WQ6X Contest BLOG #299: Writing a BLOG Entry is Like.....

.....making a radiosport QSO.

When I work a station during a radiosport contest,
with each individual QSO I do not QUIT until the
information is properly exchanged; both ways.

Then, when it is done, we move ON,
almost as if it never happened.

Later if we are allowed, we can repeat
the above procedure - on a different band.

Similarly,
When I compose/publish a [new] BLOG Entry,
depending upon the BLOG Topic, I may be researching
new ideas to write about; or, I may be cut/pasting stats and/or
the .JPG files you see in each published entry.

I often write out of an intense flurry of ideas and activity;
then when the BLOG is finally published,
it is again, all but forgotten.

This is the 299th Contest BLoG Entry;
I've pretty much forgotten about the other 298.

73, Everybody - C U in 2020.

WQ6X OK w/OK Dx RTTY & Croatian Cw Contests

When I arrived @W7AYT's QTH in Concord on Friday afternoon, I had no expectations as to what this weekend would be about.  My original plan was to test-install my recently-repaired ICOM 7000 and play around with a recently-acquired Classic 1983 "Moscow Muffler" Blanker device'; with the
OK Dx RTTY contest barely in the back of mind, I had completely forgotten about the Croatian Cw contest.  When the weekend was over, the OK RTTY was run as both NX6T (remotely) and as
WQ6X (@W7AYT); just to show that it can be done.

As the weekend progressed, I realized that no attention had been given to the 9A Croatian DX Cw Contest.  The 9A GiG started @ 14:00z, altho at that time I was catching up on Sleep, after running the OK-RTTY contest all night.  The plan became to run the OK GiG until its official end @ 00:00z, followed by a mode switch to Cw.

While the 2 contests could not have been more different in their exchange, both were world-wide GiGs offering more QSO points for contacts with stations in other continents and countries.

On 20 meters, I purposely ran the Expert 2-K amp into a 3-element Stepp-IR allowing the use of BI-Directional mode, in order to work Asia (mostly JA) and SA (mostly PY & LU).  I was amazed by the number of recognizable stations worked from the previous 3 contest weekends.

The QF1-A and NIR-12 external filters @W7AYT shaped the [after-the-fact] RTTY audio, directing the 915-Hz MARK signal to the left ear and the SPACE signal to the right.  Adjusting the balance between the two ears can make for a more relaxing contest experience.

For Cw, the QF1-A PEAK mode complements the K3/0's R-i-T control, "popping" stations above the audio noise-level.  From the Space-WX perspective the bands were QUITE QUIET in Concord and considerably more noisy atop the hill in Fallbrook.

During any given contest weekend, I scribble notes detailing significant

events that occur during each operating period.  It is from such scribbles

like this one that WQ6X Contest Blog entries are derived.  Using my SNAP-Shot

screen capture software, it is a SNAP to document contest activities as they occur.

 

While none of the submitted contest scores were anywhere near spectacular, it would seem that the weekend operation may well have resulted in a couple of single-band 1st-place entries; 1st for NA in the 9A contest and 1st for W6 in the OK RTTY GiG.  This is why I ALWAYS submit a log - you never know when it might "accidently" win an award.  Remember: I run radiosport events for the emergency preparedness training, as well as JUST for fun; collecting plaques and "pieces of paper" is just the bonus on top of it all.

 

Did YOU work the 9A Cw contest or OK DX RTTY?

 

Is WQ6X or NX6T in YOUR LoG?

 

 

ARRL 10-Meter Contest: It Don't Get any Weirder

The ARRL 10-Meter contest is an interesting paradox.  It feels like we have been languishing in the trough of the solar cycle for the last 7 years; whereas in fact it has been about 4.  Because this year's 10-meter GiG seemed so weird, a trip down memory lane helped put it all in perspective.
I began documenting my 10-meter operations in this contest Blog beginning in 2013:

• [x] - 2013: WQ6X & N6GEO join up for 2013 ARRL 10-Meter contest
• [x] - 2014: N6GEO & WQ6X Score another 1st place in the ARRL 10-Meter contest
• [x] - 2015: WQ6X test drives the 1000MP for 2015 10-meter contest
• [x] - 2016: WQ6X joins NX6T remotely for ARRL 10-meter contest
• [x] - 2017: WQ6X Survives 2017 ARRL 10-Meter Contest
• [x] - 2018: ARRL 10-Meter GiG Fascinates & Frustrates

At the last minute (what else is new) N6KI put together a multi-OP operation from NX6T. 

With no actual B-i-C action, N6KI fired things up at 01:10z remotely.  While we are used to

having 10-meters "fold up" by 01:00.  Amazingly, NX6T kept Ten Meters alive until 04:25z. 

Reading 3830 comments from a dozen W6 stations, they all experienced a strong opening

on Friday evening.  Most of those stations reported extremely POOR conditions on Saturday afternoon/evening, which is surprising as my experience was quite the reverse.

Client commitments kept me off the air until late Saturday afternoon.  At 02:30 I fired up RCForb and VNC Viewer to remotely run NX6T from Alameda.  I opened by putting a couple of QSOs in the log .  Then calling CQ on 28029.29 I was jammed by a Cw "heckler' sending errant Cw tones after my CQ calls, often obliterating weaker stations underneath his obviously local signal. 

