BLAST's from the PAST: November Sweepstakes Ssb (Part 2)

The days preceding the 2025 ARRL November Sweepstakes ssb contest, I got to looking back in the Ssb Sweepstakes past, since I wrote Part 1 of this Blog.  ([CLICK HERE] to reread that Blog entry.)
Since then, I have written numerous Blogs about Ssb Sweepstakes.  Here is what I found looking back in the archive:

• [X] 2018 - WQ6X Signs up for another SSB Sweepstakes
• [X] 2019 - SS-Ssb 2019: The Radiosport GiG that Faded into Obscurity
• [X] 2020 - WQ6X Survives another Frazzled Dual-OP Sweepstakes
• [X] 2021 - WQ6X Wanders thru a Weirdly Wonderful Ssb Sweepstakes
• [X] 2022 - WQ6X dual-OP's another ad-HOC Ssb Sweepstakes
• [X] 2023 - For WQ6X SS-Ssb is FULL of Surprises
• [X] 2024 - What Do We SaY about Ssb November Sweepstakes?
  
  

1. 2018 - WQ6X Signs up for another SSB Sweepstakes
   
   It is amazing to look at the Solar Flux Index (SFI) in 2018 which was coming up to 75.
   The antenna system @W7AYT's QTH underwent a complete overhaul enabling WQ6X
   to operate from EB section when not putting hours for NX6T.  While the 3000-point score
   won no awards, at least the new antenna configuration got a thorough workout.
   
   
2. 2019 - SS-Ssb 2019: The Radiosport GiG that Faded into Obscurity
   
   
   This Blog post accomplish a pre-blog look back at Sweepstakes events I have run in the distant past.  Overall, the operation that weekend was a tough run, with bands fading out prematurely.   I bitched about the time wasted by saying "PLEASE COPY", made it necessary for repeats of Check and Section.  The final result was a 1st-place for EB section and a 2nd for PAC Division.
   
   
3. 2020 - WQ6X Survives another Frazzled Dual-OP Sweepstakes
   
   
   The 2020 Sweepstakes was not much to get excited about other than taking another
   1st-place for EB section and a 2nd-place for PAC division.  I would've expected more competition, but evidently not.  On the NX6T end of the contest, it would seem that we
   took a VERY CLOSE 2nd-place behind WW4LL with a possible S-West Division win if
   the Arizona Outlaws (AOC) were "asleep at the wheel".
   
   
4. 2021 - WQ6X Wanders thru a Weirdly Wonderful Ssb Sweepstakes
   
   
   This Sweepstakes was not super exciting, however NX6T and WQ6X both turned in super adequate results.  NX6T claimed 3rd-place overall and took a 1st-place for the Southwest Division and San Diego section, while WQ6X earned 2nd-place for PAC Division and another 1st-place for East Bay (EB) section.  Almost more important was enhancing the use of stereo Ssb audio to make frequency running more effective.
   
   
   
5. 2022 - WQ6X dual-OP's another ad-HOC Ssb Sweepstakes
   
   
   While this was truly an ad-HOC Sweepstakes operation, there is nothing ad-HOC about the results: NX6T took another 1st place for ORG section and Southwest division.  Not only did WQ6X take 1st-place for East Bay (EB) section, but surprisingly received a PAC Division
   winner plaque in the mail nearly a year later.  Another ad-HOC aspect of this operation
   was turning an Electro Voice 664 into a mic stand for the Heil headset microphone.
   
   
   
6. 2023 - For WQ6X SS-Ssb is FULL of Surprises
   
   
   For this event the goal was to run QRP remote from Ramona and set a Southwest Division section record, while assisting NX6T to a similar division win.  When it was all over NX6T DiD take the division and a strong 2nd-place to WX4W.  WQ6X of course won the division but set
   a division record.  The BiG surprise was finding out that the measly 46k point score was #1 Overall in the SOU (Single Op Unlimited) QRP category.  wOw!  How cool is THAT?
   
   
   
7. 2024 - What Do We SaY about Ssb November Sweepstakes?
   
