WQ6X Works a Weirdly Wiley Weird Prefix (RTTY) Contest

All three WPX contests (RTTY, Ssb & Cw) have in common various flavors of weirdness; hence the "Weird Prefix" moniker.  For 2022, the RTTY GiG exemplifies what we can likely expect to occur in
the March (Ssb) and May (Cw) variants of the WPX concept, considering the considerable increase
in Solar Flux index (SFI) numbers between this time in 2021 (72?) and this last week (~114).

An increase in SFI numbers brings with it more frequent/reliable band openings on 10 & 15 meters.  With more bands open, opportunities to work some stations multiple times (across multiple bands) increases exponentially.  If you look at past WPX scores during the last two solar cycles, you will notice an increase in point scores, commensurate with where we were in the sunspot cycle at that time.  Unfortunately, an increase in SFI also means an increase in the frequency of solar storms. 
Although the frequency and severity of storms increase during an uptick of the SFI, the storms
seem to NoT last as long.

While I am BORED with including "5NN/599" as part of a contest exchange, I DO like the challenge
of accurately sending/receiving Serial #'s, finding it an interesting challenge to get it right every time.  There is of course operator controversy as to whether we should send "599" or "5NN" largely based historically on the 60+ yr. old fact that sending "599" with mechanical teletypes rather than sending "5NN" (requiring a shift-key sequence in the middle) is more efficient.  However, with today's digitally produced RTTY, the argument is superfluous.

• When you receive an exchange like "599 599 599" or "599 599", is this all a signal report,
  or is there a serial number in there somewhere.
• However, when I send "5NN 599 599" or "5NN 599", we can determine, with just a glance,
  what sets the [alleged] signal report apart from the Serial # to me, sending an extra byte or two of data is NBD (No BiG Deal) thanks to our 2-Ghz+ computers processing the RTTY data.

Instant visual readability is what is important.  Noise and fading can often obliterate a
shift-character (byte), making a group of characters look like numbers.  Example: "216X"
for "WQ6X".  Sending "5NN" (instead of "599") allows it to stand out as such (and therefore
be IGNORED).  I even wrote an entire Blog about this.  [CLICK HERE] to read it.

An advantage of RTTY over Cw is that I don't have to think in order to make sense out of what is
being sent.  Even if I "Zone out" for a few seconds, the data is still lingering in the RTTY decoder
RX-text window.  With Cw, if I miss it, I need to ask for a (time-consuming) repeat.  A downside
to RTTY is that during signal-fading (lacking an adequate S/N ratio) most decoders are unable
to translate the barely readable signals into anything but "garbage"; whereas, with Cw, my ears
can often eek out enough intelligence that my brain can deduce the rest.

In an attempt to solve the "RTTY fading problem", the antenna cabling was re-routed,
allowing a quick switch between the 8JK Cobra array and what I call a Cobra "Trapezoid".   
The 8JK array being a tuned-feeder system is routed through the MFJ-949E tuner, while the Cobra Trapezoid being coax fed, runs directly to the ANT-2 socket on the back of the FT-2000 transceiver. 
The antenna tuning unit of the radio "remembers" which antenna was selected on which band, alleviating my need to remember to switch to the proper antenna; an insignificant (yet crucially important) operator action.

Both evenings, after 07:00z was quite a disappointment; 20-m was NoT open on the Waste Coast, 40-meters was open to JA (altho there were only a handful of active stations), and 80-meters was technically wide-open but no one playing there except for a handful of already-worked W6/W7 stations with an occasional W8 or K3 popping thru, nearly S-9.  Having the weekend littered with solar storms was probably the contributing factor to poor nighttime propagation.

While the array of audio filters and DSP units at the station work extremely well for Stereo-Cw/Ssb, until I figure a way to intercept the RX-audio line to/from the RigExpert decoder unit, the external filters simply make things SOUND more appealing (psychologically) in the wireless headset, currently they do nothing to improve actual signal decoding.

However, with the FT-2000, most of the DSP filter action occurs in the I-F sections of the transceiver, rather than in the AF stages (as implemented in the older FT-1000mp).  The FT-2000 includes a variable Contour control (the MP offered only 4 switch-selected settings), along with an incredibly deep-notched Manual Notch Filter (MNF).  The Shift/Width controls on the 2000 are far more intuitive than the previous radios, providing a graphical representation of "where" both knobs are set to.

Also unique to the FT-2000 is the front-end VRF filter (essentially a pre-selector) allowing signal peaking or de-emphasizing at the RX front-end, allowing for a significant improvement of the transceiver's dynamic-range.  Then again, turning on the IPO (which turns OFF the internal
front-end pre-amps) or adding 6/12/18 dB of front-end attenuation can resolve many front-end overload situations.

All of these features transform the FT-2000 transceiver into an obviously improved candidate for exemplar RTTY operation, beyond all the FT-1000mp provided WQ6X operations from 6+ years.  Both radios run full-duty RTTY @100-watts, showing only a (nearly unnoticeable) increase in chassis heat - both radios built the chassis around a heatsink.  In contrast, the ICOM-7000 (a backup radio used mainly for SWL'ing) can only run RTTY at 50-watts max. w/o overheating.

