Remote ATU, N1MM. One of my interests is determining
propagation of my station utilizing my 5th version of a RainGutter antenna at QRP levels mostly for
NA and QRO levels (100W) for DX. I'm in a highly restricted large condo complex. QRP signals QSOed
on 10-15-20-40M made it to 4 corners except FL, Eastern U.S., Western U.S., Heartland, Southwest,
and some far outs - PAC (HI), AK es PE. If I could only rotate the building.

Only had a few hours to play so decided to try Sweepstakes CW as QRP and
with just a portable vertical (JPC-12) stuck in the ground in my backyard.
Antenna performed well and I got most every station on the first try. Fun
contest and hope to try QRP with better antenna next year.

Thanks for sponsoring the contest and to all who worked me!

This tends to be a contest favored by higher speed operators. It's great practice for making the
jump to the next level of code proficiency. As with several ARRL contests, the exchange seems
unnecessarily long.

I only had a little time for the contest this year.  Suggestion to tired operators heading into the
end of the contest:  There really will be some single-digit serial numbers out there!  There may
also be some "S" precedences, standing for school station.  That caused some confusion making
contacts from a club station.  Great fun all told, as it has been for decades.

While operating during the CW Sweepstakes contest on Sunday afternoon I came across station K0BH
holding down a run frequency.  Since his call is so very close to mine (K0HB) I naturally gave him a
call.

His serial number for our contact was 581.  (For those unfamiliar with Sweepstakes, I was his 581'st
contact since the beginning of the contest about 22 hours back on Saturday afternoon.)

Incredibly, my return serial number to him was also 581!  He was also MY 581'st contact during the
contest.

What are the odds of any two random stations exchanging identical serial numbers at a point so far
into the contest, and THEN that those two stations have such similar callsigns.

Spooky!

As always, a fun time, but a humbling experience.  Murphy came to visit as the contest started when
I had some antenna problems that had to be fixed to make the most of my QRP signal, so I lost time
(and potentially some multipliers) because of that.  Unassisted, I really have to look carefully for
the mults, and I am always surprised I find as many as I do.  I don't know if it would be akin to
cheating, but if you are at one of the top 20 "rare" mults, it might be nice if you let us know
where you might show up on the band :)

For years I was indifferent to Sweepstakes, but I'm glad I gave it a try a few years back, because
it has become my favorite operating event.  The challenge of the exchange (no history or prefill
files for me) and the authentic history of this 100+ year old "test" makes it extra special.  

Thanks everyone for a great time!

25 watta to a magnetic loop antenna on my apartment balcony.

Still fun but definitely time to try some changes (like work once per band) to try to make Sunday
more fun.

"This has become a QRQ contest for many operators  The average typing speed is only 40 wpm!"

Same old end-fed wire hidden in top of vinyl fence behind pool
cage about 5 1/2 feet in the air X 120 feet long.  It works, but
that's about it!  Could not match antenna on 40, 80, or 160.
Operated on high SWR at low power on 40 for some Q's.  Lacked 7
Sections for a Clean Sweep!  Lol!  Just did my part!

Sent the first few Q's with B and then realized that was
incorrect since I used spots.  Changed to U.  Hope that doesn't
mess anyone up - if you logged B it was likely what I sent.  My
wife was hospitalized with the flu so minimal time available.
Fun contest, did take some time to install QSOrder which I
finally got configured to listen to the Flex.  Had to use the
command line switches and start it that way.

Way too much to do, so only 3:51 hours (231 minutes) of
operating.  Conditions seemed excellent whenever I was on the
air.  Even on 40 and 80 where I was restricted to 100 W. into a
160 m. inverted L, it was always cooking nicely..

Bands were good.  Activity was down. Just ran out
of people to work and new guys weren't showing up.
The last 3 hours were the worst I can ever remember.
Happy to get the Sweep!

Always a fun event, but it seemed like not as many stations on the air thi
s year.

I managed to spend 10 hours in the chair. High band conditions were
good, didn't spend much time on 80. I missed Newfoundland for the
clean sweep. I saw he was on Sunday morning when I was off doing
family things - I kept watching spots the rest of the day but no
joy.