While I'm used to this behavior on 40 meters after midnight, encountering this kind of IDIOT on 10-meters is a new experience.  Altho the local QF-1A filter helped notch the intentional-QRM, being audio-based it could not overcome the AGC-induced signal reduction.  N6KI informed me that the QRM-Idiot plagued his operations on Friday evening. 

My solution to this Idiot was to play frequency "Leap-Frog", jumping from the low end of the Cw band, up to the middle and then back again.  Luckily, with 20 minutes the station got bored and gave it up.  Running frequencies on 28016.16 and 28028.28 put 17 QSOs in the log. Like the previous evening,
I gave it up at 04:30z.  By that time, the only spots for NX6T came from N2IC (in NM) and N0OI (Perris Valley, Ca).  I got the message and shut things down, hoping for one more run on Sunday morning.

On Sunday, I was back in the remote chair @18:00z, calling CQ again on 28028.28.  Sensing a

South American opening, point the Stepp-IR to 120-degrees put CX2, LU2, LU7 & XE2 in the log.  Not having a microphone, i could not call CQ on Ssb altho thanks to the K3's Voice Keyer a number of S&P QSOs made it to the log.

While most W6 stations reported a dead 10-meters on Sunday, over the course of 5 hours I managed to add 48 QSOs to the log, 34 from South America - so much for a dead band.  The last QSO made it to the log at 23:22z; the remaining 38 minutes yielded no one new.

At contest end, it would seem that NX6T took 7th place worldwide, 5th place for USA & North America and 1st place for W6 and the Southwest Division; not too bad considering the overall marginal band conditions and only 3 operators.

 

DiD YOU work the ARRL 10-meter contest?

 

Is NX6T in YOUR LoG?

 

WQ6X teams up w/NX6T for Wonderfully Quiet 160 GiG

D F 8 D X  &  N 6 K I

While I long for the days of an SFI = 185 solar flux, being at the other end of solar cycle we can hopefully console ourselves that 160-meter condx. are all that they can be; the "truth" is somewhere in the middle. 

Considering that the last 1/2-dozen contest weekends have been loaded with crappy Space-WX, this weekend was AMAZINGLY Quiet.

This year's ARRL-160 contest began at 23:00z on Friday; 3pm California time.  Being a typical 30-hour ARRL contest,
it ended at 16:00z (9am California time)
on Sunday.  Initially, Dennis (N6KI) could find no other available operators for a Multi-Single setup except WQ6X and
Axel KI6RRN.


Late Saturday afternoon a visit from DF8DX brought B-I-C (Butt-in-Chair) action to the NX6T shack.  Bodo ran STN-2 during the 7:00 to 10:30 "dinner hour"; I usually run STN-1 remotely during that time-period.  Thanks to DF8DX, I was confident that NX6T was in capable hands, giving me the freedom to put 22 QSOs in the WQ6X ARRL-160 Log.

N6KI and WQ6X ran NX6T remotely Friday evening; Ron running STN-1 via RCForb and Dennis running STN-2 via an Elecraft K3/0.  KI6RRN also put some QSOs in the log, but we never crossed paths so I dunno when he was actually on the air.  Space WX-wise, 160-meters was incredibly quiet; both in Fallbrook (SDG section) and Concord (EB section).  Unfortunately signal levels were often weaker than usual.  Then again, one of the weak-signal surprises was from IK0XBX; not bad from San Diego using only an Inverted Vee.

While we got a late start (03:45z), N6KI quickly made over 160 QSOs in just under 2 hours.  It's a nice feeling to start an operating session knowing that team members have been keeping the NX6T call in bandmaps all over North America, as well as around the world.  Continuing to run on 1805.71 found me keeping alive a busy frequency, interspersed with "popping" multipliers from the bandmap.
Amazingly, by contest-end we managed to work all sections except NT.

At 07:25z a W4 in TN out of nowhere began calling CQ on my run frequency.  Ignoring him (NX6T was louder) I continued making QSOs and calling CQ.  After one of my CQ's the W4 station moved right ON TOP of me and sent "L-i-D" several times and moved down frequency just enough that the stereo Cw put his high-pitched signal in my right ear while I worked stations heard in the left ear.
A move to 1806.06 put his puny (but annoying) signal out of the passband; not working anybody
he eventually disappeared.

For this weekend I accomplished what I set out to do; run NX6T remotely from Concord via my Elecraft K3/0 and test-run the recently devised WQ6X Lazy 8JK Inverted Vee (converted from the original Lazy 8JK Sloper).  As a Lazy 8JK Sloper, on 160-meters the antenna could barely work N6RO (5-mi away); as a Lazy 8JK Inverted Vee, the WQ6X signal was able to work nearly
all of the Northwest states and as far as Colorado.  As a sloper, the 8JK was a noisier antenna
than the CH-250 Vertical next to it; as an Inverted Vee it is now much quieter than the vertical.



Around 03:00z on Saturday, I noticed on the webcam that N6KI and DF8DX had arrived @NX6T putting B-i-C for 3 hours.  It was during this time that WQ6X managed to make 22 QSOS; one of which was a reply to my CQ call from NX6T (manned by DF8DX).  Around 06:30z NX6T was again dark; the only "light on" being from Station #1 being run by me remotely until N6KI returned to San Diego (07:30z) to run Station #2 until I took over at 10:30z to wrap things up.

