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Soapbox for 2018
Note: If you are concerned about a Soapbox comment, please contact the ARRL Contest Manager.
AA1JM |
Between CW and SSB contest I almost 'heard' a sweep! |
AB2TC |
Conditions fair but not good. |
AB4EJ |
ONCE AGAIN, CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR |
AB5GG |
Another year, and another sweep in the books. 73 - AB5GG/WF5X |
AB5ZA/7 |
20-150W Input power, Swan 350 and ts-130V. All wire antennas (12) at 28-39Ft, 5430ASL/DN35rw |
AC5D |
QRP is stupid hard - 6 hours 45 minutes to get 100 Qs. |
AD7OV |
My 12 year old daughter had a blast making contacts all afternoon sunday. I really appreciated how patient people were with her and how they slowed down for her to copy. |
AF1R |
Portable Operation from Shearer Farm B&B in Vermont at FN32ot, lat 42.827319, long -72.79739 |
AG6JA |
Another test where I can hear everyone, but they can't hear me. City-wide power outage from 21:50 to 23:10. Put up SteppIR to work 20m, then exchanged for Cushcraft R7000 to work 40. |
AG7NC |
First ever SSB contest operating QRP. I was quite excited to see that I could make contacts anywhere from the east coast and all the way to Hawaii at only 5 watts! |
AJ4A |
Happy to once again make a sweep, although I ran ASSISTED. I love the chase during SS. It became a bigger challenge when I found on Sunday morning that my 20m beam had failed and was good only for a listening antenna-very high SWR on TX. Thankfully the vertical pulled me thru but with greater effort as I tried to work AK BC AB NL QC midday. Always a fun contest but his one was especially rewarding to GET the SWEEP under more adverse conditions at the station and on the air. Hopefully a lot of folks made a SWEEP this year. |
AK0MR |
Some Prec. A and B I have 2 number 8's. |
K0HC |
( 1214 * 2 ) * 83 = 201,524 HESSTON COLLEGE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB EIGHT UNLICENSED STUDENT OPS: GRACE, GRACIE, JESSICA, ELLIE, PAYNE, GAVIN, WYATT, TOM SWEEP AT 1839Z ON SUNDAY WITH NL7V IN AK |
K0JJR |
321 x 2 x 80 = 51360; missed only BC, MB, and NT |
K0JM |
A rather stupidly late time of day to start a contest weekend. |
K0TEA |
Lots of fun, thanks for all the great sig reports! |
K1AUS |
Only had very limited time to work the contest this year. I had a very low noise level and could hear and copy stations that didn't move my Smeter off the 0 peg but most stations could not hear me. Hope for better conditions next year. |
K1JHS |
Search and pounce |
K1MTD |
I only had one day to contest, but I had a blast! |
K2DV |
First contest at the new house. Antennas are 40 and 20 meters dioles in inverted V. What was a flat SWR at one point in the contest was an infinite SWR at another point! 10hs total operating. |
K2NNY |
Nice to be back on after a few years hiatus, thanks for all the kind words. Used check of 49 in rememberance of W0AIH, way to many "Super Check says..." comments, copy the exchange!! |
K2UI |
SS is the most enjoyable of all the contests. |
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 did Multi HP in the 2018 SSB SS. I (N3UM) started on 20m. but sigs were weak and rate BAD, 3 Qs in 15 min. I ran outside to see if the beam was mispointed. YES, 180 deg. off! A bug in the Yaesu rotor control? Flipped the dial pointer, turned the beam west, worked 3 loud W6/7 mults in 4 min, and then ran for 64 Qs in 62 min. Got 5 of 9 W6 sects on 20 plus AK, NT, and all but MT in W7 before QSY to 40 m. Whew! Glitch fixed, but it cost ~35 or so Qs. I quit at 0130Z with 157 Qs and 55 sects. W3GB then did very well on the late shift, 0130-07Z. He got 197 Qs on 80m, 109 of them in a 2-hr run, and 13 Qs on 40m. He worked 25 sects for a total of 367 Qs and 80 sects. A bit before QRT at 07Z he saw one of our two computers go nuts; it changed to the week-old SS CW log, and jumped our sent QSO number by 46. Too late to pursue it; he left a note. Sun. about 12Z I found that all Qs had been logged by the other computer (thatâ??s why we have two!), and re-booted N1MM+ OK. I got 110 Qs on 40, 65 of them in a 1-hr. run, 61 Qs on 20m, and the last 3 sects for a sweep; NL at 1456, ORG at 1500, and AB at 1624Z. Then we both scraped up Qs, with breaks to eat, till 0237 QRT when rate died. We were pleased to get 799 Qs, 132.6K points, and a sweep in 22.2 hrs. BIC despite the glitches. Only once in 5 years did we do better, 23 hrs. and 140.5K in 2016, with an SFI of 77 instead of 68. |
