I´m moving to a new QTH 🙂 maybe having some wire antennas soon. The leaves are coming back to the tree’s but I tried to throw some rope into some trees just before the SSB sprint. I wanted to try it from this QTH. It was not easy the get the rope over a decent branch but after some time I got at least some height. I think I can do better once the leaves are gone but for now, anything is better than nothing. I brought a Top Ten Device 6 to 1 antenna switch from my vacation in Germany and installed the Kelemen dipole at 36ft for 20m to 10m, a 40m GP at 40ft with 3 elevated radials and a 50ft wire to my MFJ autotuner with 8 radials. NA SSB sprint is from 20-80m, so I should not have to tune to much, just manually select the band I´m on. 80m needed some tuning from time to time, and I didn´t feel loud on that band but for now its okay and I even worked S01WS with this 50ft wire, its not to bad I guess.
I did the fall sprint last year and I like the format. I did pretty good for the first time, but I had to little multiplier compared to others. This years April NA SSB Sprint was better, it was longer daylight then in November and I could work more 20m, even 20m was not easy but at least it was open. 40m was very good with the single band 40m GP. Once 80m was open I could not break any pile ups and even if someone had no callers he just called back in my face while I called him. I have to see what I can do on 80m and if I still want to keep the 80m antenna.
After the 4 sprint hours I had twice the points from Novembers sprint and I like the sprint contest layout. Its like DARC XMAS or Easter contest. I’m in for the next one for sure.
I left the antennas in the trees and installed some more radials to the 50ft GP but dismantled the station and coax to the Top Ten switch again. I haven´t tried it since, as I have no station installed and trying to get my stuff moved into the new house. So whenever I have some coax and ham shack set up I´ll do more tests. Noise seems to be pretty low but the house is down in a valley which is not the best for (V)-HF waves. But like my former colleague in HZ said … anything is better then nothing 🙂 Hope to hear you soon again from my new “permanent” station
Here are some pictures from the new QTH in Inman, SC