WQ6x scribbled contest projections .VS. 3830Scores.Com

You have heard me say ALWAYS submit a log because no matter how small your score is.  If no one else in your section/division/power-class submits a valid logfile then you win by default.  For this year, listening to the other W6 stations during the ARRL 160 contest, it would seem that NX6T may well be the front runner; not only for San Diego Section, W6  & IARU Zone 6, but for Southwestern Division as well - Just barely slipping by the Arizona Outlaws (AOCC).

Based on scores reported (or should we say, scores NoT reported) to the 3830Scores website, it would seem that WQ6X took 2nd place for W6 and IARU Zone 6, 1st place for East Bay section
and surprisingly, 1st place for Pacific Division.

While the solar flux for this year's ARRL 160 contest was depressingly low, I need to remember that low-SFI's make for GREAT 160 contests; we'll know more after the upcoming Stew Perry 160 contest.

DiD You work the ARRL 160 Meter contest?
What band condx. did you encounter?

Is WQ6X or NX6T in YOUR LoG?

Analog or Digital Audio - Which should we choose?

Ever since I got access to a 1939 Hammarlund Super-PRO (SP-210 LX) receiver when I was 13,
I always loved bigger radios and add-on units w/all kinds of knobs to twiddle.  A few years back
I jumped at the chance to buy one of N6VR's filter-laden FT-1000mp's.  He was retiring the Yaesu radios from SO2-R operation and switching to a pair of (much smaller) Elecraft K3's.  Ergonomically,
I way-prefer the FT-1000mp over the K3.  I really appreciate the BiG main tuning knob w/shuttle jog.  Having access to dual-receive in the FT-1000mp makes knob-twiddling infinitely more fun.

In addition to a series of reasonably sharp I-F filters, the Main RX sports a reasonably effective
e-DSP facility.  Even tho the e-DSP is not I-F based (like its successor - the FT-1000mp MK-V),
minus agc-pumping, the 1000mp's eDSP allows shaping the audio in a number of different ways
to peak the audio passband in such a way that muddied-signals often "PoP" a few db ABOVE the
ramble-mud; and, of course the auto-notch facility is, shall we say, "top notch".

While I LoVe the FT-1000mp design overall, what is often overlooked is the fact that the e-DSP
facility works ONLY with the Main-RX (VFO-A).  The Sub-RX is in reality, relatively wide-open. 
Prior to bringing the MP into my WQ6X operation, the JPS NIR-12 DSP and the MFJ-752c analog filters had been shelved in the storeroom.

During the 5-contest weekend in May 2017 (where I took 3rd place for 7QP QSO party and 1st-place for the INQP GiG), amongst other experiments, I devised a cabling-trick allowing the NIR-12 and 752c to be cascaded in the Sub-RX audio line.  Right after that weekend 2 BLOGs were posted describing what was done and how it turned out.  [CLICK HERE] to read that picture-laden description.

In time for 2017's Cw All Asia contest, I brought a languishing Autek Research QF-1A off the dusty storeroom shelf, inserting it in the laptop audio line for running NX6T remotely.  After I got the right-feel for the different filter configurations and settings w/the QF-1A, I was amazed at the peaking effects of the Peak & High-Pass filter settings of that vintage analog filter.  [CLICK HERE] to read about that.

Because the All Asia GiG was a Cw contest, I got a "quick-learn" about all the things 25+ year-old analog technology can still bring us, in an overly-DSP'd society.  As you can see, the QF-1A is equipped with Low-pass/High-pass filters, a pair of audio-notch controls and most important, an
audio peak filter (APF) that is as good as the inboard APF controls that came with the high-end transceivers released during the time-period the QF-1A was on the market.

The Autek filter design is of course an audio emulation of the classic I-F based Q-Multiplier circuitry; without the caveat of having to TAP the I-F signal line.  Except during moments of extreme agc-keying (when a strong station is near the RX passband) the Autek QF-1A is as good as ANY Q-Multiplier.
Because the audio passband is processing is analog, the operator can "fine tune" the passband shape characteristics more precisely than most DSP methods allow us to do.

A filter you may not be aware of is the WW-II Navy "BEAM" filter (or FL-8), initially intended for on board aircraft receivers.  Think of the "RANGE" switch position as a CW filter and the "PHONE" position as a medium-skirted SSB filter.  As I recall, the "BOTH" position effectively bypasses the filter.

Technically, there is enough room
inside the box to mount a small IC-based filter/amplifier.  I have seen a modified Beam filter with one of headphone jacks removed and replaced with a filter adjustment pot.


A major advantage of external filters is their plug-in and play operation; no circuit modifications
to the receiving equipment are necessary.  The major disadvantage is that most external filters are usually relatively worthless in the presence of adjacent signals down-pumping the receiver's AGC.  Nevertheless, while most analog audio-processing is vintage "old school", your ears don't
care about that.

Altho Digital Signal Processing is for the most part here to stay, you pay a premium price to purchase a DSP-laden radio.  In most cases, external analog and digital external filters do a near-equivalent filtering job, and quite frequently for well under $100.  Another advantage of external filters is that
with an audio cable switch box, they can be used with a multitude of transceiver and receiver units.

What approach do YOU take?

ANALOG?  DSP?  BOTH?  OR?.....

