WQ6X Runs a randomly reasonable Winter Radiosport Weekend

The 3rd weekend in December brings a trio of radiosport GiGs.

• [X] - The OK DX RTTY Contest
• [X] - The Canadian RAC Winter Contest - run QRP
• [X] - The Croatian (9A) DX Contest

You'll notice that I struck out the RTTY contest, as I was unable to make it work this year.

Having access to STN-1 in Anza (WA6TQT) makes for more satisfying QRP runs - Ops are
frequently surprised to know I'm running QRP - the strength of QRP signals from Anza surprise
even me.

As it turns out operating logistics made it not possible to run the RTTY contest, leaving more time
to focus on running mixed-mode QRP in the Canadian Winter contest followed by the 9A Croatian contest after the Canadians wind things down.  Because running Cw saves my voice, the decision was made to run mostly Cw, taking the opportunity to search for Ssb multipliers on Saturday afternoon.

Except when looking for Dx stations, the stacked arrays at WA6TQT were almost overkill. 
Considering the weird Space-WX conditions, it was amazing to encounter openings to Europe
on 40-meters (and even on 80-meters Saturday evening).  The disappointment was lack of JA
and Caribbean activity - even KH6 was notably lacking during the weekend (maybe they were
playing around on RTTY).

After 2.5 hours running remote from my Alameda office, the trip was made to Concord to continue operations there.  By 08:00z most N. American Ops were sleeping soundly, encouraging me to join them.  A brief run at 10:53z for an hour put a handful of VE & JA stations in the log.  Then just as quickly it was again quiet, sending me back to bed.  

At 18:00z 10-meters seemed to be open, but not for long.  When 10-meters dissolved into oblivion, moving down to 15-meters and 20-meters when there was no one new on 15.   Time was split between the S&P operations and running frequencies.  Eventually my QRP signal would get moved in on so I would find another "clear" frequency and doit all over again.  When the run-rate dropped to near zero, it was
time to look for S&P mults on Ssb in order to
rightfully claim running a mixed-mode operation.

At the 00:00z RAC contest end, the focus shifted
from USA & Canada to Europe (as well as the rest
of the world).  Amazingly, thanks to a pair of stacked yagi's, Europe was already being heard by 00:30z on 40-meters in Anza.  Except for 9A (Croatian) stations, the contest exchange is a serial #, which can be tricky during marginal reception moments.  Using well defined N1MM function key definitions make it relatively easy to send repeats and/or brief queries.

As the evening progressed, 80-meters and even 160 were scouted for Q&D (Quick and Dirty) contacts - every 2-points add up.  While running 80/160 meters, the challenge was to play with antenna directions to discover the best signal paths - something sometimes not so obvious.

Making things more difficult as the evening progressed were frequent 1-second internet dropouts.  Even if your signal was S9+, if your callsign (or number) got "clipped", a repeat was necessary.  Occasionally the dropout would last 10 - 20 seconds, confusing everyone.  By 08:30z, EU was
waking up and fading out in North America.

With 20-meters not yet open, the 9A DX contest was effectively over.  At least WQ6X made it into
over 100 logs.  According to N1MM statistics, nearly 7-hours was spent running the 9A GiG while
over 10 hours was spent chasing Canadians.

DiD YOU work the 9ADX or Canadian Winter contests?

Is WQ6X in YOUR Log?

WQ6X Wangles a Unique QUAD 10-Meter Contest

The 2025 ARRL 10-Meter contest is now a Distant Memory. 
Unable to cobble together a team to run from the East Bay (EB) section,
my attention shifted to accomplishing other goals.  Having set some operating
records in recent years, the goal was to set/replace the realistic goals remaining
for WQ6X remote operations.  The operating goals settled on were:

1. Run as W6R - Attempting to set the HP Ssb record for SDIE Section.
2. Run as WQ6X - Attempting to set the LP Ssb record for the Southwest Division.
3. Run as NX6T - Going for Multi-OP 1st-Place for ORG Section & Southwest Division
4. Run as K6T - Attempting to take 1st-Place QRP for SDIE Section & Southwest Division

To accomplish Goal #1, the W6R callsign was reserved at the 1x1callsigns.org website. 
Technically, anything over 100-watts qualifies as an HP entry - running the remote K3 @106-watts satisfied that requirement.  Single sideband is technically a low duty cycle mode, so no real stress was put on the radio itself.

