RTTY: The Ritzy Road to Run Radiosport - Part 1

Until about 10 years ago, I didn't know RTTY from a Kitty.  Today, to paraphrase

an old song : "If you know RTTY like I know RTTY then We can RTTY along".

CW is and always has been my favorite contest mode altho since 2010, RTTY contests have captured my fascination, right behind CW.  Both CW and RTTY are preferred over SSB contests
as they save voice-strain and allow me to wear wireless headphones.  (There has yet to be devised
a contest-quality wireless headset - with a functional mic).

I hardly claim to be an expert in the RTTY art, but know enough to run RTTY radiosport GiGs,

winning a few certificates and, with N6GEO the 1st-place DX plaque for our RTTY Roundup expedition as WP2/WQ6X from St. Croix. 
([CLICK HERE] to read the BLOG describing that event).

For many OPs, a drawback to RTTY is the need to reduce power levels by 50% or risk "burning up" their radios.  When I run RTTY GiGs remotely from NX6T, the onsite K3 only needs 15 watts to drive an Expert 2-K amp to approximately 680 watts - 50% duty.  There is only a 3.5db difference between 1350 watts and 680; not enough to be worth pushing the amp so hard.

My Yaesu FT-1000mp @ W7AYT is so well heat-sinked that it runs RTTY @100 watts full duty,

with only a trace of heat on top of the case.  To provide a hassle-free cable hookup between the
radio and the Toshiba laptop, a RigExpert PLUS unit was found on eBay for an incredibly cheap price.  The $48 custom Yaesu cable cost almost as much as the interface unit itself.

A unique advantage of RTTY over CW is that it is automatically decoded for me.  When running remote, with CW any internet disruption can corrupt the Cw tone hearing, losing those tones forever.  With RTTY, when the internet connection is regained the decoded text is still waiting for view on the MMTY decoder screen (I can scroll back if necessary).

Another RTTY difference is that stations don't appear EXACTLY on my run frequency by accident.  With Cw, being in the vicinity of my run frequency by accident IS possible; exactly on frequency w/perfect RTTY copy is NO ACCIDENT - it's intentional.  I wrote up this beef last year in the Role

of Respect in Radiosport series.  ([CLICK HERE] to read about that)

One of my most interesting RTTY experiences comes from running the WAE (Worked All Europe) RTTY contest.  In the WAE GiGs to double our point score we have the option of sending QTC messages to European stations.  Using RTTY to send the QTC's is a satisfying thing to be a part
of; much easier than doing the same thing on CW and certainly easier than sending QTC's via Ssb.

Running RTTY Radiosport is to me a LoT of fun.  There are more RTTY contest events littered about the radiosport event calendar than you may realize.  In Part 2 of this BLOG I will include a list of contest event links so you can play for yourself; or at least, Listen In!

Do YOU do RTTY

Would YOU like to RTTY with Me?