WQ6X Wanders Thru ANother Weird Prefix Ssb Contest

While I enjoy all radiosport modes, World-wide Ssb GiGs are probably my least favorite, even though
I always make it work and learn new things in the process.  This year was essentially no different. 
We were originally slated to run from the ANZA super station and got preempted at the last minute
by NO6T deciding to run single-OP.  Axel (KI6RRN) has trained himself into super-OP status, so it's
a pleasure to yield the station over.  His STATs were impressive: 7th w.w., 6th N/A, 3rd USA & 1st for the entire left coast and Southwest; not to mention San Diego.

At the last minute, Phil (WM6Y) stepped up to organize a Multi-Single operation for NX6T on STN-2
in Fallbrook (with STN-1 configured as a backup).  This year, I don't believe any of the operators ever needed STN1, except to watch the progress of STN-2 on DXLOG (which was synchronized with STN-1).  For various reasons we were short operators, requiring some careful interlaced time planning.

My first shift began at 09:00z (2am).  By that time 655 QSOs had already made it into the log.  While there were some leftovers on 40 meters, it didn't take long to move down to 75-meters (3737.37) and run a frequency for 90 minutes.  A brief trip to 160 (1837.37) brought a whopping 5 QSOs to the log.  With an enormously high A-Index and an annoying K-index the noise levels on 80 & 160 were horrendous.

 By 11:00z it was back to 40-meters.

First stop was ~7.039 and the Russian military beacons.   While the "F" and "M" beacons were reasonably loud, the "K" beacon was again AWOL.  Altho the "K" beacon is useful, hearing the "F" & "M" beacons give us a more accurate look at deep-Asian propagation.

Despite the horrible propagation, signals from Asia were plentiful.  The big surprise was the number of Indonesian stations who flooded 40-meters.  In reading soapbox comments, it is clear that other stateside operators had the same experience.

At 11:44 NX6T took over 7139.39.  While the Shorty-40 was pointed at Asia, with a barely 20-db F/B-ratio stations from the Southeast also easily came through.  

 

Of course being 40-meters, there was the usual RTTY-QRM (that happens ONLY during Ssb contests), which culminated in a LOUD motor-boat sound.  Moving up 2kc got rid of it.  Then when
it found me, I moved back to 7139.39.  By the time my 4-hour shift was over we were just shy of 800 QSOs in the log.  Throughout the day, while I slept and worked with clients another 600+ QSOs made it to the log.  At 01:00 when I took over, 20-meters was still viable to both Asia and South America.  Rather than rotate the C-31 every two minutes I switched to the Stepp-IR and opened it up for BI-Directional running of both continents, with an occasional stray US/Canada station calling in.

By 02:49z it was time for 7235.35, until I got "squeezed down" to 7235.15 as the evening ragchewers moved in.  40 minutes later the QRM moved in from 7234 relegating a move back to 7235.35.  While this was a bit tricky, having access to Stereo-Ssb made things considerably more tolerable.  The biggest problem came from stations who don't know how to tune in Ssb signals and call WAY
off frequency.  Between the R-i-T control and QF-1A filters it was relatively easy to tune them in.  

With Stereo Ssb, properly tuned-in stations appear in the "center" of the listening experience. 
Low-pitched off-frequency stations appear to the left, while the high-pitched off-frequency stations appear to the right.  Correctly tuning a station-in simply requires it to be centered in the listening experience.  By the end of my shift we had 1575 QSOs in the log.

While I slept, WM6Y and N6ERD kept things alive.  Coming back at 09:00z we were just shy of 1700.  Finding an actual "hole" at 7173.73 I kept the frequency going for nearly 90-minutes despite the appearance of our friend the "underwater RTTY" QRM'er.  

At 10:45z I found another quiet frequency at 3737.37.  20 minutes
in, "Billy BoB and his brother Boris" decided that it was ok to move in on 3.737 for their daily morning ragchew.  

When I asked them to please move down I was told to go "F myself.  Boris said "you pesky contesters take up the entire band".  I reminded them that there is 400-kc of Ssb spectrum (most of it unused at that time of day), saying "do you REALLY have to ragchew EXACTLY on 3.737?  You have the rest of the phone band wide-open to you". 
After 10 minutes of grumbling Billy Bob and Boris moved on.

