1997 NCJ NORTH AMERICAN SSB SPRINT
Call used: K7ZO Location: ID Power: 150W
Hours of Operation: 2:55 +/-
band QSOs points
=========================
80 0 0
40 72 72
20 53 53
=========================
TOTAL 125 125 X 41 multipliers = 5,125
Rig: FT-1000MP
Amp: Hmmm, I knew I forgot something
Antenna: 20M - 4 el wire LPA fixed NE @ 25'
40M - dipole @ 25'
80M - Oh yea, something else I forgot.
Comments: I had thought about making the 2 1/2 hour drive over to NK7U's
place in Baker, OR for the contest. Since we rebuilt the 3 element 80M
beam last weekend, it would have been fun to put it to use. But,
schedules just didn't align so I operated from home. A slight loss in
station capabilities were a result. See the comparison list below:
NK7U K7ZO
=========================== ============================
20M Rotatable 6/6 Top @ 140' 4 el wire LPA fixed NE @ 25'
5/5/5/5 Fixed EU Top @ 190'
40M Rotatable 4/4 Top @ 190' Dipole @ 25'
80M 3 el yagi @ 190' Nothing
Rotatable Dipole @ 200'
Amps Amp International LK-800 NTC Nothing
I also managed to convince local contesting buddy K7MK to get on the air
as well with his FT-920 and R7. So if you missed Idaho, you it wasn't
from the lack of a station on the air like during the CW Sprint last
weekend.
It has been a couple years since I operated a Sprint. I forgot how much
fun they were. I quickly fell back into the rhythm and started working
them. Being a casual effort with minimal antennas I set a very modest
goal -- 50 QSO's and then I would call it quits. I had put a wonderful
Chardonnay in the fridge and thought it would be nice to have it with
dinner. Then I found the 4 element wire LPA on 20M worked very well. I
worked just about everyone I called - though only about 40% of time
could I raise a response to my CQ's. I passed my goal a little over an
hour into the contest. I hit 88 Q's by 02:00 and then took a dinner
break with my wife and the aforementioned bottle of wine. I got back on
at about 2:45 with a new goal of 100 Q's. This then became a 5,000 point
goal which I hit about 3:25 when pickings got really thin on 40M. And
without a 80M antenna, I decided to call it quits. Toward the end it was
great to contact several stations with pretty low QSO counts. It looks
like they had jumped in to give the Sprint a try after hearing it in
action. One of these guys gave me a QSO # of 1 from RI! That was a gift.
I always say thanks to them and invite them back next time around.
Overall I was quite pleased with the score. With 100 watts and a "bunch
of wahr" I think I did pretty well. Glad to give out the ID mult to the
deserving. Hopefully next time I will make it over to NK7U's and we will
see how well it works in a Sprint. Should be pretty good......
Scott/K7ZO
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