K3TW |
"My last section for a Clean Sweep was WFL, less than 50 miles from my QTH!" |
K4FBI |
36 Sections 50 QSOs |
K4QR |
CLAIMED SCORE 13776 = [(123 x 2) X 56] OPERATING TIME 17hr 5min 12sec (17:05:12 per N3FJP Sweeps Contest Log) TOTAL CONTACTS (QSOS) 123 SECTIONS WORKED 56 SECTIONS REMAINING 27 |
K5RX |
Horrible line noise to my east, so only 170 minutes on the air. Would have been fewer without the MFJ noise canceler. |
K5XU |
Eastern Washington really does exist. But, where was South Florida? |
K5ZD |
Happy to find the sweep! Thanks to VY1AAA and KP2M. |
K6DF |
Not as many signals on the bands for this Sweepstakes. |
K7DLX |
Rough going. Lots of noise but thanks to the many operators who were so helpful with repeats |
K7MM |
I installed a small triband yagi on a push-up mast, completing the project two hours into the contest on Saturday afternoon. (a great operator!) responses?the ?joy? of QRP phone. (QRP CW is much more fun.) My longest CQ run was three stations. Unlike CW, I could not hold a frequency and wait for a ?U? station to spot me (and enjoy the resulting pileup). Northwest?it?s hard to work the local mults! I worked very few stations within 400 miles; no BC, AB, ID, MT, and my own section EWA. 40 meters and 80 meters were short just before dark, but all my ?locals? were on 20 meters. When operators finally came down to 40 m and 80 m the band propagation was too long for them to hear me ?. Suggestion: break away from the fray on 20 m to come scan 40 m and 80 m just before local sunset. |
K7STO |
loss power computor crash otherwise great fun |
K7XC |
As much as i love SS, I am VERY Glad that's over! With all the daytime activity squeezed on 20M, finding a remotely clear frequency is impossible. You tune answering stations while closely evaluating the pass-band waterfall for any possible place to call home. Very discouraging while I am running a pileup to have my spot stolen by W6s and W7s who I can barely hear. It must obvious someone is there as the pile up is raging! SSB is always much more difficult than CW as my amp is only a single 3-500Z running 750W out placing me 3DB down from a full gallon. Still I promised the club 100K points and here it is. Never heard the KP2 and only VO1HP for just a few moments as I was waking up. When I got to the rig after my shower he was gone. Managed to keep my fat old butt in the chair 14 hours to make my promised score off 100K+ before throwing in the towel to relax with dinner and Sunday Night Football. Station: Flex3000 SDR Xcvr, AL-80B Amp, 80M/40M Dual-band Fan Inv Vee @ 38ft, 3ele 20M Mono-bander @43ft, 3ele 15M Mono-bander @ 30FT, 4ele 10M Mono-bander @ 24ft. See everyone in the 10M and 160M contests next month! 73s de Tim - K7XC - DM09jh... sk |
K8LF |
SSB is not my favorite contest mode but we will see how we do. Would like to get as many multi's as I can. Which is my usual goal in these contests. Did not get some Canada sections. Why does Ontario have so many sections now? Did not get GTA NT or SK. |
K8PK |
First licensed in 2016 |
K9KE |
Society of Midwest Contesters |
K9KM |
18.14 ARRL SS SSB |
K9QJS |
Delighted to work my friend Joe K1JB in Portland, ME |
KA5YED |
Can't wait til next year. |
KB1VUN |
Better than I expected from the band conditions. |
KB2MMI |
great time - good bands! |
KB6OJE |
Great Contest, just didn't have enough time available to operate. |
KC1FD |
This is a check log, not for competition |
KC8QDQ |
had to take my computer over to my friends scott kd8kzg house to put a new power supply in this computer so i could up load i though i lost my clean sweep thank you scott green |
KD3TB |
Interesting Band Conditions at the start with high noise levels on 20 and 40 meters. 80 meters became the main frequency. Hope this is not an indication of band conditions at the solar minimum. 40M finally quieted down at the end of the contest. Finally a Sweep...First time again since 2009. |
KD7AKE |