 

At 12:18z 75-meters had been worked out and nothing was happening on 160 so it was time for a return to 40-meters; this time 7141.41, where I was instantly met with RTTY QRM.  Why is it RTTY QRM in the 40-meter Ssb spectrum happens ONLY during radiosport contests?  At 12:46, a shift
was made to 7142.42 which lasted a whole 3 minutes before ragchewers moved in right above.  Miraculously 7141.41 opened up again.  By 13:00z I was wiped-out and N6ERD came in to
relieve me - thankfully.

Sunday of course slowed down considerably.  While propagation to Asia was decent, by that time most Asian operators are either working or commuting to work Monday morning.  Having no specific operator lined up for the afternoon, the last few hours were shared by several OPs while I was off doing other things.

When it was all over according to the 3830 scores website, NX6T took 23rd place overall, 3rd-place for USA and North America and 1st-place for W6, the left coast, Southwest and  of course San Diego; not bad for an ad-HOC motley bunch of sideband operators.

What about you?  DiD YOU work the 2021 Weird Prefix Contest?

Is NX6T in YOUR Log?

WQ6X Wangles another Weird Triple-contest Weekend

The Spring solstice weekend found me bouncing between the radiosport setup @W7AYT's QTH
in Concord and working with clients @ my office in Alameda.  Looking at the WA7BNM contest calendar found 3 events worthy of playing around in:

1. [X] - The BARTG HF RTTY Contest
2. [X] - The Russian DX Contest
3. [X] - The Virginia QSO Party - VQP

I like the BARTG GiG because it begins and ends at 02:00z (7pm Friday/Sunday evenings)
and runs a full 48 hours, offering 2 to 3 access periods for each frequency band.  On weekends
like this one (with its accompanying horrible Space-WX), having multiple opportunities on each
band can make up for lost propagation opportunities due to short-term jumps in the solar K-Index.

Aside from intermittent system maintenance, I pretty much had free-roaming access to both stations (STN-1 & STN-2) in Fallbrook.  This access would turnout to be crucial later on Saturday evening.

A "New" computer was destined for Station #2, however that would not happen until Saturday afternoon.  Unfortunately the rotor controls for both the C-31 & Shorty-40/Stepp-IR yagi's can
only be run from Station-2; I've had to accept their default position for over a week.  

With the Shorty-40 defaulted to 30-degrees, that fixed the Stepp-IR to 300/120 degrees
(BI-Directionally).  On Friday/Saturday the only thing missing was direct-access to Asia/South America on 40-meters, altho a handful of stations from those areas came thru anyway. 
Being a 48-hour contest, luckily there are multiple opportunities for each band (Space-WX
permitting of course).

Schedule-wise, while the Russian DX and VAQP events began @12:00z, my work schedule kept
me off the air until mid-Saturday afternoon.  Then, shortly after I got started, a number of things occurred during the contest weekend.:

• On Saturday afternoon, a LOUD AA9L was heard calling "CQ BARTG" on one of my favorite RTTY frequencies: 14108.08.  Calling him elicited no response, he kept calling
  in a loop and not hearing anyone.  I mentioned this on Facebook: "He's either lost his internet connection after using auto-repeat, or, he's passed out DRUNK on the keyboard..... OR..... He's DEAD! This is why I NEVER use auto repeat (Ctrl-R) when using the internet. If the connection dies, there is no way I can stop it. I sent him an e-mail asking about this".  His reply to me was that he started up the CQ call and got called away from the operator chair - "I'll never do THAT again" he replied back.  I just thot that he didn't like me - Heheheh.
  
   
• AT 07:38 while tuning the low-end of 40-CW looking for a RUN frequency to continue
  the Russian DX contest, with the Shorty-40 pointed to Asia, I came across the following reasonably strong CW call on 7007.2: ZM2VPR/Z JCG1800B/D.  This call would be repeated until a JA station called in and they exchanged some sort of numeric information.  For WQ6X, the 1st chosen Run Frequency was 7009.09; with the
  goal of being "2nd-in-line" for JA contacts.
  