Starting @00:00z (4:00pm PST), the 3-el Stepp-IR (@55') was set to Bi-directional and pointed
at KH6 <==> 75-degrees (USA).  In the beginning, the goal was to work anybody and everybody
that propagation made available.  To accomplish this goal, 56 QSOs and 2,500 points were all that
was necessary to surpass the 2015 record set by AI6EG.  With a ZOOM session scheduled at 5:15,
it was time for a break with 65 QSOs already in the log.  Restarting at 02:45z, 5 more QSOs made it to the log before the band finally folded up and I headed to Concord to use the K3/0 radio recently installed there.

Seeing how easy that was, I quickly registered the K6T callsign enabling the running
of mixed-mode QRP starting on Saturday morning.  Dialing the power down to 5-watss,
after a quick S&P run, frequencies were found (28013, 28036, 28051, 28052) for 2:45 hours
before taking a break and switching back to W6R putting another 43 more QSOs into the log for
an ending Score of 8,814 points - enough to easily secure the SOUHP Ssb record for SDIE section.

With all that behind me, it was time for switching modes to SSB and turning this operation into
a mixed-mode affair.  Technically, all that is actually needed to qualify as mixed-mode is a single
Ssb QSO - making 27 Ssb QSOs made K6T viable as a mixed-mode QRP operation.

While propagation to North and Central Europe seemed to be lacking, the 5-watt K6T callsign
DiD make it to Western EU, as well as N/W Africa.  Rotating the antenna to more-or-less 117
degrees, South America stations and several XE1 stations made it into the log.  (My question
is, where were the rest of the XE1 states, not to mention the XE2 & XE3 call areas.)

Halfway into the contest (00:00z) I switched yet again to take over the operating position for
NX6T (Anza STN-1) running mostly Cw, turning the 10-meter yagi stack towards JA and VK/ZL, running phased with a KT-36 yagi pointing more-or-less to 65-degrees (most of USA). 

Unlike Friday evening, on Saturday the band was all but done for by 02:30z (6:30-PT), bringing operations in Anza to an end for the day.  LooKing for a possible fluke leftover opening in Ramona, K6T swept the Stepp-IR yagi from VK/ZL to JA to USA and back again, encountering two nearby
W6 stations who were doing the same thing - relieving each other's bore-dumb.

Sunday morning after taking K6T to 323 QSOs and 105k points, it was deemed enough to take
1st-place for BOTH the SDIE section and Southwest Division.  Now it was time to achieve Goal #2,
putting WQ6X on the air run Low Power (LP) Ssb.  To save my voice, I ran Search and Pounce
(S&P) for a couple of hours, playing the K3's DVK messages - with an occasional correction using
the microphone.  Eventually, running out of stations to pounce, relatively quiet frequencies were
found to call CQ. 

The goal for WQ6X was to make it past 176 QSOs and 17.4k points to surpass K6JO's
LP record for San Diego (SDIE) section, however I had an agreement to run the last 2 contest
hours for NX6T.  You can't get any closer than 177 QSOs and 19+k points - assuming no major
QSO dings, the record is secured.

During the closing 2-hours of the 10-meter contest, frequencies were run as NX6T logging 189 Cw
QSOs by running the same frequency that had been going for the previous 2-hours thanks to K6PO.  When the rate dropped to near zero and there were no more bandmap spots, the switch was made
to 28455.55 to call CQ with the yagi-stack pointing at JA and VK. 15 Ssb QSOs brought the 2025 contest GiG to a swift end.  According to the 3830Scores website, NX6T took 7th-place for USA
and 1st-place for ORG section and Southwest Division.

In summary, it would seem that the extensive research, planning and implementation made the
1st 4-goal 10-meter contest operation a resounding success.  Then again, it wasn't over until all the scores have been submitted to the 3830Scores website and the logs submitted to the ARRL contest website, after which I languished on 75-meter evening nets winding down from all the intensity.

DiD YOU work the ARRL 10-meter contest?

IS W6R, K6T, WQ6X or NX6T in YOUR LoG?

