[3830] K7ZO SSB Sprint Low Power

[Scott Tuthill]

             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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