  

By 11:30pm (06:30z) there were no new RTTY stations to work, making it time to switch to the Russian DX contest running CW.  Setting up a log in N1MM, left me with the discovery that the CW cabling mechanism had been accidentally kicked loose during the Station #2 upgrade.  No problem, I'll switch to Station-2 and run DXLOG; except being a new drive the COM port settings had not been installed.  A last minute call to KI6RRN brought in late-nite IT tech support.  The 1st CW QSO made it into the log @ 07:06z.  After some jerky S&P, for the next 4 hours I ran frequencies:

• 7009.09 - 07:46z - 10:12z
• 7007.07 - 10:15z - 10:37z
• 7006.06 - 10:39z - 11:45z
• 7007.07 - 11:49z - 12:00z
  

The frequency changes were to move away from illegal Indonesian Ssb activity that
kept encroaching on the run frequency (Ssb should be above 7.050, NoT below 7.025).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At 12:00z the Russian 128 QSO CW GiG was over and Part 2 of the VQP started up again. 
Unfortunately, the VQP in-state participation was so POOR, only one station could be heard
and worked.  We can't blame poor propagation - other east coast stations came thru "loud and clear".  My beef with most QSO parties is the lack of in-state participation.  They send us e-mails
to join them, and then, they don't participate.  HuH?

For the remainder of Sunday we were left with the remainder of the BARTG RTTY GiG.  At 16:15z I was back in run mode
on 20 meters.  

Moving to 14111.11 at 16:22z, I was
met by some IDIOT who chose to play BURSTS of RTTY on top of my CQ's.  

With some clever tuning and timing, QSOs continued to be made.  Instead of jamming ME, this station should have been making QSOs and winning 1st-place certificates
for his/her self.

Because WM6Y made it onsite to fix the Station-1 CW cable, I had to schedule
my afternoon OP-time accordingly.

 

By 02:00z, it was all over.  Just screwing around throughout the weekend, over 400 QSOs made it to the log, giving the antennas and the KPA-1500 amplifiers a good workout.  I was instructed to keep the amp temperature under 70-c degrees during the weekend.  A check with Elecraft informed us that thanks to the unique heatsink design, the KPA-1500 can run RTTY easily at 90-c, altho I will never [knowingly] take it that high.

As a side note, because working Asia was an important aspect of BOTH contests, an hourly check was made of the Russian military beacons on ~7.039.  While the "K" beacon has been active the last few weeks, it was again AWOL during this contest period.  I wonder what this is REALLY all about.

After submitting the logs and 3830 Scores, it would seem that:

•  In BARTG WQ6X took 18th place overall, 13th place for USA and 2nd place for the Left Coast.
• For the Russian DX CW contest SOSB-40 entry, WQ6X took 18th place overall and 1st place for USA - GO Figure.

Did YOU work the BARTG RTTY and Russian DX Contests?

Is WQ6X in YOUR Log?

 

How Stereo-Cw becomes Stereo-Ssb

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the last several years I have been experimenting with the concept known
as "Stereo Cw".  Several Blog entries have been written about this topic,
including:

• [X] - WQ6X Sound Processing: Stereo CW - it's EASIER than You Think
  
• [X] - Some Further Thoughts regarding Stereo Cw
  
• [X] - Leveraging the Art of Dual Receive - Another Look (with additional Blog links)
  

Instead of building the circuit from the original article, the fixed-filter circuits have been
replaced with a pair of classic Autek QF-1A analog filters purchased at approximately $35/ea. 
The QF-1A approach allows for a continuously variable stereo shift effect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After all these years, I'm still amazed by signals shifting from one ear to the other as a given signal
is tuned through.  Listening to the Russian military beacons on ~7.039, it is possible to hear the
3 beacons at "different locations" in the listening experience.

During a recent ARRL Dx Ssb contest, it occurred to me that a similar effect can be created for single sideband.  This was demonstrated from my Alameda remote operation QTH, which also sports a pair of QF-1A filters.  (As you might have guessed, I have high regard for these classic Autek filters.)