BLAST from the Past: ARRL 10-meter contest - Part 2

Some years ago, I published a Blast from the Past Blog entry about the ARRL 10-meter contest ([CLICK HERE] to view that).  In preparation for this weekend's ARRL 10 contest, reviewing that blog and the 2022, 2023 & 2024 blog entries it was time to document those events in a Blast from the Past.  This is how those events turned out:

• [X] - 2022 - WQ6X reprises K6T for a 10-Meter triple-OP Operation
  
  
  This was a FUN operation reprising the K6T callsign from 10-years prior, while also putting WQ6X on the air running QRP, in addition to putting in some hours for the NX6T effort running from Ramona.  Overall, it was a productive weekend as long as I remembered what callsign I was using where/when.
  
  
• [X] - 2023 - WQ6X Wields a Wild & Wooly QRP 10-Meter Contest
  
  
  This was another DUAL OP running NX6T from Anza and QRP as WQ6X from the Ramona location.  When it was all over, NX6T took 2nd-place to the Arizona Outlaws (AOCC) for Southwest Division, WQ6X QRP took 1st-place for the division.  While I made more QSOs than the overall winner (KA4RRU), is multiplier count was HUGE giving him
  a 50k point edge.
  
  
• [X] - 2024 - WQ6X Conducts a QuainT QRP 10-MeTeR ConTesT
  
  
  This event was a unique Quad-event operation leveraging remote operations from Ramona and Anza as well as running QRP Ssb as W7AYT in the East Bay (EB) section.  By putting 4 different callsigns on the air operators were given more stations to work.  Because this is a single band contest, more callsigns takes the place of working stations on multiple bands.

With these events properly documented, the door is open for what to do for this year's ARRL
10-meter GiG.  Stay tuned to find out the results.

WQ6X wangles a different sort of ARRL 160 contest

wOw!  It's hard to believe that the ARRL 160-meter contest is already now behind us.
In preparation for making some sort of showing in the 2025 GiG, I published
part 2 of a Blast from the Past blog on the ARRL 160 contest operations. 
([CLICK HERE] to read that compendium).

The ARRL 160-meter contest sports a WEIRD starting time (22:00) which would seem to favor Eastern time zone and EU time zone stations.  Altho amazingly, I noticed that there were pockets
of band openings that I would not have expected (such as hearing PJ2T in So. California @23:30z
on Saturday).

For this event, my goal was to run NX6T (w/N6KI - Dennis) to set a section (ORG) and a Southwest Division record for the multi-OP Low Power entry.  Somewhere in the middle of that, my 2ndary goal was to put WQ6X on their from Anza station #1 running QRP to submit a score that by default will
be a a simple 1st-place for the QRP category in the ORG section and maybe even SW Division. 

Technically, each contest event teaches us new operating skills - if we are alert enough to recognize what there is to be learned.  One of the advantages of running remote from the Concord location is having access to a bevy of audio filters for running Stereo-Cw, useful especially during pileups (whether I am running one or trying to break into one).

Station and remote setup testing found everything to be ready in time for a typical 00:00z starting.
The goal was for me to operate for approximately 4 hours and then hand it off to N6KI and make
the drive to Concord to continue operating at around 06:30z.

We used DXLog to run the contest using the crippled Tri-Square 160-meter wire antenna (one
of the phasing lines is only partially connected)
so technically we never knew what direction our
signal was broadcasting to.  

During S&P I would switch to the direction that seemed to produce the strongest signal on receive.

 To get an idea as to where we were being heard, DXMaps was used to display the signal paths from Anza to all points from Northwest and Northeast
to East and Southeast.

 

I could not determine any specific pattern to the switching, so most of the time it was simply
guess-and-try - good enough to put 325 QSOs into the log.  The record we sought to break was
250 QSOs and 69 multipliers for 35,100 points.  By the time for the Saturday startup, the record
was nearly accomplished.  With that behind us, the goal was to take it significantly beyond that
to insure the record stands for at least a few years: 325 QSOs - 71-Mults = 46,647 points.

Thanks to the Dennis (N6KI) thorough knowledge of utilizing DXLog, we ran the software about
as efficient as I have ever encountered.  However, a weird software bug identified the SJV section
as JV, requiring that we enter it as "JV" - requiring that I hand edit the Cabrillo file before submitting
it to the contest reflector.

When it was all over, it would seem that NX6T took 5th place overall and 1st-place for ORG
section and SW Division - not bad for just winging it all the way.  WQ6X took 1st-place for QRP
by only 20-points - any QSO entry mistakes in that log could eventually relegate the score to
second place.  However, either way, 1st-place for the ORG section is a slam-donk.