   
   This year's November Sweepstakes event was a hopeful reprise of last year's division
   wins and maybe more.  It was also another opportunity to perfect the art of Stereo Ssb,
   a hardware technique I have written about several times ([CLICK HERE]).  When it was all
   over, NX6T took 4th-place as a multi-OP while WQ6X took 3rd in the SOU QRP category.  However, BOTH operations scored wins for the Southwest Division - how COOL is THAT?

With all of this behind me, there are now plans to run yet another triple-OP operation for this year's November Sweepstakes phone contest.

Have YOU run the November Sweepstakes phone contest?

Is WQ6X or NX6T in YOUR LoG?

WQ6X Weaves a Weird WAE + JIDX Contest Weekend

Between the two Sweepstakes weekends, is a tri-cluster of disparate radiosport events that
are [theoretically at least] worth spending OP-time engaging with.  The classic trio of GiGs is:

• [X] - WAE RTTY Contest
• [X] - Japanese JIDX Ssb Contest
• [X] - OK/OM Cw Contest

An unfortunate under-pinning to the weekend were numerous Space-WX storms, that altho short
in duration, left geomagnetic artifacts (short-fading in particular), creating an extra challenge for readable copy.

Because the decision was to run remote from the Anza (WA6TQT) QTH, I had to provide radio
control and RTTY decoding on the client side of the connection.  This was tricky as the MSI gaming laptop used for the weekend has only a single combined mic/headphone socket.  To enable split audio for running RTTY, I moved an old Toshiba Dynadok  port replicator from its home computer
(an ancient Windoze-7 Toshiba laptop) to the USB line on the MSI laptop.  At the Concord location, using swapped audio requires the use of audio isolation blocks to prevent ground loops. Using the Dynadok provides the necessary isolation w/o signal degradation.

Plugging a classic RigExpert PLUS unit into the MSI USB line provided computer control but no PTT (I was too lazy to patch the RigExpert ACC PTT-line connection to the footswitch jack on the control head - VOX to the rescue, altho getting the mic/vox settings adjusted properly required delicate menu settings.

A significant advantage of running radiosport from the Anza location is having access to stacked Yagi's on 40 thru 10-meters and a 4-Square vertical array for 80-meters.  All these antennas resulted in 31 countries being worked in only 17 CQ Zones.  Other than Brazil, most of South America was poorly represented in the WAE contest (they were prolly futilely looking for non-existent JA stations
in the JIDX contest).

While STN-1 is generally more complex to navigate, because most of the time was spent running RTTY, most of the complexity was on the local end.  Another advantage to controlling the radio locally is being able to put N1MM in auto-CQ mode.  We have a policy of NoT running auto-CQ when we run N1MM from the remote end - if the internet connection were to disappear, the radio would be calling CQ on its own, theoretically forever.

During the WAE contest operating period, until the 07:00z JIDX start, solar storms obliterated band conditions, even on 40-meters and delayed an opening to Japan, prompting me to seek some sleep.  Somewhere around 10:00z, I heard many JA stations conversing amongst themselves, with very few actually calling CQ JIDX.  In the last year, this has become a noticeably increasing phenomenon.

To the JIDX contest committee's credit, they FINALLY have introduced a web log-submission page, eliminating the need to attach our log files to e-mails.  Unfortunately, clicking on all the other links (allegedly to view results of past contests and print certificates), took us to a BLANK page - evidently the rest of this website upgrade need LoTs of WORK.

The OK/OM contest was even worse, altho this was largely a function of poor propagation conditions leftover from the solar storms.  Because only 40-meter contacts were made, it made sense to submit a SOSB/40 LP log.

When it was all over, it would seem that WQ6X took 23rd place overall, 10th for NA, 9th for
USA and 1st for W6 - not bad for cobbling together a workable RTTY equipment conglomeration.

DiD YOU work the WAE-RTTY, JIDX-Ssb or OK/OM-Cw contests?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

WQ6X Wings yet another Triple-OP CW Sweepstakes

Typically, before a major radiosport contest, I visit the hosting website for the upcoming
event, reviewing scores from recent years and investigating the possibility of setting a
new score record - which becomes more difficult each year.