WQ6X Works another Wiley Wonderful World-wide Contest

In recent years due to CQ W.W. running AFTER the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, NX6T has been "officially dark" for Multi-2 operation; instead, WQ6X has run these weekends as SOAB(A) during those events.  LooKing back chronologically, in this WQ6X contest blog I have reported on the following CQ W.W. Cw radiosport events:

• [x] 2018 CQ WW Cw Contest - Only 81 QSOs remotely, but at least a presence.
• [x] 2017 CQ WW Cw Contest - 727 QSOs & 260 multipliers - for winging it remotely.
• [x] 2016 CQ WW Cw Contest - 194-Q's/143-Mults remotely from the SF East Bay area.
• [x] 2015 CQ WW Cw Contest - 225-Q's/211-Mults run remotely from 2 hotels.
• [x] 2014 CQ WW Cw Contest - Multi-OP w/N6GEO (FLEX-3000 & KPA-500).
• [x] 2013 CQ WW Cw Contest - Joined-up w/NX6T crew for 3016-Q's & 651-Mults.

W M 6 Y  &  N 7 D A

This year, with CQ W.W. preceding the holiday period, N6KI rounded up a few long-time regulars (K4RB, N6NC, NN6X, WM6Y & WQ6X) and gave up-and-coming contester N7DA (Drew) his first exposure to Cw radiosport NX6T-style.

For WQ6X operations I chose to run another dual-OP operation from W7AYT's QTH enabling
opportunity to test-run various audio cable configurations between the Elecraft K3/0 (for NX6T
remote access), my FT-1000mp (in Concord) and laptop audio, used this weekend for streaming electronic music in the background (via Pandora) while running the radio contest. 

Eventually, the messy junction-cabling will be replaced with a custom-configured switch box. 
An advantage of combined audio is the ability to call CQ from NX6T in Fallbrook (using the K3/0) while monitoring that CQ call (on 80 & 40) using the FT-1000mp in the SF bay area.

For WQ6X CQ-WW operations the "antenna farm" @W7AYT was given a GooD workout. 
The current antenna setup includes:

• The WQ6X Lazy 8JK Inverted Vee - recently converted from an 8JK Sloper.
• The WQ6X JA Sloper - which seems to favor an SA (not JA) directional pipeline.
• a Comet CHA-250 wide-band vertical - noisier but lower angle overall.
• a Hy-Gain 3-element 10-meter "Long John" yagi - tunes FB on 15-M to work SA.

On my next visit to W7AYT I will reintroduce the WQ6X antenna phase switch box, allowing the
8JK Vee and JA Sloper to run in parallel, taking advantage of the advantages of each antenna.

At NX6T in Fallbrook (900' above sea level), tower #2 was raised to its full 72' height for maximum DX reach.

With Tower #1 a recent rotor malfunction was remedied, restoring the ability to "sweep" back and
forth while running a frequency.  Working Africa from NX6T is not an easy thing to do; however thanks to yagi-sweeping we were able to "Zoom-in" on individual countries and amazingly, break pileups on 1st/2nd call.

In Fallbrook, both afternoons presented us with propagation to JA & SA simultaneously.  When that happens I switch over to the 3-el Stepp-IR on tower 2, running it in BI-directional mode.  During those periods the log is interleaved with SA/JA & S-E (USA/Caribbean stations).  Eventually when SA stations had either faded or all been worked, the yagi was pointed 100% to JA.  Unlike years past, the JA presence near the end
of the 2019 GiG was noticeably substantial.

In years past, we've had all but a skeleton crew on Sunday afternoon in the CQ W.W. contests. 
This year we had 2 B-i-C OPs and N6KI running remotely, freeing me to work the bands as WQ6X from the bay area.  While my 52-QSO total was hardly worth mentioning, the opportunity to test various antenna configurations & combinations was what the 2019 event was all about anyway;
in that respect it was a resounding success.

When it was all over NX6T ended up taking 1st place for San Diego, the 6th call

area and possibly even Zone 3; for USA & North America, we were 14th & 16th place.

Did YOU work the CQ WW Dx Cw contest?

Is NX6T and/or WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

SS-Ssb 2019: The Radiosport GiG that Faded into Obscurity

W Q 6 X  Pondering the FT-1000mp while recording Brainwaves

Every [November] Sweepstakes contest (and in particular Sweepstakes-phone) has some memorable aspect to it.  In the 1979 SS-Phone GiG (running as WA6LKB/8), from my Cincinnati Western Hills townhouse, I developed a minor hand infection which required me to QRT the contest and QSY to St. George's hospital for that Thanksgiving week.

Fast forward to 2019 and:

• The WA6LKB callsign became KX6H (in 1983) and then WQ6X (in 2000).
• The SX-101a / HT-37 became an ICOM 740 (in the mid-80's) with several interim Xcvr iterations leading to the current Yaesu FT-1000mp installation @W7AYT.
• Hand-written LoG/DuP sheets became crudely automated by simple computer logging software.  Of course today, the software not only dupe-checks and logs, it completely runs the contest and controls the station; culminating in SO2V and even SO2R, SO3R & SO4R.
• My simple sloped (down the hill) "toaster-wire" antenna in Cincinnati has evolved into over a dozen antenna designs @ NX6T, N6GEO & W7AYT.
• The old war surplus audio filter (a "BEAM Filter") has been transformed into various forms
  of external filtering (Autek QF1-A, MFJ-752 & JPS NIR-12) and built-in DSP processing
  to "weed out" interfering QRN & QRM.