With the filter pair properly adjusted, a properly tuned-in signal appears in the "center" of the listening experience.  On LSB, signals slightly higher in frequency (low-pitched) appear on the left-side of the listening experience while stations slightly lower in frequency (higher in pitch) appear on the right-side.  The reverse is also true for USB; stations higher in frequency (lower in pitch) appear on the
left-side, while stations lower in frequency (higher in pitch) appear on the right-side.

Some operators have difficulty tuning in Ssb signals.  With the audio filters properly balanced,
it becomes easier - just tune the station until the voice sounds natural and appears in the "center"
of the listening experience.

During the ARRL Ssb Dx contest, Asian stations were notoriously off frequency.  Using the R-I-T control allowed me to tune those off frequency stations into the center of my listening experience allowing proper copy of their exchange.  Clearing the R-I-T quickly sets the receiver back to its
REAL center-point.

While I love the DSP circuits of today's radios, there is NO DSP that actually allows for stereo
audio filtering as described above.  Luckily, external filters are relatively inexpensive.  Currently
at the Concord location two different sets of filters are used: the MFJ-752 Signal Enhancer II and the Autek QF-1A.  The MFJ-784 and the JPS NIR-12 DSP units (also in the above picture) can probably also provide a stereo effect, altho because their major focus is Noise Reduction and Notch Filtering, adjusting for stereo is NoT so intuitive.

Stereo audio (whether for Cw or Ssb) provides another level of excitement to amateur radio operations; not JUST for radiosport contesting, but for simple ragchewing and shortwave listening.

Have YOU tried Stereo Audio yet? 

It's EASIER than you think.

WQ6X runs another ad-HOC 5 Contest Weekend

This being another "off" weekend radiosport-wise in Fallbrook, the decision was made to test-run
the ever-evolving setup @W7AYT.  Ironically, the external audio processing equipment currently
in use at the Concord location was being given it's Alpha-Test from the Alameda location during
this same 7-contest weekend in 2020. 
([CLICK HERE] to reminisce about that contest weekend and Alpha tests.) 
While the equipment setup was largely Alpha and not fully tested, virtually
the same events were run in 2020; with some of the same complaints as this year.

Two weekends back, the Alameda remote connection was given a thorough evaluation. 
This last weekend, the REAL challenge was the see-saw Space-WX storms, coming
and going throughout the weekend.

For this look-alike contest weekend, 7 contests were identified as  up for consideration,
which included:

• [X] - YB DX RTTY Contest
  
• [X] - Oklahoma QSO Party
  
• [X] - Stew Perry Top Band Challenge
  
• [X] - Tesla Memorial CW Contest
  
• [X] - Idaho QSO Party
  
• [X] - North American SPRINT RTTY
  
• [X] - Wisconsin QSO Party
  

You'll notice I lined out the the YB DX RTTY GiG.  As usual, looking for YB DX RTTY contest action yielded ZERO stations.  

Every year, I see the YB RTTY GiG listed
on the WA7BNM contest calendar; and,
every year, nothing is heard, despite
pointing the yagi's to approx. AZ: 265.  

The same thing usually happens with the
Tesla Memorial Contest, altho as you can see, I DiD find a 40-meter band opening in the 2020 Tesla GiG.  Unfortunately, the 2021 TMC GiG ended up being lined out, despite my dozens of CQ calls Saturday evening.

Earlier on Saturday, client commitments occupied the 10-meter viable portion of the
day, making it impossible to spend time with the SA-10 contest.  Then again, with the HORRIBLE Space-WX this weekend,
10-meters seemed to be dormant anyway;
for us Left-coasters, it was a failed hope.

Because the 24-hour Stew Perry GiG begins @15:00z, the first 160 meter opportunity on the West coast doesn't occur for another 10 hours.  I spent client-time in my Alameda office, not making it into the operating chair until nearly 23:00z.  It seemed that with 3 state QSO parties all in operation there would be dozens of stations to work.  Of course, the truth was nowhere near that.

You've heard my oft-repeated complaint about most state QSO parties (California excepted) that
there are never enough in-state participants in their own GiGs - Wassup with THAT?  All too often,
the calling stations outnumber the run stations by nearly 10:1.  Contrast that with the CQP weekend in October where Californians activate HUNDREDS of stations, with ALL counties represented at some point during the weekend.