In numerous contest write-ups over the years, I've described various forms of intentional QRM encountered; especially on 40-meters, after 07:00z.  In this year's WPX RTTY contest the QRM
came mainly from stations who specifically invade the run frequency and [blindly] start calling CQ. 
I purposely choose "oddball" frequencies, so when a station zero-beats me (exactly down to the last-Hz), I KNOW it was intentional, not accidental.  If the CQ'er were off by (let's say) 50-200hz, it could be seen as "coincidentally accidental".  Otherwise (and more likely), intentionally chosen.  I have a special RTTY decoder Button [QRL] that sends "QRL / PSE QSY".  After sending that 3-times, if the IDIOT persists, I have another decoder Button [LID] that sends "QRL / QSY - LiD".   That usually results in a clear calling frequency.

On the flip side, I encountered stations with S-9 signals busily work other stations.  As soon as
I call-in they stop transmitting, ignoring me and any other callers on the frequency.  After making 5 calls, if there is no response, I press the [QRL?] decoder Button "QRL? QRL? QRL?" 3-times.  If still no response, I consider the frequency open and call CQ; often to have the station return and send ME "QRL/QSY".  HuH?  The TRUTH is the station was busy doing other things (possibly SO2R) and lost the frequency.

When it was all over, I DiD what I always do after EVERY radiosport contest:

• Snapshot Screen stats for the WQ6X Contest Blog
• Create a CABRILLO .Log file.
• Post a score write-up on the 3830Scores Website.
• Submit the Cabrillo file to the contest host.
• Write-up the nuances of what happened for WQ6X.Blogspot.com

With the WPX GiG over a week behind us, it is safe to assume that all relevant LoGs have been submitted and their scores posted to the 3830Scores.com, the posted results would seem to indicate:

- 35th place Overall

- 27th place for North America

- 23rd place for USA

-  2nd place for the Left Coast (W6 / CA)

NoT BaD for just screwing around.

DiD YOU work the WPX (Weird Prefix) Contest?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

WQ6X Works a Wily 4-Contest Weekend

Technically, this was the first real multi-contest weekend for 2022.  And technically, it should have been a 5 contest weekend 'cept Vermont could not be heard in the SF East Bay during the 48 hours of their QSO Party.  What good is having a QSO party that is a wonderfully 48-hours long, when no one in your state is playing on the radio - the mind boggles.  The other GiGs showed some activity,
to some extent:

• [X] - The Vermont QSO Party
  
• [X] - The XE RTTY Contest
  
• [X] - The Minnesota QSO Party (MNQP)
  
• [X] - The British Columbia QSO Party (BCQP)
  
• [X] - The North American SPRINT

 

All the above bitching aside, a major goal for radiosport activity in 2022 is to re-Learn the Art
of contest operating by way of a recently acquired Yaesu FT-2000 transceiver (a 2009 model). 
With the FT-2000, much of the IF filtering and contouring is done by way of a built-in DSP facility. 
This brings more operator options for QRM control, and, increases slightly the operating complexity,
being used in conjunction w/all of the external audio filters and DSP units.

By the end of 2022, having run 70 - 100+ contests, I will have all the interaction-nuances figured out; along with a functionally complete switching system supporting externally-processed dual-RX audio.  While a bit cumbersome, the WQ6X approach to audio is a knob-twiddlers paradise.

Technically, for this weekend, the myriad of filters was a bit under-utilized being that the major focus throughout the weekend was the XE RTTY contest; altho oddly enuf their website homepage does NoT reflect the 2022 change from 24 to 36 hours.  Because the RigExpert Plus receives received audio before all the external audio filters, no WQ6X audio processing on these signals is actually possible - Bummer Dewd.

A side-project for this year is to discover a way to intercept the RigExpert RX-audio path. 
RTTY demodulation accomplished using software algorithms is NoT all that different from running
the built-in DSP chips found in today's mid-tier (and above) transceivers; the main difference being
code execution speed.  With an additional 12 hours to play RTTY, I took the opportunity to explore
yet another variation of the world of Stereo-audio: namely Stereo-RTTY, which will be written up later.

The XE RTTY contest GiG begins at 12:00z, which is 4am Pacific time.  Approximately 2 hours spent S&P'ing and calling "CQ XE Test" on 40 & 80 meters.  At 14:00, I enjoyed the luxury of 2 more hours sleep.

While it is true that band condx. were far from optimal, I was expecting a far better turnout for the BCQP and the MNQP; especially considering that Vermont (VT) was an absolute no-show in the
SF East Bay (EB) area.  After posting my 3830 Scores last night, this afternoon I received a reply from contest coordinator Rebecca VA7BEC:

Your log has been received. I have you in the single-op low-power CW category.

Perhaps the reason you didn’t find any stations on 15 or 20 meters was because 
you weren’t listening. There were lots of VE7/VA7s on the air, particularly CW operators, and they had steady pileups on 10, 15 and 20 and later in the day 40 and 80. And from CA, you should have been able to hear the many operators on Vancouver Island calling CQ. But then, if you were playing in the other parties and XE RTTY, maybe you just had bad timing. 

