2M SPRING SPRINT 2007
CATEGORY: SINGLE OPERATOR
N2SLN / M    FN22dn








ANTENNA SYSTEM

    4 elements: one horizontally polarized Cushcraft 124WB end-mount yagi







RADIO EQUIPMENT

    Icom IC-706mk2g at 10 watts

    Mirage B1016G amplifier at 150 watts plus receive preamp







DESCRIPTION

The 2 meter spring sprint was not sponsored by the Eastern Tennessee DX Association in 2007 like it was in years past. Instead, sponsorship was provided through the personal contributions of K9JK and W4SHG, as well as HRO of Virginia. The rules and more info were provided here. Every year this single-band contest runs from 7pm until 11pm local time, and this year it was held on Monday, April 9, 2007.

My location was a long-time favorite rover site in my home gridsquare of FN22. The antenna was at 1940+ feet above sea level (about 300 feet higher than the highest village in my county) with a downward slope in all directions, plus there was no foliage in the immediate area. The weather was a manageable 40+ degrees with no strong winds. There was no receiver desensitivity from commercial radio installations this time, despite struggling with it in the past from this same location.

There was no band enhancement of any kind here. I started the contest a few minutes late, plus I had to limit my operation to the first two hours only--I had to be at work by 6 AM the next morning. I collected 13 QSOs and 10 grids. This was less than 1/3 of the QSOs worked in the fall sprint last year when I worked the entire event (and significant band enhancement was in place). I worked fewer than half the grids this time, too. My final score was 14% of what it was in the 2006 fall sprint.

Here is a list of stations I heard but was unable to work: K3DNE, K2UYH/M, W3VRD FM19, KB3HJA FN20ec, W1QK FN31hl, KW1AM FN41ct, K2OAK, and K4ZOO FM08. I didn't hear anything out of FN02, FN03, FN23, FN24, FN33, FN34, FN42, FN43, or FN44, nor did I hear any Canadian stations.







POINTS SUMMARY



BAND   QSOs   QSO    UNIQUE   STATES   CANADIAN
              PTS.   GRIDS             PROVINCES
------------------------------------------------
144     13    13      10        5          0



          --- Claimed score = 130 ---



See for yourself, I was the only mobile station in the US to submit a log.






LOG


EDT     CALLSIGN   GRID    OTHER
--------------------------------------------------------
1925    W3SO       FN00    FN22 new
1926    KE2DN      FN12
1927    KA2LIM     FN12    5x8
1937    KC2JZK     FN12    5x8
1939    WW2DX      FN31fm
1942    WA2FGK     FN21
1944    WA3NUF     FN20
2005    K1TEO      FN31jh
2020    K3TUF      FN10we
2027    KJ1K       FN32
2043    K2ERG      FN13
2054    N3RN       FN11
2057    N3RG       FM29lt  FN22 new









"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the N2SLN rover team."