During the ID/OK/WI QSO parties, a not-insignificant problem were the number of out-of-state stations (such as K5CM) who actually activated a county but sounded like they were "one of us".  Letting us know that you are actually an in-state station can double your QSO-rate.  It's actually easy to do. 
For example, if WQ6X is operating from ADA county in Idaho, a typical CQ call would sound something like: CQ IDQP WQ6X WQ6X/ADA.  This is SO obvious, that it is amazing how
many seasoned operators still don't DO this.

For the SP-160 contest, the decision was to run a Multi-Single operation with WM6Y starting and ending the contest and WQ6X filling in the middle.  Using the NX6T call gave us callsign recognition.  While I ran the Sprint RTTY contest and what was left of Saturday's QSO parties on STN-1, PJ (WM6Y) put 69 QSOs in the 160 log.  At 9:45pm (local time) I switched STN-1 over from N1MM
to running DXLOG for the 160 contest, adding yet another 69 QSOs to the log.  Starting @2am
(just in time for Daylight Savings), WM6Y added another 20 QSOs to the log before literally
running out of new stations to work.

While Space-WX condx. were HORRIBLE (A-Index = 24, K-Index = 4-5), running a frequency (1833.33), I was rewarded with calls from stations including: KH7X, NP2J. NP2X & KL7SB.  Then,
at 08:53z JA0MVW made it to the log, followed later by JA5DQH.  At 10:21z PJ added JA8ISU and later JH2FXK & JH2FXK.  The rest were all stateside and Canada.  While we hardly set any records, it certainly was a lesson in remote operating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instead of single-point contacts with multipliers, the SP-160 contest assigns point-values
for each contact depending upon the KM-distance between the 2 Grid-Squares. 

DiD YOU work the SP-160 or RTTY Sprint contests?

Is NX6T or WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

 

ADDENDUM:

 

 

 

 

According to the 3830 Scores Website,
NX6T took 2nd-place overall and 1st-place for the entire Left Coast.

WQ6X joins NX6T remotely for another ARRL Dx Ssb Contest

Only 2 weekends prior, we were running the the ARRL Dx Cw contest remotely, which I ran
from the Concord QTH.  For this event my remote operation was completely from Alameda. 
As my office hours increase, finding time for weekend radiosport events requires careful/clever
time-planning to make it all work.  "Luckily", running the 1am to 5am shifts makes daytime hours more client-compatible.

Running equipment tests in Alameda found everything to be in order, except I could find no P-T-T switch; a most important requirement when running an Ssb contest.  Rummaging through the junk cabinet, a never-used momentary contact switch was found.  Using a HoT soldering iron, a pair of holes was made into an almost-discarded vitamin bottle creating a grip device while an old chopped-off cable resulted in the manufacture of a plunger-style push-to-talk switch.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Radio amateurs are known for being ingenious. 
This is just another unique example of amateur ingenuity.

At the last minute we decided to run this GiG as a Multi-2 transmitter operation.
Each contest event has a unique set of hassles and problems.  For this event, while the equipment on the Alameda end of the connection was "flawless" it seemed like everything else was out of my reach.

Sideband Dx contests are my least favorite due to the "language barrier".  While use of English is the default, many Dx stations are [barely] fluent enough to [kinda-sorta] say their own callsign and "5-9" (FIVE NINE) "one Hundred - 1 Zero-Zero".  Communicating our state/province requires the careful use of phonetics (i.e. "Charlie Alpha", "November Yankee", etc.) or else they don't get it.

Compounding this problem are the LOUD callers who are notoriously off frequency (and can barely speak comprehendable English), who in the end turn out to be DUPS.  We have 3 problems here:

1. Stations off frequency (learn to tune in Ssb stations before a contest).
2. Callsigns uncomprehendable (practice saying your callsign FLUENTLY before the Contest)
3. Making DUP contacts (learn to use computer software or use DUP check sheets)

Next up we have "Billy-Bob" and his brother "Bobby-Bill" (from the Southeast) who wake up in the morning bored, don't bother to read the contest rules ("This is a contest?  REALLY?") and waste our time by calling in.  How can they NoT know this is a contest when they just replied to my "CQ DX Contest..." call?  Even though they are off the back of the 2-el Shorty-40 pointed to Asia, with their KW amplifiers they drown out the 5-watt Asian callers.