Yaesu FT-857D 100Watts, G5RV Antenna on 30ft Tower. This is my first contest, and I learned a lot, however the bands were very noisy. It was difficult at times to make QSO's from stations that were S9+. I had fun and want to do more contest. I wish to thank N7MZW, Chuck for being an Elmer to me and helping me learn about contesting and for helping me out with obtaining the N3FJP software. It helped with not only logging contacts but also what to say and where to find all information needed. |
KD7DCR |
1st contest for 3 yr |
KE0GYC |
Operating portable in MO |
KE5LQ |
2018 ARRL SS PHONE |
KF5YUB |
I listened to so many contacts, I am impressed with the turn out for the ARRL SSB Sweeps. The newly licensed operators made many contacts earning them the pin and an award for those contacts made. The first contest usually gets the blood pumping, the excitement and adrenaline right up there for a super fun event.This was a little challenging due to the long exchange but went very well. So many statins were super polite helpful and courteous in helping new comer's and those just wanting to make some contacts. You're stations still made more than 300 and some over 1000+ logged. I give applause to those whom took time to explain and help those that needed help with exchanges, rules, section, etc... that didn't know what the required exchange was for the ARRL Sweeps. The world is listening and you showed exemplary status. I know several people including myself, were unfortunate to SWL or contact K9YC James W. Brown. He was unbecoming of an "Extra Class" radio operator, to say the least, poor sportsmanship. Best I can say, it's a learning experience, and don't be disillusioned. Keep up your positive attitude and have fun. There are so many good Hams willing to help. This hobby offers so many fun and exciting adventures. I hope to hear you on the bands. 73, |
KG6BXW |
This is my first time doing any of this and a long list of errors happened. Please be kind to the folks I worked and give them credit. I'm brand new to all of this and my dog jumped up on the table with my radio and computer. In the rush to save everything from the dog and the spilled soda my log book was ruined. I was entering things partly in QRZ at the time so most of the data was saved but the rest of the scribbles and such were lost. I don't really care about my score, I've only been on HF for 2 weeks. But I'm really worried about the other people who I contacted and I wanted to make sure that they get the proper credit. They did their part, I messed up mine. I'm really sorry and next time I'll keep the drinks and dogs away from everything. |
KI5LR |
Had a great time. Looking forward to next year. |
KI6UJH |
I was operating portable at Round Valley East Bay Regional Park, running an ic-7100 at 90 watts with a 1/4 wave vertical Buddipole antenna. |
KJ4KKD |
Bad conditions....still fun |
KJ9C |
ho hum... certainly a lot of MDC on |
KK4BZ |
power=80 W, grid=FM18eu, antenna=dipole, equipment=TS570S, comment=antenna is G5RV at 10 m in trees, Thanks for the fun! |
KK6RAO |
Working under Control Operator KK6QXQ |
KK7AC |
MISSED NL. DID NOT HEAR OR SEE HIM. |
KK7VL |
RADIO IS A STOCK YAESU FT-817ND. MAXIMUM POWER OUT WAS 3 1/2 WATTS. |
KM4HVE |
Unfortunately, I didn't have allot of time to put into the contest this year. |
KN9W |
First solo SS, meager station, limited time, had a BLAST! |
KS7T |
Wow, both the CW and SSB weekends produced needle benders on 20 all over the band when during the week SFI so low hardly hear anything. There were even some big east coast sigs on 75 heard here in MT. but on 40 KH7XS was often the only stn on the band and way over s9! |
KU4FX |
TB-WIRES |
KW8N |
I HAD LIMITED TIME SO WENT ALL OUT FOR THE FIRST FOUR HOURS TO SEE HOW WELL I COULD KEEP UP. THINGS WERE GOING WELL, WISH I COULD HAVE STUCK WITH IT. |
N0RQV |
Oops, I skipped over, and did not use, my serial # 55. Second W2RQ does not count. |
N1CEO |
MY FIRST ARRL NOVEMBER SWEEPSTAKES |
N1NQD |
Please note-I ran less than 150 watts (LOW POWER 'A" for the contest (actually kept below 145w to be safe), but mistakenly sent "B" in my exchange. Halfway through the contest I realized my mistake, but continued with "B" to avoid problems. Hoping to lessen the confusion. Thanks-N1NQD |
N1YKH |
GREAT TO HEAR ALL THE STATIONS ON IN AREAS WERE FIRE AND HURRICANES AFFECTED LIVES. |
N3DPB |
WHAT A RIDE |
N3PJA |
N3PJA |
N4BP |
2018 ARRL Sweepstakes SSB |