DiD YOU work the ARRL 160-meter contest?

Is NX6T (or WQ6X) in YOUR LoG?

 

WQ6X Blast from Past: ARRL 160-Meter Contest - Part 2

Earlier this year, I published a Blast from the Past Blog entry about the 160-meter contest ([CLICK HERE] to view that).  In preparation for this weekend's ARRL 160 contest, reviewing the 3830 scores
and WQ6X contest Blog postings, it would seem that the period 2015 - 2017 were not represented.
This is what happened 160-wise during those years.

• [X] - 2015 - WQ6X runs 2015 ARRL 160 contest remotely
  
  
  For the 2015 ARRL 160-Meter contest I was unable to make it to Fallbrook f
  or an NX6T multi-OP GiG.  Evidently neither could anyone else, so Dennis N6KI
  opted to run solo.  He offered up STN#1 for me to run remote after 1am local time. 
  Using the RCForb software I managed 6-hours OP time.
  
  
• [X] - 2016 - N6KI & WQ6X Dual-OP 160 Contest as NX6T
  
  
  This was one of those "winging it" operations
  on 160-Meters that netted us a 1st-place for the San Diego (SDG) section - not bad considering a barely functional coaxial inverted V @70' high.
  
  Overall, making this contest work was a function of persistence and clever operating to outwit the nitwits who like to blindly jump on run frequencies and claim them for themselves.  The irony is that because they are nitwits, they actually NEVER make any QSOs (our 1.3kw
  signal overpowers them).
  
  
• [X] - 2017 - WQ6X joins N6KI for ARRL 160 Contest
  
  
  This was an early rendition of operating NX6T remotely from my Alameda office.
  Like 2016, this GiG was all about dealing with LID operators.  What they quickly
  learn is that our 1.3kw signal easily overpowers them, however their intrusion is
  certainly an annoyance.
• [X] - 2021 - WQ6X Walks a Weird ARRL 160 Contest
  
  
  
  
  This was our 1st ARRL 160-meter contest from the WA6TQT Anza location.
  While we didn't make any amazing score, it was a great training exercise.
  
  
• [X] - 2022 - WQ6X Survives another 160-meter (barely) dual-OP Operation
  
  
  This was another dual-OP ARRL-160 contest using the newly acquired FT-2000
  transceiver to run locally while joining NX6T remotely from the Anza location.
  
  
• [X] - 2023 - WQ6X Works Another W00LY 160-Meter Contest
  This was another ARRL-160 Dual-OP operation making use of the recently acquired MFJ-993B auto tuner, which made the 8JK cobra antennas more-or-less resonate on 160-meters.  NX6T put in a good (but not award-winning) operation.  In both cases we could say we wuz there.
  
  
• [X] - 2024 - WQ6X Wings yet another WEIRD ARRL-160 Contest
  
  
  
  This was a 1st-time WQ6X QRP effort on 160-meters running from the WA6TQT Anza location. The goal was to set a QRP record for the ORG ARRL section and the Southwest Division - both of which were accomplished.  Running only 5-watts, sometimes even a crippled antenna can make itself heard when its wires are 100' above ground.
  
  

Overall, while the San Diego contest club has never leveraged a SUPER 160-meter event, our callsign is well known - enough to make it worthwhile enough to put a team together nearly every year.

Do YOU work the ARRL 160 contests?

Is NX6T or WQ6X in THOSE Logs?

WQ6X Wangles another QRP CQ WW Cw Contest

November months that sport 5 contest weekends bring us the 48-hour CQ W.W. Cw contest during
a weekend set aside exclusively for this event.  Operators who do not work Cw were probably oblivious to the 10,000+ station pandemonium happening at the bottom of every HF radio band.  Behind the scenes was remnants of solar storms happening during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Logistically, this year's contest GiG was a not-insignificant challenge.  Getting permission to run
from Anza STN-1 (@WA6TQT) offered the first opportunity to test a new SD-100 antenna controller box for a 40-meter Stepp-IR yagi.  (While it worked flawlessly during the contest, according to N6KI,
it failed shortly after the contest ended.  DiD I "wear it out"?)  All that aside, the plan was to run the CQ Worldwide Cw contest using QRP power (5-watts), leveraging the wide array of stacked-yagi arrays, available at the Anza QTH.