For both evenings on 40-meters, the usual intentional QRM was of course a MAJOR problem.  Everything from strange mic noises, the intermittent 2-minute long carriers (tune for 2 minutes,
take a 30-second break and then tune for another 2-minutes, ad-nauseum), LOUD CQ calls less
than a KC below the run frequency (no checking if the frequency is in use first), fast Cw streams followed by bursts of RTTY; and of course, your favorite and mine - the underwater data-cranker.

Next up are the east coast dingle-dorks, who waking up start a ragchew right on top of my run frequency ("we've been meeting here every day at this time for the last 10 years and you should already know that").  I totally detest the OPs who say I am on their "NET" frequency, altho no one can be heard.  I move up frequency and 5 minutes later, coming back STILL hear nobody, so I settle back in and continue running the frequency.

At EXACTLY 11:00z Saturday morning, the internet connection flaked and then quickly died.  Eventually the internet icon on the system tray failed to respond, requiring a reboot.  Coming
back up, Windoze Defender indicated that there was a "medium-threat virus attack", which it
then quickly eliminated.  A 2nd reboot found everything back in order; the net result being 40
minutes of wasted off-the-air time.

While most operations we run remotely for this contest, both afternoons found our youngest operator (W6CAS) giving us B-i-C (Butt-in-Chair) action.  Confident that the day shift is covered allows me to "catch up" on my sleep.

Altho we win no significant awards from an operation like this, these events DO make great training exercises.  Newer operators learn contest running, while we veterans find new ways for taking our skills to the next level.

DiD YOU participate in the ARRL DX Ssb contest?

Is NX6T in YOUR LoG?

P.S.: Contest results were published in the September issue of QST magazine.
For the newly added Multi-2 (Multi-OP 2-Transmitter), it would seem that NX6T
took 7th place for USA and Canada; not bad when you consider what we had
to work with.

WQ6X survives a massive Turkey Shoot-Out during a Triple-Contest Weekend

The weekend wrapping up the month of February is always a mixed-affair.  Putting out a call to the NX6T operators, determined that officially NX6T would be "dark" that weekend.  Looking at the WA7BNM Contest Calendar, 4 operating events seemed viable to run remotely from Fallbrook. 
These included:

1. [X] - The CQ Worldwide 160 Meter Contest
2. [X] - The South Carolina QSO Party (SCQP)
   
3. [X] - The NAQP RTTY Contest GiG
   
4. [X] - The North Carolina QSO Party (NCQP)

Luckily these event overlapped to such a degree that they could be arranged into a more-or-less
40-hour operating schedule. Station #1 was commandeered for the weekend giving me the option
to run with an amplifer all weekend; which, as it turned out, turned into a NAQP RTTY OooPs!

In order to run a 160-Ssb contest, I needed to come up with a proper microphone to do the proper job; however I was not interested in wearing a wired-headset in order to get Heil HC-4 quality audio. 
While I love the classic Electro Voice 664, it is primarily a ragchew microphone.  Instead, as has done many times in recent months, the 664 becomes a microphone stand for the Heil headset,
held in place by a mini bungee cord.  Radio Amateurs are often known for their resourcefulness.

Running High Power in Fallbrook, requires that the shack A/C system be turned on to keep the AMPs cool.  The problem is that our APC switch web APP no longer indicates whether or not the A/C unit is drawing current.  To resolve this problem, N6KI put colored tape (ORANGE & YELLOW) tape on the A/C unit's louver's.  LooKing thru the WYZE security camera, if the colors can be seen, the A/C is off; if the slats are black, the A/C is on.  Ingenious!

When it came time to submit my NAQP RTTY Log, just then I remembered that NAQP is purposely a low power contest - High Power and Assisted operations result in the entry being classified as a CHECKLOG.  Oh well, at least I was able to hand out 302 QSOs to nearly 200 unique stations. 
I enjoyed doing it and that is all that matters.