For Cw Sweepstakes 2025, I created 3 operating goals:

1. Reprise WQ6X's Southwest Division win, while taking a shot at besting the all-time
   high score for the Southwest Division set by WQ6X in the 2024 Sweepstakes event.
2. Operate the FT-2000 from W7AYT's QTH, taking 1st-place for the East Bay (EB) ARRL section.
3. Put in some op-time with team-NX6T, securing a repeat of last year's surprising overall
   Multi-Single LP win.

Leading (leaning?) into the contest weekend was a series of geomagnetic storms contributing
to higher noise levels, as well as some devastatingly slow-fading; add to that randomly increasing internet dropouts, made Sunday a long, overall frustrating operating period on Sunday.

If I suddenly disappeared on you, only to come back a minute later, that was due

to randomly repeating internet drop-outs at the Concord location I was running from.  

During several pileups the station would come back to me only to have my internet drop 

at that very moment and I would miss the QSO - Bummer Dewd.

As a warmup exercise, K6QLF was activated mainly on 10-meters, sweeping the 3-el. 10-meter Long John yagi while calling CQ.  To best last year's SOULP score for East Bay required making 50+ QSOs in 33+ ARRL sections, which was accomplished later in the day on Saturday.

After a short break, it was time to dial the radio in Ramona down to 5-watts for an SOUQRP run, putting WQ6X on the air once again from San Diego (SDG) section.  By the time I got started, 10-meters was largely over for the day.  15 and then 20-meters became the afternoon sanctuary looking for an early solid opening on 40-meters - which occurred from 02:00z to 04:00z. 

 
For the rest of the evening, it was a switch off between 40 and 80-meters.

My biggest beef was stations who moved in on my QRP signal 100-Hz away and called CQ. 
Just because I sport a weaker signal does not mean the frequency is open. If they had sent "QRL?" FIRST, they woulda hear me instantly reply "QRL QSY", but that rarely happened.

team-NX6T had enough capable operators that WQ6X wasn't needed until my usual 3am
(11:00z) shift (6am on the East coast) for 2-hours.  While my QSO count was hardly impressive,
a call from VE9KK (NB section) on 7031.69 @12:42z made my shift worth the early morning operation.  Looking at the after contest submitted scores, it would seem that for now, NX6T
squeaked out a 1st-place.

When it was all over, it would seem that WQ6X managed another 1st-place for SDG & S-West Division and a 4th-place overall - NoT BaD for dividing my time between three different operations.

DiD YOU work the CW November Sweepstakes?

Is WQ6X, K6QLF or NX6T in YOUR Log?

BLAST's from the PAST: November Sweepstakes Cw (Part 2)

Why November Sweepstakes is [still] my FAVorite Radiosport Contest

On the eve of the 2025 ARRL November Sweepstakes contest, I got to looking back in the Cw Sweepstakes past, since I wrote Part 1 of this Blog.  ([CLICK HERE] to reread that Blog entry.)
Since then, I have written numerous Blogs about Sweepstakes Cw, altho amazingly a couple of
those years are unaccounted for Blog-wise.
Nevertheless, here is what we DO have:

• [X] 2017 - WQ6X wings and wins another Sweepstakes Contest
• [X] 2019 - For CW Sweepstakes WQ6X LooKs back to Move Forward
• [X] 2019 - WQ6X Wings another Cw Sweepstakes GiG
• [X] 2020 - WQ6X sets the stage to sweep another Sweepstakes
• [X] 2021 - WQ6X Sweeps up another November Sweepstakes
• [X] 2022 - Some Sweeping Thoughts about sweeping-up in Sweepstakes
• [X] 2022 - WQ6X Successfully Operates a 1st-time triple-OP Sweepstakes
• [X] 2023 - What Do We SaY about Cw Sweepstakes?
• [X] 2024 - WQ6X Successfully Navigates another NEAT QRP November Sweepstakes

The November Sweepstakes Phone (Ssb) contest comes in 10 days. 
LooK for another Blast from the Past Blog documenting that variation.

