WQ6X Dual-OPs NAQP Cw (another look)

(While I wrote up the August NAQP CW contest for the WQ6X Contest Blog, I had originally intended a different write up, which was promptly misplaced.  In the spirit of completion, here is the original BLOG entry with some different yet appropriate PICs to go with it.  [CLICK HERE] to read the
original Contest BLOG post.)

It's hard to believe 7 months of 2018 is already behind us.  For WQ6X, NAQP signifies the beginning of August and the beginning of the winding down of Summer.  While the NAQP RTTY contest was held the end of July, domestically the NAQP CW/SSB contests are the focus of the month of August.

Because NAQP is only a 12 hour contest, it makes no sense to make a trip Fallbrook to join NX6T;
it [almost] isn't worth the trip to operate from W7AYT. Client commitments were light on Friday so I took the remainder of the afternoon off, arriving is Concord before 6pm; with enough daylight left
for antenna-futzing, which turned out to be unnecessary.

N6KI & WM6Y

The goal for this NAQP weekend was to assist NX6T remotely while enjoying 6+ hours of WQ6X
operator time from Concord (EB section).   Unfortunately, a shortage of live operators in the chair (B-I-C = butt in chair) for long periods relegated N6CY & WQ6X to remotely keeping NX6T "pounding them out".  Luckily, we had a busy afternoon shift with the operators who could make it.   In the end, just like 2018 FD, WQ6X had 90 minutes to put QSOs in the log.  Those 61 QSOs were a fraction of the 300+ I made running STN-1 for NX6T.




NX6T after NAQP is over

During several recent NX6T / W7AYT dual-OP weekends, I have perfected a set of Y-Split audio cables, allowing the combination of XCVR audio from NX6T and stereo (2-channel) audio from the Yaesu FT-1000mp I run from W7AYT.

In the current (but consistently changing) configuration, I enjoyed having a pair of QF-1A, back-ended
by an MFJ 752-C audio shaper for the predominantly left ear oriented sound; all that, couple that with the 1000mp's eDSP and Shift/Width facilities, and the WQ6X end of the remote connection is as filtered as it gets.

With the FT-1000mp, for S&P'ing while running a frequency (with the Main-RX), the Sub-RX is predominantly right-ear and can benefit from outboard audio processing.  The same is true for the NX6T remote audio coming in via the internet; it TOO can receive benefit from the Autek, MFJ and JPS NIR-12 filters.  The only thing these filters CAN'T "Fix" are internet dropouts; being analog filters, they are unable to process things which are not [there].

Because time was also spent experimenting with the WQ6X parallel antenna switch, considerable attention was made to reception/propagation from Northern / Southern California using the CH-250 vertical, the WQ6X Lazy 8JK Sloper, and both in parallel.  Synchronizing the radio's 2-VFO's allows "diversity reception" (as described on P.46 of the Yaesu FT-1000mp operator manual)  The use of outboard filters complements the diversity reception capability of the 1000mp considerably. 
At several points throughout the weekend, I was listening in Concord (SF East Bay) to NX6T
in Fallbrook (near Oceanside), all while S&P'ing @ W7AYT via the Sub-RX.

WQ6X Ending Screen

When the NAQP contest ended, WQ6X put a whopping 62 QSOs in the log from W7AYT and over 300+ QSOs in the NX6T log remotely.  The dual-OP operation allowed me to improve the audio routing as ongoing experiments are made to determine the best outboard filter combination for maximizing performance of the already AWEsome Yaesu FT-1000mp.

Did YOU work the August 2018 NAQP Cw contest?

What kind of outboard filters do YOU use?