WQ6X RAC's One Up - 3 years in a Row

I Love radiosport contests that encourage communication between the USA and Canada;

two favorites being: NAQP & November Sweepstakes.  The Canadians give us two more

GiGs each year in the form of Canada Day (July 1st) and the Canadian Winter Contest.

While the winter contest is on the same weekend each year, the RAC Canada Day GiG

is often NoT on a weekend, such as this years' event which ran on a Monday (UTC).

This is my 3rd year as a serious contender in RAC GiGs.  In 2017 WQ6X took 1st-place (for W6)
in both events.  According to the .PDF file results for 2018 WQ6X took another 1st place (in W6)
for Canada Day, altho it would seem that no certificates have been issued.

For 2019, if 3830 Scores are a predictor of the end-result (as was the case for 2017 & 2018), WQ6X will take yet another 1st-place (for W6).  For 2019 Canada Day, running from Alameda found me without access to my Elecraft K3/0 for remoting in to NX6T (in Fallbrook).  A not-yet-solved keying interface anomaly seemed to randomly occur throughout the weekend.  If my keying seemed to cut out mid-transmission, that is why.

As you may know, I've become quite a fan of "Stereo CW".  Because I was running Cw-only, the RAC GiG presented yet another opportunity to test-run the Stereo-Cw concept, using an easily tunable
Autek QF-1A for lower frequencies [largely] fed to the left ear and a largely fix-tuned MFJ-752C
for the higher frequencies [largely] directed to the right ear.

Running stereo-cw allows me to PEAK the left ear around my sidetone frequency. 
When stations tune me in properly they PEAK in my left ear; when off frequency they appear
in my right-side periphery audio making them easy to differentiate.

A reminder: I work stations who tune me in properly FIRST.  You may recall one of my BEEFS in the Respect for Others in radiosport series are people who call so far off frequency they end up out of my passband by 80% or more.

It may be that off frequency calling stations are using an Ssb-width (2.7kc) filter in the I-F.  Because they can hear me (albeit high-pitched in their ears) they
call me, even tho they are out of my passband - I
don't even know they are there,  Or, they are so
weak, attempting to CLAR them into the passband may end up losing the signal altogether.

Remember this: It is the CALLING STATION's responsibility to call in on frequency.

If I call a loud station and he does not come back to me, I begin shifting my transmit frequency on the assumption that I may be calling outside of whatever his receive passband is set to.  In most cases, at some point he comes right back to me.  Because I want the QSO, I take whatever steps necessary to properly facilitate a proper 2-way communication.

While I got a late start, finding and running RUN frequencies brought momentum into the game. 
I recently wrote a Blog detailing the importance of calling CQ during radio sport events ([CLICK HERE]); the RAC GiG validated the need to call CQ.  Evidently, not enough Canadian stations
call CQ RAC and not enough USA stations are aware that they can too.  If you don't doit, then I will.

As you can see, there were some nice runs.  When we look at it from an overall summary perspective we get this:










A considerable number of CQ calls were made on 160 & 10 meters, netting three 160-m QSOs.  Was it worth it?  YES!
Band openings are often unpredictable.

One of the more surprising surprises had to do with the Russian military Single-letter Beacons (on 7.039).  Pointing the antenna towards Asia, I am used to hearing the "M" & "K" beacons regularly and the "F" beacon only occasionally. 

For the RAC GiG, "M" & K" were nowhere to be found, yet the "F" beacon was loud and clear. 

This would explain why I heard no signals from UA0 and were called by UT6, UT7 and of course a bunch of JA & 7K stations.

I have written about these letter beacons and their usefulness on 40 meters.  The RAC contest made excellent use of their signals, similar to the NCDXF beacons on the higher HF bands.  Tracking these beacons honors my "When in Doubt CHEAT - but within the rules" edict.

One of the things I like about the N1MM+ software is the myriad of stat variations that can be cobbled together using some sort of graphics cut/paste facility; for my needs, the Windoze 7 PAINT program is adequate - no need for fancy Photoshop-style software.

From this combined graphic alone it is easy to determine that 40-meters was the best band for the RAC contest, followed by 20, 15, 80 & 160.

Simple but expressive graphics make it easier to compare stats from year to year.

As you can see, the QSO breakdown in 2018 was quite different from this year, with 20 meters being the dominant band over 40.

This illustrates the point of the importance in being on the right band, at the right time and for the most effective amount of time.

In the BLOG entry about using feedback to provide overall direction for a given radiosport event, statistical feedback is a
big part of all that.


Evaluating stats from previous years and comparing it against current Space-WX predictions allows me to surmise what bands should be considered and at what time in the contest.

In summary, for WQ6X, the RAC Canada Day contest isn't just about Canada, it is about radiosport evaluation as well.  Unless we win overall 1st-place, it can be said that we are not perfect, just improving our skills.  Even the 1st-place winners make mistakes; they simply make less mistakes
than the 2nd and 3rd place competitors.

What about YOU? 
Did YOU work the RAC Canada day contest?
Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?