Do YOU work the November Sweepstakes contests?
Is WQ6X (or one of my 1x1 callsigns) in YOUR LoG?

WQ6X Works a WEIRD 2-Band CQ WW Ssb Contest Weekend

Prior to configuring things for the weekend's 48-hour CQ WW Ssb contest, I was motivated to
look at the records page for the 6th call area on the CQ contest page.  For running Low Power,
the 20-meter and 40-meter records were just "begging to be broken".  The plan was to run ONLY
on 20 & 40-meters and then submit a log for the highest score, which of course was for 20-meters.
This ties in beautifully with the new SO2B (Single OP 2-Band) award being setup outside of the
regular CQ WW contest scoring.

It has been years since team-NX6T has participated in a CQ WW Dx contest - be it CW or Ssb. 
This fact made WA6TQT's ANZA Stn-1 available for the weekend.  The original goal was to run a record-setting QRP operation.  Setting up the K3/0-Mini remote access and the N1MM+ software
an hour before the 00:00z start, tuning around the bands, dozens of DX stations were noted calling
CQ to "stake out" their run frequency.

When the contest began at 00:00z, the bands erupted with such a frantic/seemingly chaotic frenzy,
I knew right then my idea of surviving 48-hours running QRP was going to be largely futile.  Plans were quickly regrouped with a new goal to set a 20-meter and/or 40-meter LP (Low Power) record
for the W6 call area.  While a new 20-meter record was indeed accomplished, it took precedence
over the 40-meter (which would have indeed set a record had I submitted it that way).

From the contest beginning, 40-meters was surprisingly open to Western EU and NW Africa,
as well as the Caribbean.  I've rarely encountered this phenomenon so early on the West coast
so early in a contest event, then again, I don't usually have access to stacked Yagi's.

Running Ssb contests on 40-meters seems to encounter all manner of RTTY-style stations around 7.135 which are rarely heard midweek or during non-contest weekends, which leads me to believe that their presence is certainly not a random occurrence.  

At 11:09z I heard what sounded like a "data percolator" on 7.137 followed by high-speed RTTY on 7.135 10-minutes later.  Earlier, on 7.220.72 Cw code groups were heard @07:06, with a warbling carrier all coming from the NW.  Later (09:00z) the Voice of Korea appeared on 7.220 - any correlation?

I chose to run the entire contest period using the 4 voice keyer memories in the Elecraft K3 radio.  While it saved my voice, it unfortunately caused a LoT of confusion when foreign stations heard my "Whiskey Queen Six X-Ray" as "3 Fox Quebec" or "W3 Quebec".  To make things a little easier, when they got it right, I would press Function Key #1 (F-Key 1) to play out "ROGER, ROGER, ROGER!"

While I enjoyed the event immensely, I was totally relieved when 00:00z came Sunday
afternoon putting an end to the CQ WW Ssb contest.  Amazingly, for 2+ minutes
after the end, many stations were still making QSOs.  HuH?

DiD YOU work the CQ WW Ssb contest?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

WQ6X Wanders through another 5-contest radiosport weekend

It would seem that RTTY contests often occur in clusters, in early spring and then again in Autumn. 
This year, the 3rd weekend in October brought us the Japanese-based JARTS RTTY contest as a
48-hour backdrop and playing field for 2 state QSO parties, the Stew Perry SP-160 contest and the Worked All Germany (WAG) GoG, which as it turns out, I had little time for.  The decision was made
to run all the events using STN-1 at the WA6TQT superstation in Anza California.  

Because Anza is technically not RTTY-equipped, to make it all work, the RRC-1258 box (which controls the K3 radio on the other end) is itself com-port controlled by a RIG Expert PLUS rig
control unit.  It's all accomplished by way of a morass of cables hidden in a cubby hole on the operating desk.  Because the RX audio wanders its way through a Radio Shaft 16-channel
equalizer into a pair of Autek QF-1A analog audio filters, what I call "STEREO RTTY" comes
into play to enhance the character decoding process.