For this weekend a major goal was to test-drive the recently-updated audio cable configuration for my portable operations @W7AYT's QTH while running the Ssb contest largely by F-Keys and .Wav files.  Saturday morning, time was spent recording, and as needed, re-recording a set of .Wav files designed to largely run the contest.  Other than saying your callsign and my QSO#, everything
else comes from a .Wav file.

S & P  (Left)  ---  R U N  (Right)

As you can see, each of the 12 F-Keys had a purpose; depending on whether the RX or Sub-RX
was in RUN mode or S&P Mode.  Experimentation was done to determine whether RUN'ning a frequency should be done from Main-RX (with DSP, Shift and NB) or the more wide-open Sub-RX,
for which - it turns out - there is no R-I-T control - bummer dewd. 

If some Yo-Yo calls me significantly off frequency, I then have to note the OP frequency, tune him
in, make the QSO and return to the OP frequency w/o anyone "waiting in line" even noticing what just happened.  Wouldn't it be easier for the Yo-Yo to properly Zero-beat the operating frequency, saving us ALL LoTs of time?  Am I missing something?

While the WQ6X signal was hardly insignificant, running frequencies yielded callers ONLY on 75-meters late Saturday evening: 3764.64 @08:00z (3 callers) and 3792.92 @09:00z (3 callers).

From the frequency list at left you can see that WQ6X made a LoT of unanswered CQ calls.  On 10-meters, the Long John yagi was swept back and forth from 0-degrees to 180-degress and all points in-between; all for naught.

Overall, for better-or-worse, the 2019 November Sweepstakes was largely an S&P affair.  Unfortunately, there was a DEARTH of hearable/workable "CQ Sweepstakes" callers.  Wassup with THAT?

A number of after-contest reports from "BiG GuN" stations indicate that the volume of participants decreased noticeably from 2018.

At LEAST I had a full weekend opportunity to test-run the installation @W7AYT thoroughly from an Ssb standpoint.  Not wanting to be "wired in" I wore wireless headphones and "mounted" the Heil HC-4 headset atop the station's Electro Voice EV-664 mic.  The 664 is more of a ragchew microphone; for radiosport the HC-4 has more syllable "punch".

On the receive audio end of things, the pair of Autek QF-1's and the JPS NIR-12 were largely run
at the "other end" of the hearable audio spectrum.  The Main-RX DSP-Contour control sometimes peaked a voice into intelligibility; necessary as so many of the signals this weekend were so weak.

By 03:00z (7pm PST), it was all over.  10 and 15 meters never materialized.  20-meters "folded up" early both Saturday and Sunday, sending us down to 40-meters, which was not quite ready for some sustained action that early in the afternoon.  I guess it's a GooD thing that 30 meters does not allow contest activity.

A couple of annoying anomalies this weekend were the 100's of stations who said "PLEASE COPY..." before EVERY QSO.  Not only is it a waste of time, it becomes an annoying bunch of gibberish.  Make it short and succinct.  Because of the severe fading, saying "Please Copy" wasted enough
time that the signal would then fade right as the Check & Section were spoken, requiring one-or-more repeats.  Remember: every repeat DOUBLES the Qso-time.

Despite all of my bitching, I enjoyed the 2019 SS-Ssb GiG as I've enjoyed ALL the Sweepstakes events over the years.  According to the 3830 Scores website, it would seem that WQ6X took a
1st-place for East Bay (EB) section, 2nd-place for the Pacific Division and 37th-place overall.

Where were YOU during the 2019 November Sweepstakes Phone contest?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

WQ6X Wrangles a Weird WAE RTTY Contest

As I sit here pondering the log, 3830 Scores entry and dozen screenshots taken during the 2019 WAE RTTY contest, I discovered I was [initially] at a loss for words.  It's rare that I am at a loss for words.  When that happens, the only thing to do is scribble bullet-items down on blank paper and shuffle them together, making something comprehensible out of the myriad of disconnected items.  While this is a challenging event, reading the contest rules, demystifies virtually everything.

For starters, last week I wrote up a sort-of "Blast from the Past" BLOG entry regarding my participation in past WAE GiGs.  Rereading this reminded me of the challenges that running
WAE - Worked All Europe - contests (RTTY in particular) present.

Unlike the CW/Ssb WAE contests where non-EU stations make contact ONLY with European stations, in the WAE RTTY GiG, like most RTTY GiGs, everyone can work everyone.  Sending
QTC messages is not limited to JUST EU stations (in THIS event) but can occur with ANY station capable of receiving such messages, as long as they are located on a DIFFERENT continent than
our own.

For the WQ6X RTTY operation, I didn't have remote contest access to NX6T's Stn-1 until 04:30z when preparations were completed for the JIDX Ssb contest which began @07:00z
(11pm PST).  My goal was to work the WAE GiG, turning the station over to N6KI at ~06:30z
to get some sleep while he runs JA's on 40-meters.  In reviewing the WAE LoG, I divided the
operating periods in to 5 groups: A ==> E, with JIDX in between.

(A)
After a solid report from CM8NMN, I decided to be lazy and run frequencies, with stations call me.  Occasionally, I would pick up
a couple of S&P QSOs in between lull-points.  You may have worked me on: 7052.52, 7056.56, 3585.85 or 7058.58 before
my official QRT @06:35z.