The first four hours of the contest were run using the K3/0-Mini from my Alameda office. 
An "exploding toilet" in the building (a long story) ruined that last hour, motivating me to pack
up early and move the setup to W7AYT's Concord QTH.  Altho the internet there has been "jittery" lately, at least there were no odiferous smells to contend with.  (As it turns out, the internet held up quite nicely until just after the contest end.)

Starting at 00:00z (4pm), the operating goal was to open on 10-meters, moving down to 15, 20 & 40 as the evening progressed.  While the SFI was only 120 (it jumped to 160-190 immediately after the contest), the upper bands (on the West Coast at any rate) were quite productive.  The variety of stations encountered was truly amazing, putting 78 countries overall in the WQ6X contest log.

Being a 48-hour contest, there were numerous opportunities to leverage each HF band (including 160).  Running QRP power, I often open each band with Search & Pounce (S&P), picking up the
easy "juicy" DX stations before a wide-open run frequency (is there really such a thing?) can be found. 

Unfortunately, QRP signals invite unscrupulous operators to "move-in next door" and fire-up their KW+ CQ calls (HELP!)  Several times I had to shift frequency 200hz and use the F-11 key
("QRL QSY") to wake them up.

After the contest, reading the various SOAPBOX submissions found numerous different
takes on the quality of band conditions and propagation.  

During the contest, a number of offbeat things occurred, including:

• RTTY signals were heard in pairs:
  03:14z on 14001.64 and 14002.50
  12:04z on 3503.61 and 3504.45
• Dozens of CW spots were actually FT8 mode stations - HuH?
• Dozens of known callsigns were purposely incorrectly spotted resulting in DUP QSOs.
• VE2IM while running a frequency with a dozen+ callers left us all STRANDED
  by setting up a sked with a station for 15-meters, not for later, but for then and there.
  Checking back on the frequency a few minutes later found it to be empty, so I called
  CQ and picked up many of the earlier-stranded callers.
• Stations calling CQ on 7000.50, technically splattering outside of the band limits.
• Dozens of LOUD stations who frantically call out of turn - then when I send them
  an exchange they have disappeared.
• Stations who reference my callsign "WQ6?" or "Q6X?" and then work KB6LID
  who (calls out of turn) instead.  I never DiD work those stations.
• Dozens of stations made dozens of QSOs w/o signing their callsign
  (a violation of the rules, btw).

When it was all over, preliminary indications are that WQ6X took 5th-place over all

and 2nd-place for USA & North America.

DiD YOU work the CQ WW DX Cw contest?

How many Countries and Zones did you work?

Is WQ6X in YOUR Log?

WQ6X Celebrates a 3x Win in the California QSO Party

Thanks to the use of Cabrillo files, producing CQP contest results happens in 60 days (instead of
3 - 6 months).  For the 2025 CQP GiG I managed to orchestrate being a part of 4 unique radiosport operations, 2 from Alameda County and the "main event" W6R from Ramona (San Diego County),
as well as the NX6T multi-OP from WA6TQT's QTH in Riverside County.

To make it all work required precise timing of each operation in relation to the other events. 
The goal was to be part of 4 1st-place operations.  Due to a multi-OP technicality, NX6T took
2nd-place, while the other GiGs all took a 1st-place in their respective categories.

Because the plan was to run as W6CF from Alameda County in the multi-OP Low Power category, before accomplishing that, I put WQ6X on the air from the W6CF station running QRP to surpass
the record set by WQ6X and WB6RUC in the 2024 CQP GiG.  While I was pleased with the W6CF operation, little did I know the operation would take 1st-place in the multi-Single Low Power category.

Putting in several hours for NX6T, our goal was 1st-place for Muli-single HP.  N5ZO (a single operator) claimed the multi-OP win, relegating NX6T to 2nd-place.  We challenged the single-OP
win in a Multi-OP category to no avail, being told that our challenge would be considered for 2026. 
For 2025, as they say "decisions of the judges is final".

The more important 4th event (running as W6R remote from Ramona) accomplished the goal
of setting another QRP record for San Diego County.  Also surprising was W6R's overall win for
the Single-OP [unassisted] QRP category.

DiD YOU work the 2025 California QSO Party?

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