The original plan was to run the JARTS GiG @55-watts and rest at the QRP-level, until I noticed the Space-WX storms crawling all over the weekend.  Because the GiGs were all intertwined, it suddenly seemed way too complicated, leaving the decision to run everything @90-watts, returning the JARTS GiG to the 55-watt level.

Despite the Space-WX storms, the band condx. were most exceptional into Europe and W. Africa
on10 & 15 meters.  It may be signals between NY and the left coast may have been skipping over their intended locations.  Around 02:00z, it was finally time to give 160-meters a look.  Thanks to a pair of solar storms, the high noise-level on 160 was no surprise.  The decision to NoT run QRP
was certainly vindicated.  Calling CQ, only RBN receivers as far as Kansas could hear WQ6X
on 160-meters, and then not very loud. 

An hour into the SP-160 GiG, after doing a RTTY signal check on 40-meters, suddenly the switching network on the 160-meter Tri-Square failed to activate, creating a near-infinite SWR condition on that band, effectively ending WQ6X's Stew Perry contest run - time to finish the evening running RTTY.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the NYQP and ILQP GiGs, my only real beef is that both
events provided us with limited OP-time.  Ironically, while NYQP ran until 02:00z (7pm),
an opening to NY could not be expected by then, even using an 80-meter 4-Square array,
whereas on Sunday, despite an earlier QSO party ending, it was possible to put 5 80-meter
ILQP contacts into the log before it was over - GO Figure.

The JARTS RTTY contest ended @00:00z with 523 QSOs in 39 countries making it
to the WQ6X log kept locally at the run site in Concord (EB section).  While not a super
score by any means, it certainly surpasses anything I've ever done in this 48-hour RTTY
contest event.  ToTaL OP time for this event was close to 22-hours over the weekend.

DiD YOU work any of the above 5 radiosport events?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

WQ6X Navigates another 6-Contest Weekend

The 2nd radiosport of October bring us 4 state QSO Parties, the OCDX Cw contest and my
RTTY favorite - the MAKROTHEN unique 40-hour On-Off-On-Off-On contest.  To make it all
work required a significant amount of time juggling, fitting QSO party activity into the MAKROTHEN off periods.

The 4 state QSO parties were a mixed bag; PA and AZ came thru as they always do.  NV and SD gave us another poor turnout as they have the last two years.  What good is it to hold a QSO party when your own in-state operators don't participate?  I don't recall receiving an email announcing either NV or SD QSO party - Bummer Dewd.

With many QSO parties, "rover" stations bring us additional county action.  As I recall, only one mobile station was heard for both AZ/PA  GiGs.  On the other hand, both events gave us additional action on Sunday, offering another high band (20, 15 & 10) opportunity.

Due to poor propagation, the OC DX Cw contest was a quiet affair, even with the Stepp-IR running
Bi-directional or pointed right at the Southwest.   Friday evening found one KH7, with nothing else heard.  To some degree, the poor propagation was due to the increasing Space-WX anomalies.

Of course, the funnest part of the weekend was the Greek MAKROTHEN RTTY contest.  Always arriving later on Friday evening, only 3.5 hours of op-time made it into the log during the first 8-hour operating period.  Starting up Saturday morning, I dialed the power down to 5-watts to run the state QSO parties.  When switching back to RTTY, I had to remember to up the power to 69-watts for running the RTTY as an LP entry.

For the most part, every station heard made it to the RTTY log.  At 00:00z the MAKROTHEN GiG took on another 8-hour break, and the focus was switched back to the QSO parties.  Unfortunately, while PA and AZ more-or-less barreled on, only one SD station was heard/worked before the event ended @05:00z.  While technically NVQP continued through Sunday, not a single W7 (outside of AZ) was heard - Bummer Dewd.

When it was all over, only 3 out of the 6 radiosport contests were actually worth reporting on. 
The others gave me an activation point on 3830scores.com but were otherwise "ho hummers".