The 1350 watts (average power) was fed into a Double-Bazooka Inverted Vee about 13mh; not
that high, but reasonably sensitive.  The problem for the 160 weekend was the S-9 noise level.  Fiddling with the various NR & XFIL options in the Elecraft was what kept the noise-level to S-9
(it was previously +20db).  On the remote end, running the K3/0 audio through the compliment of
audio filters on the Concord end helped "take the tops off" of the noise, making it more tolerable.

For the 160 contest most of the contacts (a ToTaL of 98) were made during the main operating
period (02:34z - 06:35z).  After 4 hours sleep another look around the band yielded 5 more QSOs - wOw!  Because the NAQP RTTY required most of Saturday's evening hours, after a couple hours sleep, one more look around 160 was made at 08:35z.  When nearly an hour of op-time resulted in only 3 more unique QSOs (the rest of the stations heard were DUPs), it was time to say BYE-BYE
to the CQ-160 contest.

After the monthly meeting of the Amateur Radio Club of Alameda (ARCA), transitioning to the
NAQP RTTY contest continued the fun.  The ARCA meeting presentation was on the subject of
[man-made] noise and what to do about it.  Running remote from Fallbrook freed me from the noise problems I normally encounter at the W7AYT QTH in Concord.  Internet dropouts are the noise replacement.  Luckily, this weekend, the internet was rather cooperative.

The secret to a successful RTTY contest is maximizing the SIGNAL-to-JUNK ratio, allowing the MMTY decoder to present the best copy possible.  When the decoder screen is "jumping around",
it's neigh impossible to mouse-click entries into the log, so I resort to the tried-and-true method of actually typing in the data on the keyboard.

QSO Party-wise, while I listened around the Cw band segments throughout Saturday, no South Carolina (SC) Stations were ever heard.  Propagation was CLEARLY open to the east coast during the day on 20, 15 and later 40 meters.  Unfortunately not a single SC station was to be found. 
A quick skim of the Ssb band areas also yielded ZILCH.  This of course is my major complaint
with most state QSO parties - except CQP - not enough stations participate in their own events.

On Sunday, the 4th contest opportunity opportunity came in the form of the North Carolina QSO
Party - the NCQP.  While there was a smattering of activity, only SIX 20-meter QSOs made it into the NCQP Log, followed by ONE more on 40.  To resolve this I elected to call CQ on 14041.41 as follows:
            CQ NC de WQ6X/6 WQ6X/CA
This brought callers from virtually every area of the country EXCEPT NC. 
You may remember a 2020 Blog I wrote about this problem. 
Based on that Blog, I ask you the following:

• Do you know what NCQP means?
  Then unless you are in NC, you should not call me.
  If not, then you should not call me.
• Do you know what /6 and /CA means?
  If so, then you know I am in CA and not NC, so you should not call me.
  If NoT, then you should not call me.
• When I ask you CTY? , do you know what that means?
  If NoT, then you should NoT have called me.

When one particular non-NC station called.  I sent him the CA exchange and then asked "CTY?";
to which he replied"OOPS".

Bottom-line: READ the RULES BE-4 EVERY CONTEST EVENT.  If you don't really know why you are calling me, then you probably should NoT be calling.  On the air, EVERY transmission you make should have a specific purpose.  If you don't know why you are transmitting then you probably should NoT.

Over the more-or-less 40 hours of available OP time, less than 20 hours were actually run (08:38 for CQ-160, 08:37 for NAQP RTTY and 1:20 for the QSO parties).  Overall, the weekend was a LoT of fun and presented some unique operating challenges to overcome.

DiD You participate in the CQ-160 and/or NAQP RTTY contests?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

P.S.  BTW, you are probably wondering why i used a picture of a bunch of  turkeys to open this Blog.  Monday morning when I wandered into the kitchen @ W7AYT to refresh my coffee, looking out to the back yard, I counted 13 wild turkeys who stopped over from their flight through Contra Costa county, looking for something to eat, to enjoy some warm sunlight, and to give the male turkeys an early attempt at wooing the lady-turkeys for the upcoming mating season.  Then again, those turkeys
were representative of some of the IDIOTs I encountered over the contest events during the weekend.