Hi Dale,
The sprint can be extremely frustrating your first time out,
even if you running full legal limit to big antennas. If your
QRP it's 20dB more challenging. Your best bet for QRP
is probably to search and pounce on the edges of the
suggested operating bands (e.g. 14015 to 14020; 14050
to 14060; 3515 to 3520; or 3550 to 3560 KHz). Normally
this would also apply to the upper and lower ends of the 40
meter segment, but because of the RTTY contest that was
running this weekend, all of the sprint activity was crunched
into the bottom 25 KHz of the band. I was running 1500
watts to a 2 element yagi at 70 ft on 40 meters and I was
getting a lot of sand kicked in my face because everyone
was packed so tightly.
Another trick if your a beginner and running low power or
QRP is to stay kind of late on 20 meters. After most of the
big guns QSY to 40 meters, the QRM level drops a lot
and you will find a number of stations calling CQ on their
2nd radio. In many cases these CQs go unanswered, so
this is a good time to get stations into your log if your
running QRP. Same thing applies to 40 meters. In the
last hour, most of the people will be concentrating on 80
meters fighting it out, so you can QSY to 40 meters and
find a lot of people CQing on their second radio looking
for rare multipliers, again with much less competition for
your QRP setup.
Finally don't forget to read and thoroughly understand the
Sprint QSY Rule. If you call CQ, get an answer, and
then work that station, you have to give them the frequency
and they get to call CQ and work someone one time.
Likewise, if you answer someone and work them, they
have to give you their frequency, and then you get to
call CQ and work 1 more person. It takes a while to get
the hang of it, but that is what make the Sprint unique
among contests. You can't just sit on a frequency and
work people one after another. You have to keep
QSYing.
Anyway, thanks very much for giving it a go. I don't think
anybody else was on from Wyoming. I hope you will give
it another attempt next time around.
73 de Mike, W4EF...................................
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dale Putnam" <daleputnam@hotmail.com>
To: <KL2A@yahoo.com>; <cq-contest@contesting.com>
Cc: <nccc@contesting.com>; <wwdxc-l@eskimo.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 12, 2005 5:14 PM
Subject: RE: [CQ-Contest] CW Sprint *ONLY HRS AWAY*
> Was there for almost an hour, started on 40, went to 20, stopped by 80,
back
> to 40, called cq, tried S&P and was chased from many a frequency either
> during or after the first call. Note, before each call, I asked QRL?. Was
> not very well received. So.... unfortunately, no one will see my call in
> their logs. I only hope that someone else is on from Wy, for
representation.
> Maybe next year.....
> --... ...--
> Dale - WC7S - qrp in WY
>
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