(JIDX)
Around 10:00z I took over station #1 to S&P the CQ'ing JA stations that could not be worked earlier by running a static frequency. 
The SHOCKER is that VERY FEW Japanese stations call CQ in their own JIDX contest - HuH?  We W6 stations should not be calling CQ JA, we should be lining up to work the 50+ JA stations calling CQ JIDX.  After 3 hours of operation, only ONE S&P JA QSO made it to the NX6T LoG, so I went back into sleep mode
until 17:00 when it was time to return to WAE on 20 meters.


(B)
Around 17:30z 20-meters was found to be quite BUSY - YaaY!
After 15 minutes of S&P WQ6X settled in on 14097.47 @ 17:37z, shifting to 14094.94 @18:09z
and then to 14085.85 @18:29z.  Eventually there were no more stations lined-up to work WQ6X, necessitating a 19:10z move to 15 meters (21093.93) after an unsuccessful CQ call on 10-meters (28088.88).  At 19:59 the QRM levels "encouraged" a switch to 21089.89.  After draining 15 meters
of all hearable QSOs it was time (20:39z) to make one last run on 14097.97 after another fruitless CQ call on 28088.88.  Client commitments necessitated I QRT for the afternoon at 21:00z, making way for K6JO to get set up for a B-I-C (Butt-in-Chair) SO2R run of the NA Sprint Ssb contest @00:00z.

(C)
By 05:00z WQ6X was back at it running frequencies (with an occasional S&P in between):
7067.67, 3583.83, 7067.67, 7068.68, 7065.65 & 7063.63 before shutting things down at 09:35z.  Russian beacon-wise, only the "M" beacon (Magadan - north of JA) could be heard; which might
explain the dearth of JA stations in the JIDX GiG.

(D)
By 17:00z, WQ6X was B-I-R-C (back in the remote chair) S&P'ing until running 14104.04 @ 17:28z and 14105.05 @ 17:46.  At 18:45z running out of stations to work, it was S&P time for any 20-meter "leftovers", followed by another fruitless call on 28088.88.

At 19:20z realizing that I had made ~300 QSOs but sent no QTC messages yet I began looking for non-NA stations to receive my traffic; this came in the form of KH6ZM (in Oceania).  After thorough S&P on 15 meters, ZX2V (in SA) was the next QTC recipient.

(E)
With a brief lunch break behind me it was back to 14114.14, all but begging stations to take my
QTC traffic; YV5AX and PY2NY to the rescue.  Then it occurred to me, that switching antennas to
the Stepp-IR in Bidirectional mode, I can work JA & SA simultaneously offering more opportunities
for QTC traffic passing.  The next QTC opportunities came from LU1KCQ & PY4XX in between working JA stations.

At 22:37z a move was made to 14116.16 and finally to 14095.95 @23:15z.  While running JA,
S-E USA and SA, JH4UYB & CE7VPQ relieved WQ6X of more QTC traffic, leaving over 300+
QTC messages unsent - Bummer Dewd.  At 23:47, QRM forced a frequency change to 14093.93,
using the last 13 minutes to make QSOs while pleading (with no response) to send more QTC traffic.

In hindsight, it is clear that QTC message passing should have been solicited as early as Friday evening.  The further along the contest gets, fewer QTC opportunities are available, putting stations into what I call "frantic mode".  Oh well, as I always say "maybe next year". 

Nevertheless the 2019 135k score is the largest WAE RTTY accomplishment ever for WQ6X. 
Based on scores reported to the 3830 Scores website, it would seem that WQ6X took an HP
1st-place for W6, Southwestern ARRL Division and Zone 3 overall - GO Figure.

SO, while this weekend's weird WAE RTTY contest wandered all over the place, a lot was learned about how to maximize a set of resources, in the most effective way possible, at any given moment.

Did YOU play in the 2019 WAE RTTY contest?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

P.S.  BTW, for you N1MM+ users in confusion on how to make QTC messages work in
         the WAE RTTY contest, [CLICK Here] to read an excellent write up on the subject.

WQ6X Wanders & Wonders about WAE

(a Composite Photo + Screen shot)

In the overall scheme of my radiosport activities, the Worked All Europe (WAE) contest is relatively new to me.  As of 2019, WAE has moved onto my Top-10 list of my favorite radiosport events.

I have often said that next to the lengthy November Sweepstakes (SS) exchange, sending QTC packets in WAE is one of the trickiest exchanges in radiosport.  Then again, some radiosport operators (mostly European) would argue that compared to successfully sending a "book" of
10 QTC messages, sending an SS exchange is a no-brainer.

As it turns out, every WAE contest operation I've ever run was documented here in the WQ6X
contest Blog:

• [x] August 2016 WAE Cw contest
• [x] August 2017 WAE Cw contest
• [x] November 2017 WAE RTTY contest
• [x] August 2018 WAE Cw contest
• [x] November 2018 WAE RTTY contest
• [x] August 2019 WAE Cw contest

With a look at the above contest BLOG Entries, I guess this makes it another
"Blast from the Past" BLOG entry.

C - 3 1 (Left) and S T E P - I R + SHORTY-40 (Right)

The difficulty I've experienced w/WAE is NoT the contest itself, but the weak signal-levels to Europe from my portable setup in the SF East Bay section.  Running WAE from NX6T's so-Cal location actually hears 10x MORE European stations thanks to C-31 & Stepp-IR yagi's and a Shorty-40
all 40' above ground on a hill 900' above sea level.

