Thursday, February 29, 2024

WQ6X Wangles a WEIRD Weird Prefix RTTY Contest


I guess there is a [number of] reasons they call it the "Weird Prefix Contest". 
The 2024 rendition of this classic RTTY GiG is the first of three WPX contests;
followed by the Ssb GiG ending March and the Cw event on Memorial Day weekend.

Even if I had wanted to, running HF radio from W7AYT's QTH was NoT possible, thanks to the
wind-toppled antenna mast the weekend before.  The plan for the 2024 WPX RTTY GiG was to
replicate the previous weekend's approach to the XE-RTTY contest.

For both WPX and XE RTTY GiGs, the K3/0-Mini ran the K3 radio remotely and robustly in Ramona, while the local N1MM+ software controlled the radio thru the Virtual Com1 port on the RRC-1258 unit (which interfaces to the internet).  By way of a USB-to-Serial-Port cable plugged into the COM1 front panel port, the local N1MM+ software can run the K3 (on the other end) as if it were sitting on the desk in front of me.  Direct radio control is essential in order to produce "perfect" RTTY.


Lack of a RTTY interface card in Ramona was EASILY resolved using a 20-year-old RigExpert PLUS unit to generate/decode the required AFSK RTTY tones, thru the RRC box to the audio circuits on the Ramona end of the circuit.  NoT understanding how to control the P-T-T from the computer, turning on the VOX created a FLAWLESS auto-keying mechanism.


When it was all over it would seem that WQ6X managed an overall 7th-place (world-wide) and 4th-place for the USA.




DiD YOU run the WPX RTTY Contest?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

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