[VHFcontesting] 2M Sprint

[Dave Olean]

A very interesting 144 MHz Sprint!  I got on about 10 minutes early and chatted with Andy K1RA at the K8GP site.  I told him there was no tropo enhancement in New England, but he said it looked like there might be some tropo down there to the West and SE possibly.  A few minutes later after the Sprint began, I got a relayed report that Andy had worked EN41!! Wow, I guess he had some tropo.  KA2LIM worked some good stuff down South in the EM grids right at the start of the Sprint as well.  It seemed that tropo was a few hundred miles away from me and that the guys there were making the most of it.  For me, I struggled to even hear the Packrat beacon on 144. Normally, it is S1 or S2. Monday night it was basically AWOL.  I think the tropo out west made for a bit of an activity bump even here in New England, because my contact total was pretty high for such stinko conditions. I ended up with 89 QSOs but only 18 grids worked.  I missed some really easy grids due to no activity. I missed FN43 (my own grid!) also lacking were FN53, FN44, (bordering my own grid!) FN23, FN24, FN13, FN14, FN01, FN02, FN03 all never made it into my log. Eastern Maine was missing. No FN55, FN45, FN56, FN57, FN66, FN67, FN65, FN64.  Very nice that FN34 was well represented with W1AIM, K1LPS, N1QG and Henry KT1J. Many times I miss that grid. I worked few stations way out to the West. N2SLN/R, W9KXI, WA2BLE,  and KA2LIM in FN12 along with VE3ZV in EN92 was about it. Nothing from FN01, FN02, FN03, and FN04. I can usually work someone there if they are on the band.  Thanks to K1GUP for FN54, my only grid to the East. I even spent a lot of time aimed at New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, but nothing heard from Eastern Maine or the Maritimes.
    I can’t wait to hear the results of all the tropo out west and south. Toward the end of the Sprint, about 0245 UT, I heard W8ZN on CW calling W9ZIH who is just west of Chicago! It must have been a fun night for the lucky ones. Alas, New England was not the place to be for tropo. Still, I think that activity was good, even though at times it sounded pretty slow. My QSO rate was as follows:
23-00   47 /17
00-01   20/1
01-02   12/0
02-03   12/0
A quick look at where the activity was indicates that some guys were either working the tropo, or looking for it! I saw above normal numbers in some grids to my South and West.
FN20  16 Qs  Above normal
FN42  14
FN32  10
FN31  9
FM29  5   Above normal
FM19  4    Above normal
FN12  4     Above normal
FN10  4    Above normal
FN34  4    Alignment of the planets most likely!!
FN30  4
FN21  3
FN41  3
FM18  2
FN25  2
The highlight of the contest was when someone asked me if I was Ron, WZ1V at the mic!
73

Dave K1WHS, FN43MJ (Mumbo Jumbo)