DiD YOU participate in any of the above contest events?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

WQ6X Runs a 5-Phase CQP Weekend

While each CQP contest is demonstrably different, the variety in the 2025 CQP event exceeds
any run I have run previously - in short, this was TRULY Mr. Toads Wild Ride.  In recent years,
CQP has offered the opportunity to run several different operations during the 30-Hour CQP
Event.  For this year, I broke it down into 5-Phases:

• Phase-1 - Operate a WQ6X Multi-OP from Alameda County, running QRP - the goal being to replace the record set by WQ6X and WB6RUC from Tom's sailboat during the 2024 CQP operation.
• Phase-2 - Activate the W6CF amateur radio station - onsite at the California Historical Radio Society (CHRS) on behalf of the Amateur Radio Club of Alameda (ARCA).
• Phase-3 - Operate CQP Saturday evening using [Special Event callsign] W6R from KN6NBT's   QTH in Ramona to surpass the SO-QRP record set for San Diego County
  by WQ6X last year.
• Phase-4 - Put in operating hours (from 1am to 4am) for NX6T's remote operation
  from STN-1 (@WA6TQT) activating Riverside (RIVE) county.
• Phase-5 - Finish the W6R operation, ensuring our record-breaking run
  TRULY sets a new record.

PHASE-1

Making Phase-1 work required more time spent researching and planning the operation than DiD
the actual operating needed to accomplish that goal.  Surpassing a 24-point 2024 record was a no-brainer.  To be sure, WQ6X made 21 QSOs and submitted a 1.1k-point log - mission accomplished.

PHASE-2
Phase #2 was the most involved of all the CQP operations for this year.  Typical of this kind of operation, agreements needed to be come to as to when/how to make this all happen.  The original goal was to run all 30-hours as W6CF, switching in various operators.  Unfortunately, CHRS was not equipped to do that and outside of Denny (AE6C), no other operators with interest could be secured for Saturday.  When it was all over, 7 hours were put in on Cw and Ssb, submitting a 219-QSO log
for the event - enough to take 2nd-place in the Low Power Multi-Single category.  Possibly next
year we can take this event to the next level.  (Look for a more detailed write-up on the W6CF
operation itself. - coming soon to a WQ6X Contest Blog near you.)

PHASE-3

This 3rd step was a mixed challenge.  At the last minute another operator was optioned for the KN6NBT site, which would leave operating time to start after 03:00z (8pm), about the time I actually DiD start.  Consequently, that operator opted out leaving the Ramona site wide-open for use as W6R.
The goal of this phase was to make enough QSOs to put W6R well on the way towards surpassing last year's SO-QRP record.  I took a sleep break at 06:45z to be ready for Phase-4

PHASE-4

I often joke that the real reason NX6T invites me to join their crew is because I am willing to do the 1am to 4am shift (and sometimes fill-in during the "dinner shift").  CQP during the middle of the night is different because most left coasters are sound asleep and the East coast operators are just waking up to start their operating day.  Being a Multi-single operation, operating in this time slot requires rotating between 160, 80 & 40 meters (we had a potential 20-meter problem, so I let the morning operators sort that one out).  On each band the switch would be made between Cw, Ssb and then back again.  Because virtually all of the Multipliers had already been worked, there was no need
for Search & Pounce (S&P) - simply find a run frequency and call CQ (run it and they will come).

PHASE-5

After finishing my shift for NX6T, I caught some ZZZ's and then restarted as W6R at 15:00z, making Cw contacts until the CQP contest ended.  I had been asked to be on call to finish the last 2 hours for NX6T if another operator could not be found - thank you K6PO.  To make things easier, W6R ran just CW-only (more points per QSO) - no Ssb.  The day was spent traversing between 20, 15, 10 meters
and then back to 15 and 20 meters, mostly calling CQ and occasionally working out-of-state stations calling CQ CQP.

When it was all over, W6R had logged 524 QSOs and submitted an 81k-point log which at this
time seems to have taken an overall 1st-place for QRP - it certainly succeeded in setting a new
QRP record for San Diego (SDIE) county (officially, the record was set @17:20z).  W6R has set records for both QRP and QRP-assisted for SDIE - looks like it is time to set a Multi-OP QRP
record for San Diego next year.