Thanks for the contacts, 73, Dana

This is a 1st-time K6QLF SS Cw run from EB Section
In between running WQ6X remotely from Ramona and NX6T remotely from Anza,
I found time to put the Amateur Radio Club of Alameda (ARCA) club call K6QLF
on the radio from East Bay (EB) section.  The goal was to take 1st-place for
EB and overall just say that we were there.
While this was largely a 10-meter operation on Saturday, a few 15-meter and
40-meter QSOs were thrown in during times when internet disruptions were
making remote operation nearly impossible.
LooK for a write-up on this at: http://WQ6X.Blogspot.com.

Operating remote (WE6Z STN) from  Rancho Cordova CA

Was on for a small amout of time S&P contacts due to Murphy with
antenna's issues. Finally got it solved the last hours or so

Great fun contest.  Missed Clean Sweep by one missing NL like
many others.  Repaired amplifier arrived on Saturday a few hours
before the contest.  Used SO HP during the contest up until the
amp quit Sunday afternoon.  Finished contest at 100 watts.

School Club Event.   Why Canada doesn't show up for the sweep

Participation seemed to be down Saturday night. Things picked up on Sunday but I was not feeling
well so no  very good score this year.

This one valid

fun contest

Sweepstakes CW is tough. This exchange is the longest
of them all. Sweepstakes is a test of your ham radio
grit. Can you stay in the chair Can you deal with QSB
What about patience at the sixteenth hour Sweepstakes
CW answered my questions. CQ like you mean it. Contest
like you own it.

I had fun from my new QTH in the suburbs. 100 Watts into an OCF dipole.

The Friday before the contest found me and my friend Andy, KE2BRA,  up on my
South Philly row home flat roof doing maintenance on my fan dipole for all
bands, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters. We got all the connections strong and
making rock solid firm contact = THANKS ANDY.

This was my first SS using high power and the first serious effort in SS in many
years. I used between 500 and 700 watts with an Ameritron AL-80B amplifier.  I
used only dipoles at 50 feet or less so I qualify for "Limited Antenna
Overlay."  My score would have placed me 5th in that category last year so
I think that's not too shabby - although I was hoping to make at least 700
Qs - but came well short of that despite a decent score, especially using only
single element antennas:  Monster aluminum is hard to make fit in the heart of
South Philadelphia.

I opened the contest on 10 meters - which was a strategic mistake, or rather,
staying on 10 as long as I did, like 2 hours.  I got some good mults out of the
way but rate was poor:  Best rates for me were on 80, 40, and 20.  Spent about
80' percent of my time calling CQ SS

Sections missed were PR, VI, AK, AB, NL, SK, and TERR.  AK was elusive and I
never heard any of the others either.  Wonder how others made out with these
rare mults?

Working weak stations was difficult - asked for lots of repeats, but all in good
fun.

All in all a great contest.  Band conditions were "fair to good,"
maybe excellent at times but certainly not like those seen in 2024 when the
solar flux was well over 200.

My new Yaesu FT-DX10 performed like a champ as did the 1990s era Ameritron
AL-80B amp.

Logging software was N3FJP which worked well as always. 

I kept my speed to around 28 WPM and sometimes slower for those new to CW.

Lessons learned for me:  Start the contest on one of either 40 or 20 meters.
Use 10 to look for mults and if really good, which is rare, then run on 10.

looking forward to 2026!

Had a blast!

73 all,

Tim
KC3C

Thanks to all those that came out to play this wonderful contest.
Side note - Started off at LP had and easily worked 84
multipliers.  Turned on the afterburner to attempt to get NL for
the sweep to no avail.

Macro issue, my SN sent 2x for first five QSOs (i.e. 1 sent as 11, 2 sent as 22...). Log reflects
actual.

100 watts to wires, thanks for the Fun! 73, Dan  ke0tt

from my hotel room in London while here on business.  Before I
left home a little over a week ago, I decided to put my home
station in remote mode minutes before I left for the airport so I
could access it from London.  I was only low power with just a
fan dipole on one of the rigs antenna inputs and a low tribander
pointed west on the other.  I didnt really expect to sweep, but
by Sunday I was closer than I expected.  I only missed ONN. Given
my limitations, Im happy with my results.  KE2D

G5RV at 40' (Limited antenna overlay)

Operated REMOTE for the first time, Saturday only, using two Elecraft
K4 radios at my home station to connect to two K4s at the KH6YY
superstation on Oahu.  It's a different experience, but it really coes
work!

