It was a dark and stormy night......well, it was dark and cold, the storm arrived this afternoon. During last nights ARRL Sweepstakes I was up on Fort Henry Hill...enjoying myself in the cold.No, I wasn't there to take part in the Sweepstakes, I was there to take part in my local clubs QRP Sprint. This was the last Sprint to be held this year, and as the score is accumulative over the year, an important one to take part in.
It's a little bit creepy up there at night, although the view of the city, all lit up, is spectacular. The Fort has been a haven for ghost hunters for years as was the subject on one of the TAPS TV show.
I was set up ready to operate on Fort Henry Hill by 1900 local. My 9.5' whip and Wolf River Coils Mini were ready for any 40m action that came my way.....and come it did, although it was a very hard slog with the thousands of other hams screaming "CQ Sweepstakes" with 1500w and stacked Yagi's.
Propagation was not the best either, SFI=85, SN=11, A Index=12, and the K Index=3. There was some pretty heavy QSB going on as well.
It was interesting working in the back of the van, with little light. It did prove that you need to know where all your gear is so you don't spend hours searching for it. I must also remember to bring a hat and some hand-warmers next time....it's hard to paper log when your hands are shaking with the cold 😃
My KX3 was in top form though, I made contacts in TN, NC, TX, MN, ON, IA, MO, FL, NE, and SD. At 2100 I closed down with only 13 contacts in the log. I was happy with that, most contesters ignore weak signals, so a huge thank-you to those who pulled me out of the mud and worked me.
I am really impressed with the Wolf River Coils Mini, it works so well with the 9.5' whip. On average I was making 2000 km SSB contacts with 10w, you can't complain about that.