Now, it doesn't hurt that for WAE I run 880 watts full-duty RTTY (as opposed to running the Elecraft K3 barefoot @50-watts).  Hearing a bunch of European stations does absolutely no good if they can't hear me back.  QTC messages are sent ONLY to stations outside of one's continent, so my signal better be HEARABLE.

I operate from a core philosophy that says: "If what you're doing is working, then KEEP doing it. 
If what you're doing stops working, then STOP doing it - pull back, revaluate and then move forward again".  From what I can determine, running this year's WAE RTTY GiG should run rather smoothly, including the ability to send QTC packets.

Are YOU going to play in this weekend's WAE RTTY contest?

LooK for WQ6X on 80 - 15 meters (and 10, if the band actually opens).

WQ6X Wings another Cw Sweepstakes GiG

It's no secret that the November Sweepstakes is my favorite domestic contest GiG; the Cw variation in particular.  2019 marks my 17th consecutive SS operation; the 5th straight year from W7AYT's QTH in Concord.

In the pre-contest BLOG entry, I overviewed the fact that the former WQ6X Lazy 8JK was partially modified to become the WQ6X Lazy 8JK Inverted Vee.  Throughout the contest weekend the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) stats were consulted, comparing monitored signal levels between the Lazy-V and the CHA-250 vertical. 
Thus far, no reliable conclusions have
been concluded.

Originally I was scheduled as a b/u operator for NX6T's high power multi-OP event.  Being a backup operator in radiosport is not unlike having the role of relief pitcher in baseball - if you're not needed, then the time can be utilized for other endeavors. 
In Fallbrook they needed more B-I-C (butt in chair) time, not remote operators, leaving WQ6X to
work the contest any hours that was needed/wanted.

Space WX was relatively quiet the entire contest weekend; unfortunately, so were the signal levels.  Signal-fading is problem enough; coupling that with weak signal levels made this SS Cw weekend quite a challenge.

I have often complained about poor turnout in most state QSO parties (CQP excepted). 
This weekend felt very much like that.  I was disappointed by the lack of obvious multipliers
making it to the East Bay QTH.

Not sure what to make of this situation, I turned to the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) stats to figure out what the REAL problem is.  Scrolling backwards through the SNR (Signal-to-Noise) data, all of a sudden the realization came to me:

"A MAJOR reason we make fewer QSOs than we would like is NoT because our signals are NoT hearable, but because there is no one on "the other end" actually hearing those signals."

No amount of power increases or antenna changes can encourage operators to get out of bed,
fire up the coffee, turn on the radio and go tuning for my signal.  This brings us full-circle back to
the problem of lack-of-participation. 

There is an old saying "you can't work'em if you can't hear'em".  What is ALSO true is:
"you can't hear'em if they ain't transmitting".  Therefore, we should stop blaming ourselves
for things we can't control. 

It is actually at times like this when we SHOULD be calling CQ, if for no other reason than to let the rest of the contest whirrrrl'd know that the band(s) are indeed open.  Even if stations have already worked you, hearing your CQ call may encourage them to do the same. 

With a non-insignificant number of CQ Contest calls on the band, don't be surprised to discover
that many stations show up; either by happenstance or from seeing a population increase in the bandmap.  Either way, a "dead band" can become very active, simply by calling CQ. 

A few months ago, I wrote a BLOG entry about this very phenomenon.

I also wrote a BLOG entry explaining why we should call CQ.
For this last weekend, hoping to force a 10 meter opening I called CQ while rotating the yagi
to various directions around North America.  Often when I do this, out of nowhere a station or
two hears me and calls in.  Unfortunately, for this contest, that didn't happen.

When it was all over there was a whopping 188 QSOs and 59 sections in the WQ6X Cw Sweepstakes LoG.  Looking up the reported scores on the 3830 Scores website, it would seem that WQ6X has taken 1st-place for the East Bay section; as for the Pacific Division, that remains to be seen.

DiD YOU work the 2019 November Sweepstakes?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

For CW Sweepstakes WQ6X LooKs back to Move Forward

As I've said before, of all radiosport contests, the November Sweepstakes is my FAVorite GiG;
the Cw event being the most fun.  One of the first Blast from the Past BLOGs written was about the Cw Sweepstakes in November 2017 ([CLICK Here]).  As demonstrated in that BLOG, WQ6X has operated many different "flavors" of Sweepstakes, using a variety of different callsigns, adding uniqueness to each operation; alleviating the boredom potential of repeating event locations.

For 2018, I ran a dual-OP operation as WQ6X from EB (East Bay) section and remoted-in to
NX6T to help the team take a 1st-place for San Diego and 2nd-place for the Southwest division.  We even accomplished a section sweep; not easy these days as many sections are poorly represented.

Remember, Sweepstakes is essentially a traffic-handling exercise.  We don't give signal reports and the operator's name is irrelevant.  What IS relevant is sending the correct information, in the correct order, at the correct time.  Unlike most contest events, during Sweepstakes each station is contacted only once, period; not once per-band.  It is important to get the information correct, as there is no repeat.  A mistake in copying the exchange can cost you a multiplier as well as the QSO points.

There are three main strategies for working stations in Sweepstakes.  Some operators prefer to search & pounce (S&P) for multipliers only; others S&P for any new station they can find, while
others prefer to run a frequency, hoping the mult-stations will find them. 

