Fall 2001 QRP Homebrewer Sprint

A certificate for all participants is now available for viewing, downloading and printing.  
Click on your callsign link in the Results Listing below. 
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Dateline: Sept 24, 2001

Hi Sprinters!

Thanks to all who enjoyed the Fall QRP Homebrewer Sprint on September 24.  (See full description here.)

1st Place winner K5ZTY (second straight win!) received a PSK31 Audio Beacon Kit.  Congratulations to Bill for another outstanding operation!  

Runner-up winners K7RE and AK7Y (both second time second placers!) each received Homebrewing Starter Kits.

Notable contestants (each receives a one year renewal to his QRP Homebrewer subscription):

Look for another running of this fun sprint on March 25, 2002 from 0000-0400 UTC. 

Hope to hear you then!

72 de Ken - N2CQ


FALL 2001 QRP HOMEBREWER SPRINT RESULTS
                    
Call    Mode     QSOs    Points X SPCs X PWR = Score
-------------------------------------------------------
 K5ZTY    CW      83        332     47      7   109,228
AK7Y     CW      84        336     46      7   108,192
K7RE     CW      82        328     45      7   103,320
K0EVZ    CW      70        280     38      7    74,480
W0PWE    CW      45        176     35     10    61,600
N0TK     CW      50        200     33      7    46,200
NQ7X     CW      40        160     28      7    31,360
AA1MY    CW      40        160     26      7    29,120
W2AGN    Mixed   28        116     23     10    26,680
AD6GI    CW      34        136     23      7    21,896
W0UFO    CW      27        108     20      7    15,120
N7CEE    CW      19         76     15     10    11,400
N0RC     CW      31         62     21      7     9,114
KW4JS    CW      19         76     16      7     8,512
AA3SJ    CW      17         68     11     10     7,480
KA3WMJ   CW      18         72     14      7     7,056
W1PID    CW      18         72     13      7     6,552
K4GT     CW      15         60     12      7     5,040
N3MK     PSK     12         60     11      7     4,620
N2APB    CW      12         48      9     10     4,320
N2CX     CW      14         56     10      7     3,920
W3BBO    CW      10         40      9     10     3,600
NA5N     CW      17         34     13      7     3,094
W4NJK    CW      11         44      7      7     2,156
K1SWL    CW      12         24      9      7     1,512
WB7AEI   CW       6         24      4      7       672
KD7CTF   CW       4         16      4      7       448
WC7S     CW       5         10      4      7       280
N1EI     CW       2          6      2      7        84
W6EMD    PSK      1          5      1      7        35

Checklogs:
WQ2RP    CW      74        288     42      7    82,320
(NJQRP Club Station, N2CQ Opr)