What a shame. There were so many stations and so many wonderful 
multipliers waiting for you. 

73
Rebecca VA7BEC
BCQP Contest Coordinator

I really appreciate Rebecca contacting me directly and setting me straight on what I missed out
on from British Columbia. It's important to remember that this QTH is largely a receive signal vortex. Quite possibly, the REAL answer woulda been to Call "CQ BC de WQ6X/6 WQ6X/CA" attracting the S&P OP's in British Columbia. As I often say: "Maybe Next Year!".

Now the BiG question is what wassup with the MNQP and VTQP.  Looking up the 3830 score submissions, it would seem that there was SOME activity in Vermont, altho there were 10x the number of outside of Vermont callers for each VT station on the air.

For me, the MNQP was a 4-QSO disappointment.  Then again, with only 14 hours of actual OP-time allotted for the entire event, stations on the "Left" Coast (as well as Hawaii) have very little access to MINN on the low[er] bands (160 & 80 meters).  At least the BCQP gives us a 2nd-chance to work them on Sunday.

The NA Sprint contest being a 4-hour "Quickie" comes with unique challenges in that
no operator is allowed to dominate a frequency, making it their exclusive RUN frequency. 
In the Sprint there are NO run frequencies, we simply engage in a unique form of Searching
and Pouncing (S&P'ing).

The best way to explain how last weekend's SPRINT went overall is to include here a copy
of the comments I posted when submitting WQ6X's 3830 Scores entry for NA SPRINT.

While this was NoT my 1st-ever Sprint, it WAS the 1st-time I ran the Sprint using a newly acquired Yaesu FT-2000 transceiver. While I had a lot of fun, I was frustrated by the stations who need to STFD (Slow Down - QRS) and the OPs who would start sending their exchange BEFORE I was done transmitting. By the time I am finished transmitting they have already sent the number, which now requires a REPEAT. The WASTED ~6 seconds would have been UNNECESSARY if they had waited 1.2 seconds for me to finish. WAKE UP People.
I KNOW it's a SPRINT, but when you send too fast I have to ask for a repeat, slowing us ALL down.

As for the XE RTTY contest, while I would've liked to hear more stations here in the East Bay,
there were many OPs who managed to log over 1,000 contacts during the 36 hours of this contest.  While the "5NN" needs to be exorcised from the exchange and replaced with something else (like the operator's name), overall this RTTY is a lot of fun (as RTTY GiGs go), making me wish they would run it twice a year, like the NAQP RTTY events are done.

Despite all of my bitching about operator turnout, this last contest weekend added 4 contests to the
WQ6X 2022 radiosport database and gave the FT-2000 transceiver a good workout.  Like the older FT-1000mp, the FT-2000 runs 100-watt full-duty RTTY w/o generating any unnecessary heat from
the PA amplifier area of the radio.

DiD YOU participate in any of the above contests?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

WQ6X Wanders Wonderingly thru the CQ-160 Cw contest

The last weekend in January brings us the CQ 160-meter Cw contest.  As I have been doing for some time now, this weekend was another Dual-OP operation.   My weekend goal was to put in OP-time on a couple of 11:30 - 4am shifts with NX6T remotely to our setup @WA6TQT's QTH in Anza, while testing a 20-watt/ch amplifier in the audio line, in addition to eeking what few contacts I could using the tuned 8JK Cobra dipole array.

I am often amazed that the Cobra array works on 80-meters; on 160, working any stations outside
the SF East Bay area seems like a miracle.  Amazingly, calling "CQ Test" yielded callers, altho overall, band condx. SUCKED, confirmed by comments from other operators East of Colorado.  While the Solar Flux (SFI) was UP, this weekend's CQ-160 Cw contest benefited very little from that fact; probably because of the attendant solar storms (K-Index = 4) along with factors that are beyond
my figuring when it comes to 160 meters.

Because this was a Cw contest, the Stereo-Cw concept was given a significant performance evaluation w/the recently acquired Yaesu FT-2000 transceiver.  While quite similar to the earlier
FT-1000mp, with most of the DSP circuits now moved "forward" to the IF stages, the external audio circuits become even more effective.

2022 brings a considerably increasing Solar Flux Index (SFI).  It has been hovering in the 120's all week.  Unfortunately, as the SFI increases, so does the propensity for sharp (but short) solar storms.  The upside to the downside is that as long as the K-Index is < 5, 160 (and sometimes 80) meters are immune from the effects of geo-magnetic storms.

A problem with single-band contests (like those for 160 or 10 meters) is BOREDOM.  When you have worked everybody (or at least everybody you can hear) there is no other band(s) to switch to; maybe the answer is to invest in some extra sleep instead,

When it was all over, the 3830 stats make it clear that DX stations (mostly EU) had a considerable advantage over the rest.  NX6T took 18th-place for North America, 16th-place for USA 2nd-place for CA (W6) and 1st-place for the Southwest USA.  When you consider we were working with a 2-legged 3-Square vertical, it's amazing we did as well as we did.

 

 

DiD YOU work the CQ 160-meter Cw contest?

Is NX6T or WQ6X in YOUR LoG?