N4PN |
WISH ALL STATIONS WOULD USE LP. WOULD MAKE THINGS A LOT EASIER. HARD TO HOLD A FREQUENCY. SEEMS AS SOME HEAR THE "A" THEY MOVE RIGHT IN. NEVER THOUGHT ONE WOULD NEED 1500W AND STACKS TO WORK USA/CANADA. STILL GREAT FUN AND PLENTY OF ACTIVITY. |
N4SOX |
Check Log only == I wasn't planning to compete but did take a few minutes to check the bands and see what I could work with 5 watts and an Alex Loop. It got me into South Texas from Mid-TN. |
N5KAE |
ONN and WNY: Unobtanium !!! |
N6ACL |
GREAT CONTEST. IT IS SO MUCH FUN WITH YOUR HAM HUSBAND AS YOUR LOGGER |
N6HI |
Ran QRP, ONE HALF WATT to a 20 Foot End Fed Wire. Band conditions were better than I expected, but this was a very short part-time effort for me this year, just for fun and to grab just a few quick points for the club. THANKS to all for your patience. GO ARIZONA OUTLAWS! 73 John N6HI |
N6ZE |
Usual complaints: limited operating time & clock did not work properly! Ops on 20/40/75m only |
N7AME |
The band was changing even during the contacts - really weird. |
N7MZW |
IC-706MKIIG,Heil Pro Micro Headset,Vectronics HFT-1500 Manual Tuner,and a ZS6BKW Flattop,up 50 feet,running N-S at 6,053 feet elevation from DN-71 grid in Laramie Co. Wyoming.Tough going in this one for sure! I could not find a hole to run on 20 at the start. No Ten Meter stations heard,and only a handful heard on 15 Meters.Not sure if the Unlimited Category really helped me much. I did find a few mults faster,but I think that they would have come to me any way when I was running. A lot of the spots that I clicked on were too weak to hear anyway.I had several Ops start CQing in my face after parking half a Kc above or below me. This is a new and disturbing trend for sure. Heard a few YL's, but we need many more in radio sport! Nice to work a few of my GMCC Club members, including K0UK,N0TA,W0ETT,and N0OJ. Hoping that this will be my fifth SS Low Power win in a row for the Rocky Mt. Division,including a Quest Op slot at the shack of my my good friend N7NKD back in 2015. Another "100 Watts and a Wire" Adventure is in the books for November Seven Many Zebras Walking, from his "Caught 'Em On A Corn Dog Station".Thanks for the contacts,and your patience during the frequent "fill" requests. 73 to all. I LOVE SWEEPS! |
N7NKD/7 |
Operated low power single from my vacation home in Casa Grande, AZ, using ICOM 7100 and MFJ VersaTuner III to a flagpole antenna with several of the radials connected to the swimming pool rebar. I was encouraged to try from here by my good friend, N7MZW. I had a good time. Had the pleasure of meeting another ham from Casa Grande, N7GP. |
N8OQ |
Tinnitus stopped me... |
N8URE |
This was the first time working SSB with my QRP setup, and I was pleasantly surprised by the results. I was also happy to hear some of the people I normally work in RTTY contests. |
N9BT |
Sent the wrong precedence for the whole contest. Should have been "U", was sending "A". |
N9CO |
A few qso's to help the club score. |
N9UPG |
Old Timer still likes contests! |
ND0C |
Missed the sweep but had fun. 80 was good on Sunday. |
NF1L |
End fed wire worked great |
NN2L |
Excellent contest as always! |
NN7SS |
Just one hour at the start. A few signals on 15m. Too many signals on 20m, but nice to work some familiar calls. NN7SS Burt WA (K6UFO op) 15m, 20m: GXP 3 element yagi at 72 feet Elecraft K3 turned down to 5 watts K3/0-Mini control head, RemoteHamRadio.com Writelog |
NS7U |
Contest was fun, and I worked several states on new bands. |
NT4Z |
Fun contest but alot of information to make a contact. This is not my favorite contest. |
NX3P |
Craig WJ6A and I had a great time working the Sweepstakes this year. We ran IC-7300 and elevated wire antenna in tree. Our goal was not max score, but maximum sections. We managed 75/83. Looking forward to 2019. 73 Stan NX3P |
VA3MW |
Flex 6600 remote RF-Kit B26 Amp |
VA3SB |
Not much time to operate due to family commitments. Had fun during the short time that I operated. Thanks for all the QSO's. See you in the next one. 73 Serge VA3SB |
VE2EZD |
FT-950. AL-811H, AT2K, 40m delta-loop, 80m dipole, Heil Proset |
VE3EL |
First Sweepstakes Contest inb 14 Yrs.! It was fantastic! |
VE7BGP |
I had a lot of fun Sunday driving in this years SS contest. I just used my FT-897D this year. |