SOAPBOX REPORTS

K5ZTY:
 Another good NJQRP Club contest.  Condx were good even though we had quite  a bit on QRN here in TX from thunderstorms in the area.  Thanks to those  who stayed with me thru several repeats when the noise got bad.  Thanks to  Ken for promoting and scoring again. WQ2RP was loud.
Bill
------------
AK7Y:
 Thanks for another great QRP HB Sprint.  I am sure glad that you posted to call for logs.  I have been putting off the entry, working on a new SW-30+ kit, and time slips by when building new rigs!
Greg
-------------
K7RE:
 Good conditions and very nice turnout too. No 15M activity found this time around.  I did CW only. Rig: K-2, 3 el trapped tribander at 35 feet, half square on 40M. Fell short of the Spring contest totals by 18 QSo's Sure enjoyed myself, I also got to try out my new 40M Half Square antenna before the rest of the contest season begins.
Brian
--------------
W0PWE:
 Rigs: 20M Manhattan SST, 40M CSS Rcvr and NN1G Xmtr both Manhattan sytle. 15 and 80M TS140S. Antennas: Multiband dipoles. 20M was fun while it lasted. 40M and 80M had summer like QRN.
Jerry
--------------
N0TK:
 NC20 and K1 built by N0TK.  Attic dipole antennas for 20 and 40.
Dan
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K0EVZ:
 Will be interested in seeing how this log compares to the top scorers. Usually I don't send in logs, but may change as I get more familiar with computers and keyboards.
Doc
---------------
NQ7X:
  GOOD PROPAGATION AND PARTICIPATION, BUT AS USUAL I ONLY GOT  LESS THAN 2 HOURS OP TIME. FUN THOUGH AND THANKS TO KEN N2CQ  AND THE NJ CLUB FOR SPONSORING.
Floyd
---------------
AA1MY:
 Propagation seemed good, but turnout seemed light... maybe 'cuz I missed first two hrs? The skip zones were clearly visible when plotted on a map, esp. on 20m. Odd, but NA5N's unmistakable sound is usually heard/worked at the end of my 'tests. Thanks to NJQRP for running this great event... cu nxt sprng!
Seab
----------------
W2AGN:
 An real challenge doing without my trusty K1 or K2 and using the SST and NC40A. PSK-80 Warbler was a gem though, but where were the NJQRP PSK31 stations?
John
----------------
AD6GI:
 Great group of operators! Good ears and very patient with my occasional bad keying as I got excited as my exchange rate increased.  Still lots of funand am already planning for next year. See you then. Many thanks to Ken and the NJ Gang for their effort. It is much appreciated.
Chuck
-----------------
W0UFO:
 Had an MS-15 ready for 15 but heard no signals.  Lots of noise with sigs on 40.  Had fun on 20 but it was a cold nite at the cabin so quit early. Used an NC-20 and Red Hot NC-40 with 20m dipole & longwire on 40.
Mert
-----------------
N7CEE:
 Elecraft K2 running 1 watt into a 40 meter vertical.
Bruce
-----------------
N0RC
 Sure miss my K2 for these events, but had to yield to economic realities. BUT NEXT TIME I'LL BE USING MY K1 (recently acquired)!!! ;-) Looking forward to the Mar 2002 event!  Rig: KNWD 570D(G) @ 5W -  Ant: Attic Dipole @ 20ft
Rod
-----------------
KW4JS:
 Elecraft K2 - Homebrew Xcvr - Pwr 5 Watts
John
-----------------
AA3SJ:
 I just completed this rig last week and decided to give it a try.  The direct conversion receiver made it difficult to use in contesting. Using 700mW, my final was a 3N3904 (Hi!).  Band conditions were also rough.  At my QTH I have a strong shortwave station that comes on at about 11:00 PM each evening and it overwhelms the rcvr.  Overall this was a lot of fun, but definately a challenge.  This is the first contest that I actually worked for a score.  Thanks NJ QRP for sponsoring it.
Ed
------------------
KA3WMJ:
 Really enjoy these Sprints with the K2 but I need to improve my antennas for close in stations. Thanks for all your help.
Ken
-----------------
K4GT:
 Elecraft K2 - 4W
Jim
-----------------
N3MK:
 Fair condx but not a lot going on on PSK. Ran PSK-31 only with PSK-20 and Warbler. Rig: PSK-20 and Warbler into MFJ 934 tuner into dipole
Don
-----------------
N2APB:
 Short time spent, and correspondingly small score, but I had a great time. It's always exciting to hear and QSO with the various calls we see on the Lists, the hamfests and the QRP weekends. Most notable experience during the sprint was hearing N2CX waaaay down in the noise with a ton of people trying to get him.  During my repeated tries for him as well, a dog wandered over to the SLVPV antenna and relieved himself on the base ... I was too busy trying to get Joe and just decided to let the dog go. I ultimately bagged N2CX and attributed it to the added ground conductivity of the antenna. Homebrew setup here: Wilderness Sierra running 1W, NorCal BLT Tuner, St. Louis QRP Society "Vest Pocket Vertical" antenna, and scratch-built W9GR DSP-1 audio filter. Location: local school soccer field in Forest Hill, MD.
George
----------------
NA5N:
 I only ended up able to work about an hour and a half, from about 0200-0400UTC with a couple of interuptions.  Blew a water pump in the car saturday, so spent sunday dropping the new one in ... which of course took far longer than planned :-(  Remember when you could change a water pump WITHOUT having to relocate a hundred hoses, pull the radiator, oil coolers, transmission lines, etc.?  Geez!  So sorry I wasn't able to participate longer, and with local sunset kicking in, propagation was sadly mostly out west.  Although I did work WQ2RP and Sean AA1MY with fairly good signals. Still had fun though, and a nice way to wind down after playing master mechanic.  (which I ain't) I like the Sunday and the time slot.  Keep it.
     LOCATION: From the house, about 15 mi. N of Socorro, NM
     RIG: SG-2020 (just fixed for a friend) running 5W
     PWR: A Wal-Mart 12V lawn mower battery
     ANT: Full-length G5RV and St. Louis Tuner (homebrew)
     KEY: Homebrew paddles (not a kit)
72, Paul NA5N
--------------------
W4NJK:
 Rig K1 # 49; G4ZPY minipaddles;40M halfsquare wire from CA,near San Jose. Second time with the K1 and great participation noted on 20 and 40. Lots of QSB and odd condx on 20; but 40 was excellent once it got to the West Coast. Heard WQ2RP most of the night and K0EVZ for a while but no luck getting through. Very enjoyable, thought I would hear more stations at less than 5W but Condx may have kept them to local QSO's TNX NJQRP and all for good operations all around.
72, Charlie, W4NJK
----------------------
K1SWL:
 Thanks for managing this event!   Good conditions and activity levels, but had to QRT about an hour into the Sprint- our son called to say his car had died- that took 2 hours to square away. I really regret not having an antenna up for 80M - the 'Warbler' is sure feeling neglected! Rig: FT-840/battery- 5W - 20M dipole @40 ft
72-  Dave- K1SWL
----------------------
WB7AEI:
 The conditions didn't seem bad on 40M, but QRP'ers were weak and piled on top of each other.  There weren't many standout signals, except for the encroaching QRO QRM, and of course Doc K0EVZ.  Run my Pixie in this - no way! This was all 40 meters with my homebrew DC receiver, 1 watt VFO transmitter, and 5 watt MOSFET amplifier.  For that matter, my keyer, battery charger, tuner, SWR meter, and antenna are homebrew also.
72's and tnx for some fun - Phil WB7AEI
-----------------------
KD7CTF:
 K2 at 5W into ground-mounted Hustler vertical. Bands were vy noisy here.
73's, Lee, KD7CTF
-----------------------
WC7S:
 With this much fun, in only half hour of operation, look for me in next test for sure!!
Dale
------------------------
N1EI:
 XMTR:  Sorta TT2.  This is actually a Little Joe built on a TT2 board and mounted in a tuna can.  The keying transistor is mounted on it's own little board and is hidden inside the can under the main board.  Power out is about 1.25W using a 2N4401 oscillator transistor and 2N5321 final PA.  A seven element external 40M low pass filter was used in addition to the 3 element filter on the board.