When it was all over, similar to last year, I managed to be involved in 4 events, however this
year broken into 5 specific phases.  I guess we could label submitting scores and logs plus
posting Blog entries as Phase #6.

DiD YOU work the California QSO Party (CQP)?

Is W6CF, W6R, WQ6X or NX6T in YOUR LoG?

WQ6X Runs a Rockin' RTTY Radiosport Retreat

The final radiosport weekend in September not only brings us the first CQ W.W. GiG of the year
(CQ W.W.  RTTY), it also encompasses the final 10-daze leading up to October's annual EPIC - the California QSO Party (CQP).  Throughout the week, I have been orchestrating a Zoom event (hosted by EventBrite) encompassing the presentation I made about the California QSO Party (CQP) to the Amateur Radio Club of Alameda (ARCA) for our monthly membership meeting.  

Also throughout the week/weekend, I have been screen-shotting Space-WX data in an attempt to make sense of the largely-not-necessarily-make-sensible Space-WX wave our radiosport activities "ride on".

For the CQ W.W. RTTY event, scheduling nuances kept me out of the operating chair until 06:26z (configuring the RigExpert PLUS unit with the RRC-1258 remote interface box took longer than I had anticipated).  40-meters seemed wide-open (it was), portending AWEsome Space-WX conditions throughout the entire radiosport weekend; the [massive] Space-WX hit didn't occur until several hours after the RTTY GiG was over (and WQ6X's ending score was posted on the 3830Scores website). 
As I write this Blog, K-Index = 5 and A-Index = 10.

Running QRP in a RTTY contest is an interesting challenge - other operators either cannot hear the QRP signal or just plain don't care and move right in "next door" anyway - sometimes on both sides of our weak signal.

Because I purposely choose specific "oddball" run frequencies (Ex: 14096.69, 21133.33, 7062.62) , when stations start calling CQ EXACTLY (perfect-decoding) on the WQ6X run frequency, I know it is no accident - whatever happened to the adage of listening on the frequency FIRST, BE-4 calling CQ?
and, while I'm in RTTY rage mode, wassup with stations parking themselves atop the 14.100 NCDXF beacon frequency, making it all but worthless to people who actually rely on that beacon for propagation predictions.

For West Coasters at this point in sunspot cycle 25, we have three opportunities for late afternoon
on 20, 15 and even 10 meters.  40 meters gave us sizeable openings on both evenings. 
Unfortunately, notably missing this year was South America (SA) and VK/ZL (OC) stations. 
It's one thing to not hear stations that were spotted - it's yet another thing when no spots are
seen from a geographical area at all.

At least WQ6X was being seen in the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) stats.

When it was all over, WQ6X took a distant 2nd place to Ki4RRU.

DiD YOU work the 2025 CQ W.W. RTTY contest?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

WQ6X Wangles a Weird 7-GiG Radiosport WeeKend

The 3rd weekend in September brings us a series of 5 State QSO parties coupled with the Scandinavian CW and SPRINT RTTY contests inserted somewhere in the middle of operations.

• [X] - Scandinavian (SAC) Cw Contest
• [X] - Iowa QSO Party - IAQP
• [X] - Texas QSO Party - TXQP
• [X] - New Jersey QSO Party - NJQP
• [X] - New Hampshire QSO Party - NHQP
• [X] - Washington QSO Party - WAQP/Salmon Run (S-R)
• [X] - SPRINT RTTY Contest

QSO Party-wise, Texas (TXQP) and Washington (S-R) filled the Cw bands with signals; Ssb QSO Party activity, while not plentiful, was there to be found - made easier by the array of audio filters in use at the local (non-remote) site.

Altho the IA, NJ and NH QSO parties were allegedly underway by 16:00z, signals from those areas were not heard until 21:00z to 23:30z - Bummer Dewd!. While NHQP had a Sunday period, nothing was heard from New England - Double Bummer Dewd.  Because the RTTY SPRINT began at 00:00z, by the time it ended (04:00z), IA/NH/NJ were probably all sound asleep.

