WQ6X Dual-OPs ARRL 2020 RTTY RU Contest

LooKing back to 2019, the 109 radiosport events ending the decade are now safely in the LoG BooKs.  If you are a RTTY enthusiast like I am, the contest season for each new year begins with
the ARRL RTTY RU contest.  I recently wrote a "Blast from the Past" BLOG about previous RTTY
RU GiGs I have been a part of ([CLICK HERE] to read that.)

For this year's RTTY RU, I began things @18:00z running NX6T remotely.  Due to heat considerations, until we had actual B-i-C operation, I kept the power dialed back to around 775
watts.  When the B-i-C crew arrived and opened the windows the power was upped to over 1200 watts.

On the intentional QRM front, for this contest there was NO intentional 40 meter QRM - Hurray!  Unfortunately, this years intentional QRM came in the form of a VE6 on 20-meters while I ran a frequency - after a 1/2 hour it became clear that this was not accidental.  I wrote him an e-mail
about it and received an apology as the QRM was evidently inadvertent altho to me it certainly sounded intentional.

Shortly after 00:00z Rick (N6CY) achieved B-i-C, followed later by N6ERD.  I'm used to running the evening "dinner shift".  Thanks to B-I-C operators I was freed up to run WQ6X on 80 & 40 meters. 
I guess different operators have a different experience of Fallbrook WX conditions - N6CY was all bundled up while N6ERD was wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

The evening crew put in an outstanding run session for over 6 hours before shutting it down for the obligatory 6 hour off period after 1am.  By 7am NX6T was back to B-IC action until around 10:30 when I put a couple of hours in the remote chair before turning it over for daytime R-i-C (Remote
in Chair) operations allowing me to get back to running WQ6X from EB section.

The Saturday night shift crew became the Sunday shift crew with me filling in remotely after N6ERD left at 10:30am and N6CY took over remotely, allowing me to run the final 2 hours of RTTY RU as WQ6X, surpassing my goal of 100+ QSOs.

After the contest I filed the required 3830 Score reports for WQ6X & NX6T and submitted the logs.  It's a relief to get
the after-contest admin out of the way as soon as possible.

Rick (N6CY) and Dan (N6ERD) are outstanding operators.  When running as WQ6X, seeing spots for NX6T, listening
to them run a frequency brought me a smile, so I gave them plenty of room to continue their RU contest barrage.

As you can see, while we worked all 48 states somehow we missed North Dakota (for RTTY RU, AK & HI are considered DX countries not states).

The BiG disappointment was the lack of Canadian stations; especially the more arcane Canadian provinces.  I guess it was too cold for the Canadians.  One of the reasons to run
a large tube amplifier for high power operations is the HEAT produced, which can somewhat warm the shack.


With the Solar Flux "struggling" to remain above 70 throughout the weekend, we were fortunate to have virtually no atmospheric noise, in Fallbrook as well as the East Bay.  If we could've scored a
10 meter opening or encountered better 15 meter conditions breaking the 1,000 QSO mark could've been a real possibility; maybe 2021 will allow us to make that happen.

In retrospect, it would seem that WQ6X took a 1st place for EB section (SOULP) and NX6T took a

1st for SDG section.  While I didn't stand a chance to win for PAC, NX6T was trounced by the Arizona Outlaws for Southwest Division honors.  Nevertheless, both stations made an incredible showing to start off the new year.

Did YOU work the 2020 RTTY RU Contest?

Is NX6T or WQ6X in YOUR LoG?