VXO:  Sorta Doug DeMaw design.  The oscillator stage is a JFET source follower VXO right out of one of his books with a two stage buffer/amp from another one of his designs grafted on to it.  Impedance matching between the VXO and the Sorta TT2 was handled by an MFJ long wire antenna tuner.  Frequencies covered:  7.039 - 7.043.

Keyer:  An Oak Hills board kit (designed for the 2 band Classic maybe?) mounted in it's own little box.

RCVR:  I wanted to use my 2 tube regen (built from the QRP Power article by Dave Newkirk.)  But the VXO's poor shielding put out such a strong signal when turned on that regen detector pulling prevented my from zero beating the receiver to my xmtr.  So I used my back up rcvr - a Hammarlund HQ-180.  Got to shield that VXO better.  Maybe putting a bottom on the box would be a good place to start.  :-)

XMTR antenna tuner:  ZM-2.

Antennas:  80M doublet at 50' for the xmtr, and 85' wire at about 20' for the rcvr.

My unoptimized setup here kept me from putting in much of a contest effort.  I had to turn the VXO on and off for each call (so I could hear anyone on the off chance that they called me back) and the itty bitty switch that I put on it wasn't really designed for that.  Hope to make a better effort next time.

Thanks for a fun contest!

Charlie Fitts, N1EI
----------------------------
W6EMD:
 My gear: Rig..Small Wonder Labs PSK-20
         Ant..KLM KT-34A at 30'
         Software...Digipan
         Computer...586 running Win98SE
 72, Dave, W6EMD, Redwood City, CA
-----------------------------
N2CX:
 Rig: Sierra with window line fed 40M dipole/ZM-2 tuner.
Joe
-----------------------------
WQ2RP:
 Rig: Elecraft K1 on 40 and 20, Kenwood on 80m,  TA33jr tribander & center fed Zepp.  Thanks for the activity, Folks! I hope you enjoyed it.  Look for the Spring QHB Sprint on March 25, 2002 0000z.
72 de Ken N2CQ Opr
------------------------------

Many thanks for the excellent support for the Sprint from you all. Great to QSO all those Milliwatters with HB gear. Hope you all enjoyed it as I did.

72 de Ken N2CQ (WQ2RP Opr.)
 Woodbury, NJ             http://www.njqrp.club/data/contesting.html
 FM29jt
 N2CQ@ARRL.NET

 

Last Modified: Dec 10, 2001