A fourth strategy is to either S&P or run a frequency until that approach runs out of stations to work; then, switch to the opposite method when the QSO-rate slows down considerably.  My preference
is the 4th method.  Should the QSO-rate drop considerably, it may be time for a 1/2 hour break. 
Break times must be a minimum of 30 minutes, so choose the break-time carefully.

Last weekend, I joined NX6T in the CQ WW Ssb contest, partly to give the equipment a thorough checkout for this weekend's Sweepstakes GiG.  After the contest was over, the MFJ-259 antenna analyzer indicated the JA sloper to be non-resonant  on all amateur bands - Ooops.  Although the MFJ 949-E antenna tuner was able to create a nearly 1.2:1 swr to make the radio happy, non-resonance is still non-resonance.  Most Saturday mornings before each Sweepstakes GiG finds
me making last-minute antenna changes.  Does it make a difference?  I'm not so sure, however
I doit anyway.

Having settled on a workable combination of external audio filters for the FT-1000mp,
this weekend I look forward to making it all work better than the confusing 2018 GiG.
On Saturday morning, I surveyed the wire placement of the WQ6X Lazy 8JK Sloper and
concluded that it would work better if I turned it (at least on the Left side) into a Lazy 8JK Inverted Vee; unfortunately w/o the termination resistors for that end (that comes during my next visit).
While the antenna tuned nicely on all bands, the 40-meter RFI problem has yet to disappear;
leaving the CHA-250 Vertical to work most of the 40-meter QSOs.

Every Sweepstakes has its high-points and not-so high-points.
How did WQ6X Do?  Stay-tuned for the next BLOG to find out.

DiD YOU work the 2019 November Sweepstakes Cw contest?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

WQ6X Teams Up w/NX6T for Triple Team Training

N N 6 X --- N 6 K I --- K N 6 D L G

From a "serious" competition standpoint, while the operators @ NX6T are GooD, in the CQ WW
Ssb contest we don't stand a chance of a 1st-place (worldwide) finish.  Instead, while we give it our
best shot, more important is to use this event as an opportunity to Elmer up-and-coming radiosport operators and give me "time in the chair" with the recently perfected Elecraft K3/0 installation @W7AYT.

This was another start-in-Alameda and end-in-Concord remote operating weekend. 
Although everything was well in place to operate WQ6X from W7AYT, Space WX conditions were
not in our favor.  Propagation was so poor that in the end only KL7RA made it to the WQ6X Log.

While we were plagued by solar storms all weekend, @ NX6T a surprising number of DX openings occurred; especially to Central/South America.  On Sunday 10-meters put two dozen QSOs in the NX6T Log.  Switching to the Stepp-IR antenna allowed me to simultaneously run South America and Asia, with a plethora of 0-Point QSOs from stations who happened to be in the signal path to SA.

W Q 6 X (Stn-1) & N 6 K I (Stn-2)

I began the remote operation from Alameda using VNC Viewer & RCForb.  N6KI loaded up Station #1's Voice Keyer memories allowing me to Search & Pounce (S&P) throughout the evening while watching the Houston Astros finally win a World Series game.  After midnight when 40 meters went long, I put a few QSOs into the log and turned it over to N6KI; usually I do the 2am shift but was so exhausted from a long week that sleep took priority.

Late Saturday morning when I fired-up on 15-meters I was surprised to find signals all over the place.  As it turns out, we made more QSOs on 15 meters than we did on 20 - HuH?  That NEVER happens.

Typically it is the CQ WPX contest that provides exotic prefixes/countries.  This year, the W.W. Dx contest brought us a bunch of juicy prefixes.  For this contest, some of my favorites include: 5K0, VP6, 8P5, V47, ZF9, ZP6, FS4, 7A2, 3G1, TG9, CB8, HR9, PY0, BW2, E2, 6W1, V3, V26, ZS6,
CD2, EF8, FY5, VP2, CS5, 5J5, TI7, JR6 & J69.

I often bitch about 0-Point QSOs.  The one thing they are GooD for is propagation determination.  While using the Stepp-IR purposely allows running BI-Directional, on 40-meters in the morning when the Shorty-40 is pointed to Asia, the 20-db F/B-ratio is hardly enough to much attenuate the Kw signal to the Southeast, all but encouraging 0-pointers interspersed with the 3-point Asian QSOs.

Typical for most operations from W7AYT, cobbling divergent technologies is what makes it all work.  For example, while I normally use the Electro Voice 664 microphone, the excellent frequency response while desirable for ragchewing is actually a detriment to contest work.  Instead, I used the 664 as a support stand for turning the Heil PRO-set into a contest mic, allowing me to wear wireless headphones for receiving.

Despite not making  many QSOs as WQ6X, at least there was an opportunity to create updated WQ6X contest .Wav files; many also usable for the upcoming Sweepstakes contest in November. 

Altho the user-level documentation for the RigExpert PLUS is seriously lacking, thru trial-and-error
it was discovered that the output audio control (in proper balance with the FT-1000mp's mic gain/compression settings) can produce distortion-free, yet "punchy" contest audio.

While this year's CQ W.W. Ssb contest was hardly a spectacular affair, it DiD provide a training ground for new operators, new equipment configurations and new operating techniques to be examined and explored.

What about YOU? 

Did YOU work the CQ Worldwide Dx contest?

Is NX6T or WQ6X in YOUR LoG?