VE9UNB |
The operators were Brandon VE9BWB, Brent VE9EX, Keming VE9KO and Tram. There were two observations about Saturday night propagation. First, there was an amusing string of five QSOs on 80 m with MDC. Second, propagation on 40 m improved within an hour of midnight local time. We had 81 QSOs with 44 sections using 4 operators over 24 hours. This year, we picked up no new sections. From 2013 to 2018, we have not had QSOs with the sections AR, NT, OK and WPA. For the second year, we had a QSO with KH7XS on 15 m. In 2016 and 2017, it rained. This year, the sky was clear and the roof was covered in snow. |
W0JMW |
My first November Sweepstakes. It was fun! |
W1DYJ |
40/80M fan dipole under "repair" |
W1QK |
Thank you for sponsoring the contest. |
W2DLT |
FRANKFORD RADIO CLUB |
W2GPS |
Rig Elecraft K3, P3, KPA1500 Antennas SteppIR DB-18 @ 70 feet 80M dipole Hi-Z 3-element steerable vertical Rx array |
W3BC |
My town installed their new LED holiday street lights just in time to QRM the Sweepstakes. I did what I could given the S9+ power line hash! |
W5JPW |
I returned to the Sweepstakes after more tan 40 years. I had lots of fun hearing 40 and 20 with lots of stations, even with the low sunspot count. |
W6ATV |
Sunday morning, the logging computer was dead, Good thing I had a spare power supply in my junkbox. |
W6GL |
Dedicating this phone (and prev CWSS) logs to the shell-shocked, then fire-affected neighbors and friends of my wonderful community of Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park,CA including those surrounding communities of Camarillo, Moorpark, Simi Valley, which are located in the Santa Barbara Section. Also to friends and neighbors on the LAX side in my former QTHs of Agoura Hills and Westlake Village, merging next door from Oak Park then to the Pacific Ocean at Malibu. My heart is with these all, particularly those who lost more than everything. |
W6UE |
This is a SCHOOL entry, even though we sent M as our precedence. W6UE is back on the air! Our Caltech team included one undergrad and one grad student, one community member and three staff members. Most of the team were completely new to HF and contesting. Everyone got microphone time and appeared to really enjoy the experience. Most of the group was able to come back Sunday for more fun. I stayed up late Saturday on 40 slowly pulling stations out of the noise as their signals rode the QSB. We have one antenna, an A3S/40 @90' fixed at 70 degrees. We heard all sections but NL and missed SCV, SJV, NT, ONS. When we get a wire up for 75/80 and connect the A3 rotator next year's sweep possibilities will be better. What a joy to share my passion for HF and contesting with other hams on campus! Thanks for the QSOs. David N6AN for CITARC |
W8RJL |
100 watts and wires |
WA1BXY |
2/3 |
WA2ALY |
orion 2, 238c, kt34a, inv l |
WA3EKL |
WE HAD A LOT OF FUN |
WA3HGW |
Tri-band beam failed and 40/80 meter dipole shorted part way through the contest but had fun anwway. Murphey's Law can't take away all the fun! |
WA6EEM |
First SSB SS. Had fun. |
WA6KHK |
Had equipment problems all weekend(short I have to find and RF). I gave up and packed it in for the day. Almost got a sweep though;needed NL. |
WA8Y |
operated remotely, Family 1st, Contest 2nd |
WA9YI |
First time working SS for more than a couple of hours. 100 watts and a wire in the trees, paper log only. Was surprised to have worked 65 sections though I was trying by memory to work as many new sections as possible. Enjoyed a QSO with an IA ham, I said "my home state," and when I gave him IN, he said, "MY home state." Glad there is time for brief pleasantries such as this. |
WB2KHE |
Happy to be back on after missing last year due to equipment problems. Time to make this borrowed rig (ICOM IC-746PRO) the successor! |
WB2RIS |
Operating in grid FM13 |
WB8REI |
What a great contest! Enjoy it every year! |
WB9BWP |
If only conditions were better |
WB9LRK |
FUN FUN FUN |
WD0BGZ |
Operated single band 80-meters, Yaesu FT-950, 80-meter Dipole at 30-feet |
WJ4HCP |
ARRL Sweepstakes PH November 2018 |
WN3N |
See everyone again next year |
WO3X |
I got more than half of the sections even though I was on a total of only 6 hours. |
WR4I |
missed 6 but able to snag VY1 on 40m! |