The weekend in between Sweepstakes GiGs brings us the JIDX-Ssb, WAE-RTTY and OK/OM contests. Dennis (N6KI) put out a call for JIDX operators and only Dan (N6ERD) responded; just enough for putting together a 3-man Multi-Single team, using both NX6T's STN1 & STN2 alternately.
to give me access to STN-1 in Fallbrook. The software allows me to control the Elecraft K3 on the other end. The problem is that I am not equipped with P-T-T control and have to rely on VOX to voice-key the radio, requiring me to speak LOUD enough to keep the P-T-T line keyed between syllables.
Many times during the weekend, stateside stations reported that my audio was breaking up.
The Japanese stations seemed to hear me well enough; why would a statesider who is not in the contest care about my audio breaking up? Often their comments would obliterate a weak Japanese station I was trying to copy, requiring me to ask for a repeat. Most of the time, any copy problems
I had were on the RECEIVING end, not in transmitting.
file the resulting prefecture counts (as well as band by band scores) can be tabulated.
Because I normally take the night shift, my 40-meter contest operations are often a target
for intentional-QRM'ers who are bored in the middle of the night and want to have some fun.
On Saturday morning (10:50z) my 7167.67 run frequency was invaded by a VFO-swoosher
for several minutes followed by bursts of RTTY after the VFO-swishing was over.
At 11:18z I was treated with a howling-wind noise, the kind often used by SWBC jamming stations.
He eventually got bored with me and turned his antenna elsewhere (fading slowly into headphone-oblivion). Then, at 11:30z, having moved to 7170.70, the ubiquitous Data Cranker made the scene, only this time it sounded like someone stirring a flushing toilet. Sunday morning while running 7169.69, the Data Cranker was back, disappearing as quickly as it came; if only to taunt me.
I've written about the Data Cranker before. (Read: Part1 and Part2 for my brief comments
about the Data Cranker AND the recently updated comments about the witch doctor).
Another weird one was a consistent caller 9Z6AH in Trinidad. He would NoT leave until I sent
him "5-9 Zero 3". He sent me HIS zone and then disappeared into the night. When he was
safely gone, Ctrl-W (WIPE) purged his non-JA callsign from the Log. Remember: Read the
Contest Rules before calling a contest station.
On single sideband (Ssb), QRM is an interesting phenomenon. During my brief stint on 20-meters,
I was constantly being "nudged" up frequency; from 14160.60 to 14161.61 to 14162.62. The K3's Shift/Width adjustments can only do so much. Sometimes I would have to move +/- 10-20 Hz within
an area to accomplish what the shift control could not. Now of course stations have to re-tune me
in; and, as we know, Japanese stations tend to be notoriously OFF frequency during Ssb contests.
If I was using the K3/0 I would just turn on the R-I-T and tune him in; with RCForb, there is no R-I-T
(or at least if there IS one, I can't find it).
My final comment about the 2020 JIDX Ssb contest is one I make EVERY year - NoT enough JA stations play in their own contests. While I saw many spots in the band map (JH4UTP, JH4UYB, 7N2UQC, JI4WHS, JA6ZPR, JA9CWJ to name some of the prominent ones) those spots were for the WAE RTTY contest, NoT their own JIDX contest.
Additionally, we heard NUMEROUS Japanese stations ragchewing amongst themselves rather than participating in
their own Dx contest (did they even know it was happening?).
After JIDX was over and a couple hours of sleep, I switched into WAE-RTTY mode.
To get into the "spirit" of a European (as well as RTTY) contest, I re-read what I wrote last year:
By the time the 00:00z end of the WAE contest, WQ6X only found time for 4-hours of actual
OP time as I had therapy clients in the middle of the day; unfortunately during the EXACT
time 20-meters was open to Europe. By the time I got back to it, Europe was all but extinct.
You can READ the WAE Rules [HERE].
Every QSO I made left me with one more unsent QTC message. In the end, due to technical
screw-ups on my end, NoT a single QTC message ever got delivered to the other end. OOPS.
Remember: In WAE contests, QTC messages can make up over 1/2 the score.
While I have MORE to say about the JIDX and WAE contest GiGs,
I will leave that for another pair of BLOG entries.
When it was all over, it would seem that NX6T took a World-Wide 1st-place by DEFAULT.
Meanwhile, DiD YOU work the JIDX and WAE contests?
Is NX6T or WQ6X in YOUR Log?
NEWSFLASH: 04-01-2021
It LooKs like NX6T DiD WaY Better than we expected - 2nd. only to BY1OK:
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