MOST OF THE ANTENNAS AT THE REMOTE SITE WERE DOWN WHEN I GOT HERE THIS WEEK

This was my first ARRL contest.. and I was honestly only trying
to get a contact in VT. Please forgive the fact that I only got 2
contacts (each in VT) and I only wrote down the contest exchange
info for the one I am submitting.  So, wow... one contact while
other guys got over a thousand.  I'm new and well.. I did it.  So
there.  See ya next time. :)

super fun!!!

Didn't expect to participate as long as I did. Had a decent showing for my meager setup. More
importantly, had fun!

World series took away too much operating time. Missed  AL, DE or ID, GH, NB, NL, ONN,TER, but had
fun

Nothing like wrking PAC to start the contest and feel was off to a good start
for a clean sweep but as the contest progressed it became clear the usual
VO, NB and WYholdouts were no where to be found unlike VY2TT who was
from a super station such as they are.

Onlyu had a few hours to play SS Sunday afternoon.  It was fun
being raw meat for a change on Sunday.  Hope to be able to do
full-time again next year.  Thanks - 73  tom    Rig = TenTec
Eagle @ 100 Watts.   Antennas = Mag Loop (40 thru 15), an
Isotron-80, and an indoor 10 meter dipole, all  in the attic 12'
above garage floor.

20 watts portable

Being retired and in an apartment with 40 meters being the only band that does not flip arc fault
breakers. Using 3 watts - Flex 1500 - indoor loop indoors. I am always happy to hear my call come
back and make the contact. Still get the satisfaction - 73, N2DYT

Great contest!  Love that CW!  No yagi this year, but I still feel good about my
score.  Not sure the beam helps for SS.
Thanks for all the contacts!
Bob, N3FR

2025 Sweepstakes CW

aLL BUT nEWFOUNDLAND!!!  HARD TO FIND WITHOUT SPOTTING (IF NL
EVER SHOWED UP). BETTER SCORE AND MORE Q'S THAN LAST YEAR. T'WAS
FUN. TNX.

I did what I could in the time allotted for radio this weekend
which wasnt much. Contacts were plentiful and the conditions
were favorable.

ARRL please change the rule about only being able to contact each
station once, regardless of band. This activity get way to slow
on Sunday. I may stop participating if something doesn't change.

I was terrible at time, thanks to those that put up with me and thanks to those that slowed down at
times for me. Enjoyed it all and hope to see everyone next year

This was my first big contest and I think I made a few mistakes with my log but I tried my best...
thanks for everyone's patience with me! Great to hear so many people on the air

QRP - 100mW - to a 20-Ft End-Fed Wire,
thrown into a tree right out my window.
Tnx for your patience and the QSOs.
Go Arizona Outlaws! -73- John N6HI

I did sometihing very different this year.  Since Sunday is usually so
slow, I operated Saturday from KH6J via Elecraft K4 remote access,
then on Sunday I started fresh with my home callsign from SCV. I also
took time off to experiment with the new Elecraft K4/0 Remote Control
head via my local LAN.

Challenging propagation condx here in WWA for my QRP station. Ant was an EFHW sloper up about 20 ft.
in a tree.

Time On = 6 Hours

Pretty good conditions except for 10M. However, I simply ran out
of contacts towards the end. Result: 84/85 desired sections.
470/500 desired Q's. That pretty much sums up how I feel about
this one.

Another part time effort at the new QTH. The flagpole works
great on 40-10 but 80 is a no-go. I have to make some mods
before I can use it (and 160) but not real complaints as I
was pretty much able to work anyone I could hear.

Since I was in and out, it was fun to
be "fresh meat" and get runs going at times. Hoping I can
actually do a full contest one of these weekends.

 73 and thanks for the Qs!!

Had a great time trading places with K9CT, K6LL, K3MM, K3PA and VE7ZO the entire contest.  Thanks
for the Q's and see you all in the sideband contest in a few weeks.

73, Morgan, NS0R

first Lic april 2023

My apologies at the beggining of the contest for the many
repeats. I had messed up my macros (i.e. Class before the S/N) and
caused confusion. I was operating remotely and my sidetone was
not workings so I could not hear my transmission. Again my
apologies for the inconvenience. Fun contest as usual. One of my
favourites of the year. 73 Serge VA3SB

FT-950

First licensed in January 2023.
EMCOMM-II-V2. It worked as an end-fed sloper with the highest
point at around 25 feet.