To their credit, Washington and Texas kept running until 20:00z (TX) and 23:59z (WA) on Sunday.  Texas brought us several rover stations who provided at least a dozen+ more county multipliers for the WQ6X QRP Log

Speaking of QRP, I am constantly amazed at how often the QRP signal can "bust a pileup" - much
of the time it's Luck and Timing.  Having multiple calling function keys enables several ways to slip in
the WQ6X callsign in/around the pileup mess.

While recent improvements in the Concord internet connection have considerably improved remote radio operations, later Saturday afternoon seemed like a reversion to a week ago.  Of course, on Sunday (when it is usually at its worst) was actually quite functional - GO Figure.  If I suddenly disappeared in the middle of a CW/RTTY exchange, an internet dropout was likely the cause - I wasn't ignoring you.

Lack of TRI-state QSO party action was compensated by a 15-meter (and later 20-meter) opening
to Scandinavia.  While 24 QSOs is much, at least it can be said that WQ6X was playing the SAC contest.

When it was all over, WQ6X made noticeable entries in 4 out of the 7 contest GiGs.

DiD YOU work any of the above seven contest GiGs?

Is WQ6X in any of YOUR LoGs?

WQ6X Works a Wandering WAE Radiosport Weekend

Because it is a somewhat complex 48-hour radiosport Experience, I rarely worked the Worked
All Europe (WAE) Ssb contest, altho I thoroughly enjoy the August-CW and November-RTTY WAE contest variants.  Finding the WA6TQT super station STN-2 available for the weekend, I logged in remotely Friday afternoon to setup N1MM+ to most effectively run the contest largely by way of the
voice keyer messages in the remote K3 radio's DVK facility.

With local internet dropouts a continuing problem, once started, a DVK message can be playing
out even tho a brief internet dropout occurs on the local end of the connection.  Friday evening,
(what turned out to be) a weird software conflict prevented the PTT-line from keying properly,
so, I setup a near-identical configuration on Station #1 (STN-1), only to discover no propagation
to Europe after all.

Rereading the 2025 contest rules, I discovered a disclaimer from the 2024 WAE contest.
Evidently the N1MM and WriteLog  contest logging software were somehow producing BOGUS
Cabrillo format .Log files.  I remember encountering this N1MM and somehow got around it.

With nothing left to do but sleep, I did just that.  Awakening around 14:00z, the STN-2 problem
had been resolved, encouraging me to resume the original operating plan.  With the solar flux index
(SFI) back down to the 120's the only good thing to say about it is that there were no annoying geomagnetic storms during the contest period (the storms did not arrive until after the WAE
contest was over.

15-meters made for a great contest beginning on Saturday.  Unfortunately, propagation to EU
all but folded up in the afternoon, moving WQ6X down to 20-meters, making an easy transition
into the NAQP SPRINT Cw contest - which always commences on 20-meters.  At least 2 BOOKs
of QTC were offloaded then.

Unfortunately, the NAQP SPRINT was RIDDLED with internet outages.  Out of the 4-hours contest time, approximately 40-minutes were WASTED just reconnecting with a stable (for 5 minutes) connection to the internet.  The last 40-minutes gave me a stable connection, altho the loss
(mainly on 40-meters) had already occurred.  At least I can say I wuz there.

Sunday morning again opened on 15 meters and stayed open well into the afternoon enabling
55 QSOs and sending 11 QTC BooKs. When 15 died a move down to 20-meters produced 5-QSOs - the ones for which QTC messages were never sent.

GOOD-NEWS: Around 22:00z to resolve a local plasma TV problem, all the cables to/from the router were pulled and reseated.  VOILA!  Most of the local internet dropout evaporated - just like that.

BAD-NEWS:  Propagation to Europe had simultaneously also evaporated - Bummer Dew!

INTERMEDIATE-NEWS: WQ6X only got stuck with 5 undelivered QTC messages - a far cry from some years back when I failed to deliver QTC messages as I went along and ended up STUCK with 72 undelivered messages when a solar flare suddenly disrupted the USA --> EU propagation link.

DiD YOU work the NAQP SPRINT Cw or WAE Ssb contests?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?