I started off calling CQ, but only attracted one station in the first 20 minutes, so I switched to search-n-pounce and that
was the secret to success this time. But after a decent first two hours, I made only two contacts in the third hour. The
fourth hour arrived and around 0215Z I began hearing (without assistance) K2DRH EN41 on 50.140 so I decided to spend the
rest of the sprint trying to get through. I got him to hear me but not well enough for a QSO. Then in the last minute K0TPP
EM48 showed up on the same frequency and I thought about making a quick contact with him, but it sounded like he was working
someone else, so I decided not to interrupt. I relied more heavily on CW than in any previous 6m sprint that I can remember.
The 5-el yagi at only one wavelength above ground ended up being the workhorse antenna, but each antenna provided contacts
that the others could not produce. I worked WB2JAY who was set up on an old fire tower hilltop in FN10. He was one of the
loudest signals all night from his 2000+ foot perch. Something sounded familiar about his callsign so I looked at old logs
and found that I had worked him in the September 2014 VHF contest from FN23 when he was on Long Island. There was good tropo
in that direction Sunday morning and I worked him on all 4 of the bottom bands. Anyway, despite a higher Solar Flux Index
(155) for this sprint for at least the fourth consecutive time, there was no solid sporadic-E like there was in the previous
two years as we get further from the peak of cycle 24. Best DX was probably Delaware station K3MEC FM09 (272 miles / 437 km),
although I did hear W8SPM FM08 on Spruce Knob, WV (337 miles / 542 km) as well as the midwest stations mentioned earlier
(both 700+ miles). It was a fun sprint even for someone with no spotting assistance (no computer in the shack, no consistent
high speed Internet available in the area, and no cell service available in the area), but chances of sporadic-E would be
improved by moving the event to Memorial Day weekend.
DESCRIPTION
I had just finished disassembly of the old rover / portable vehicle earlier in the day as part of preparing for a new one. So
without being able to go hilltopping, I was not expecting much from this sprint. That's what happens when your dedicated
contest vehicle has more power and better antennas than your home station (and can get to the mountaintops). The home station
is just a barefoot radio into three low-height antennas (no towers), all of them directional but no rotors under them, and no
preamp. The shack is an 8'x8' room in the corner of the unheated garage. I was glad to see that all the equipment was still
working after that horrendous February where the temperature dropped as low as -23 degrees Fahrenheit, as if zero degrees
during the January VHF Contest wasn't enough punishment.
POINTS SUMMARY
BAND QSOs GRIDS SCORE ---------------------------- 50 15 9 135
MD TIME CALLSIGN GRID ------------------------------ PH 1904 KE2DN FN12 PH 1923 KA3FQS FN20 PH 1924 W8ZN FM19 PH 1926 KA2LIM FN12 CW 1948 K3TUF FN10 PH 1949 K1IED FN31 CW 1958 K1TEO FN31 CW 2000 WB2JAY FN10 CW 2006 K3MEC FM29 PH 2011 N2NT FN20 PH 2036 NZ3M FN10 PH 2041 N3RN FN11 CW 2048 K1TR FN42 CW 2108 K1SND FN32 CW 2111 W1QK FN31