SS this year was on a very busy weekend I managed to find some
time for SS contestand I got a few QSO's with my Vintage IC-740

My club (who's station I was using), Yavapai Amateur Radio Club isn't listed as a contest club
because it's a "Special Service Club", not a contest club, but I'd like to have it listed with my
call, since I'm the club's Station Manager—at least until/unless the club says otherwise.
I got an hour and a half late start to the contest because they (the club) was holding a General
Class licensing class in the same building that the club's station is located, so I had to wait
until that ended to set up and operate the contest.

Mike, W1DGL

Operating some of the ARRL Nov SS CW QRP unassisted with my dipole antenna was pretty much an
unplanned event here.  Saturday was autumn yard leaf cleanup for me, and I operated only a short
while in the evening.  Sunday, I decided to operate for a little while.  I was confident enough in
my CW to find and call other stations, but not confident enough to call CQ at the speed most folks
were going.  I wound up having a very enjoyable time, operating in a relaxed fashion, and really
enjoying copying the long exchange.  I guess I should learn to follow that old golf adage,
“practice to play, but don’t play to practice”, because I found myself practicing by operating
the contest.  It was amazing how many folks responded to a QRP signal from a dipole.  I stopped
operating when my log said 200 contacts, and I wasn’t planning to submit a score.  I was later
reminded that our friend Charlie W3DKT (SK) used to say you should send in your log even if you only
work one station, to show the activity in the hobby.  So, this log entry is for Charlie.  As always,
thanks to all of you who operated, and thanks to ARRL for making this happen.  It’s a great hobby.
 Craig W2NTN

Station worked fine.  Operatior not so great:  constantly hitting
wrong keys on the keyboard, and accidentally deleted about 3 QSOs in
the process.  Also may have to rethink doing fulll time any more.

I'd like to apologize to W2RQ because smack dab in the middle of our QSO my power
went off -a contesters worst nightmare.

W3TB in Franklin, TN     Tennessee Contest Group

Mis-read the rules and used the wrong Prec having used assistance. Check log only.

DIPOLES 40-10M

5 watts, WAS 79 sections and265 contacts using flagpole antenna!  "It don't get no better than this.

I sent W4RM SN 60 instead of 40. Manually edited my log to reflect my error.

W8GG- Just got settled in to winter QTH in time for Sweepstakes. I brought the K2 With me for QRP
OPS. Had a blast running 5w to ground mounted vertical wid 10 radials from WCF. There are some
really great operators out there playing Sweeps. Nice to hear all the Ol'timers poundin da brass. 73
Gregg W8GG

stuff

Glad I stuck it out and got a sweep.

Working your grandson in a contest that was calling CQ, was a great moment!

. . .the hf bands died between midnight and sun-up; otherwise my score would have been higher

Not bad for just a vertical!

LP - EFHW at 30 feet. Murphy was my uninvited 'Second Op'. 13+ hours
of Search and pounce, with four or five restarts of computer (when F Keys simply
went dead), troubleshooting attempts, and several restarts of N1MM to restore
operation. (Along with a few household issues.) Not my best debut effort, but
quite a learning experience. Thanks, all, for the Q's and support!

Flex6300, hamsticks, SDC skimmer

WB9PRG

I had fun even if I did not get many contacts! I used a homebrew 40M transceiver putting out 10
Watts. The transmitter section was designed by Doug McGaw, W1FB, and was featured in QST in the
1970's. I designed the receiver portion about 40 years ago. It is a lousy design, but I hope to
improve it once I retire in January.

40 QRP with D40 dipole @ 35ft

This is another WQ6X QRP Sweepstakes run from Southwest Division.
This was an attempt to reprise last year's Southwest Division QRP win.
What I didn't quite make last year's score, the near-miss was largely
due to massive internet dropouts on Sunday afternoon.  If I suddenly
disappeared on you, only to come back a minute later, that was due
to randomly repeating internet drop-outs at the Concord location I
was running from.  During several pileups the station would come back
to me only to have my internet drop at that very moment and I would
miss the QSO - Bummer Dewd.

My biggest beef was stations who moved in on my QRP signal 100-Hz away
and called CQ.  Just because I sport a weaker signal does not mean the
frequency is open. If they had sent "QRL" FIRST, they woulda hear me
instantly reply "QRL QSY", but that rarely happened.
LooK for a write-up on this at: http://WQ6X.Blogspot.com.