Time for a deep breath

It was one hectic work week! That, coupled with activities on the only night that I didn't put in OT, prevented me from figuring out my Hoot Owl Sprint score until tonight. I not only managed to figure it out; but I also managed to e-mail my entry off to Jeff VA3JFF who is the QRP-ARCI Contest Manager.

Here's my summary. I managed 30 QSOs altogether in the time I put in; which was nowhere near the full four hours. With breaks that I took (and plain ol' dawdling around), I managed to put in about two hours actual operating time. I know, not an impressive QSO rate by any means; but I'm in it just to have fun and participate. N4BP or K4BAI (Master QRP Contesters), I am not!

Anyway, I racked up 144 total QSO points and 20 S/P/C's. That coupled with the X7 power multiplier yields a claimed score of 20,160 Points.

The setup was my usual - the K2 at 5 Watts to my G5RV. It seems that during these sprints, I always get caught up in things and forget to switch over to the HF9V, which actually might help increase the QSO rate. But, what they hey, like I said, I'm in it for the fun.

I had 8 QSOs on 80 Meters which was dead and noise free, I might add. I had 2 measly QSOs on 20 Meters, which was noisy. The "money band" was once again, 40 Meters, with 20 QSOs. It was nice to see everyone spread out for a change. There were only a few stations that were right on top of one another. And there was activity around BOTH 7.040 MHz and 7.030 MHz. That was nice to see for a change.

One of these days, I'm going to have to motivate myself to put in the entire amount of time available in one of these four hour Sprints. You know, I could never be a serious contester, though - my butt simply can't handle sitting in one position for that long! That, coupled with the fact that I don't computer control the rig to maximize its capability; and that I only have a very basic and simple antenna farm puts me at a disadvantage "right from the get go" compared to the Top Guns. No excuses - just plain facts.

However, the stated purpose of these Sprints is to have fun; and I get my fair share of that! In addition to the monthly NAQCC Sprints, as well as the monthly Runs for the Bacon and the ARS Spartan Sprints, there are some good QRP Contests coming up this summer. The QRP ARCI will sponsor the Summer QSO Party, QRP Field Day and the Memorial Sprint. Also, and never to "bee" forgotten is the Flight of the Bumblebees, sponsored by the Adventure Radio Society on the last Sunday in July.

I guess that's part of what I like about the QRP community. There's lots of fun and challenging operating events that you can choose from in addition to kicking back and just having plain ol' rag chews.

73 de Larry W2LJ