WQ6X Wangles a Weirdly Different ARRL DX Cw ConTesT

 

For numerous reasons (too complicated to elaborate on at this time), instead of running QRP
remote from Southern California, the decision was made to run low power (LP) assisted using
the Yaesu FT-2000 that has been languishing @W7AYT's QTH in the East Bay (EB) ARRL section.
Having recently revamped the audio lines for this setup, it made sense revamp the computer/antenna
cabling inside the shack.

The weekend operation was plagued by two issues. unfortunately, not actually resolved
until Sunday evening (after the contest was long over).

• RFI in the shacking BOMBing the USB cable to the RigExpert CAT interface unit
  (solved by shifting the USB cable to a port several feet away from the MFJ-993b IntelliTuner).
• HORRIBLE internet "jitters" (Solved by a thorough / lengthy modem/router restart.)

Of course, the advantage of running locally is no need for internet access to run the radio.
Then again, there are no RFI issues at the KN6NBT and WA6TQT remote installations.

As mentioned earlier, RFI was a HUGE problem on 80, 40 and 20 meters when using the "infamous" WQ6X 8JK Cobra wire array.  Dialing back the power from 90watts often down to 30-watts in some cases seemed to resolve the overloading somewhat.

For the high bands (20-15-10), a 10-meter Long John yagi worked superbly on 10-meters
and performed remarkedly well when tuned as a rotary dipole on 20 and 15 meters.  Compared
to the 8JK array, the yagi on receive resulted in relatively noise free reception, altho the 8JK array probably produced a stronger signal on transmit.

Similar to recent radiosport weekends, the ARRL DX contest was plagued by numerous
geomagnetic storms throughout the weekend.  Reading numerous soapbox comments,
there seems to be a general consensus that Friday evening and most of Saturday, propagation conditions were quite good, especially when you take into account the [relatively] low SFI (111)
and K-Index floating between 3 and 4 much of the time.

Sunday morning the high bands were so quiet (dead?) there was a concern that either the radio equipment (and/or the antenna system) had failed.  Around 20:00z conditions dramatically improved (relatively speak), altho there seemed to be a dearth of "NEW" stations for the log.  It was at this time
I switched to wireless operating the radio while laying out on a comfortable bed.

With all the different effects induced by the drastically changing Space-WX, using the Stereo-CW method made signals more readable, reducing the number of "repeats" necessary to complete a CW communication.  Making the decision to run SO2-V for this contest, Stereo-CW became an absolute
MUST, to keep the signals properly "sorted out" in each ear.  When running pile-ups, there is no need for SO2-V.  Then again, on days like Sunday in this contest, at the very least, SO2-V helps alleviate the boredumb in between QSOs and RUNs.

When it was all over, WQ6X was largely at the bottom of the heap, except for California (CA), 
East Bay (EB) Section and Pacific (PAC) Division.

DiD YOU work the ARRL DX ConTesT?

How many Countries or States/Provinces DiD YOU Get?

Is WQ6X in YOUR Log?

Some CooL ThoTs on HoW NoT to RuN a Frequency

During any given radiosport contest, we spend an inordinate amount of time look for stations
(hopefully multipliers) running a frequency.  The idea is to "brave the pileup", slip the callsign
in once and receive a contest exchange immediately in return.  Would that it be that easy.  

All too often we end up chasing run stations that simply do NoT HAVE a CLUE how to actually
run a frequency with any kind of efficiency.  After thinking it through a list emerged on HoW NoT
to run a frequency.  Here are some examples:

• Wait only 1-Second between CQ calls
  It takes me at least 1.5-seconds to press the F4 key to send you my callsign.
  
  
  
  
• Make 10+ QSOs without sending us your callsign.
  Many contests require sending your callsign for every QSO
  or every 3-QSOS.
  
  
  
  
  
• Call for "WQ6?" and end up working KB4LID instead.
  
  
  
  
• Working too close to the band edge (Ex: 7.299) - to work you, we risk
  an O-O transmitting out-of-band violation.
  
  
  
  
  
• Signing a callsign not indicating the ACTUAL area you are from: (Ex: a KH7 in AZ)
  Some RTTY contests REQUIRE signing the call area you are actually in. 
  Ex: KH7XX/W7 if you are operating from Arizona.
  
  
  
  
  
• When you have a pile-up of stations, someone asks you to work them on another band or mode and you leave us STRANDED to satisfy his request.  Should we STAY or should we GO?
  
  
  
  
  
• Calling CQ when you already have 7+ callers frantically calling in.
  
  
  
  
  
• Running 35-WPM Cw and wondering why nobody is coming back to your
  CQ S55SS call.  When you QRS to 28-WPM, suddenly you are flooded with
  calling stations - GO Figure.
  
  
  
  
  
• NoT pronouncing your callsign slowly and succinctly.
  Bottom line - if we can't understand you, we either cannot work you or we put
  the wrong callsign in the log and we both get dinged with a NIL (NoT-in-Log)
  mistake and lose QSO credit.
  
  
  
  
• When running RTTY, always prefix the QSO exchange with the caller's callsign,
  lest some other station (with perfectly decoded copy) thinks you are working them.
  
  
  
  
• NoT understanding or using R-I-T to tune off-frequency calling stations to work
  them and then be done with them.  Using the {ClearRit} macro (N1MM+) when
  sending TU QRZ? resets the RX-VFO for the remaining callers who ARE on frequency.
  Using the Stereo-RTTY method makes it more aurally easier to tune in stations.
  
  
  
  

The above points are simply the most OBVIOUS ways NoT to Run a Frequency.
As more ideas are encountered a "Part-2" will be created along this topic line.

What are YOUR thoughts regarding running frequencies?

SoMe MoRe ThoTs on SteReo RTTY

While Stereo-RTTY (a late descendant of Stereo-CW) is hardly a new idea, recent months have
found me experimenting with different ways to actually achieve the most effective results using this method.  In summary, the "Stereo" audio approach involves using a pair of audio filters (I prefer Autek QF-1A's) to create a near 180-degree wide listening experience.  Overall, this audio effect in essence creates/generates a "bandpass filter" within which to "play around" inside.

Before writing this Blog, a SEARCH was done regarding Stereo RTTY posts in this Blogspot:

• [X] - (2o22): Stereo-RTTY: Is It Possible? (What can We Do with it?)
• [X] - (2o22): Stereo-RTTY: How can We Leverage It?
• [X] - (2o24): Stereo-RTTY Revisited (Yet Again)
• [X] - (2o20): BLAST from the Past: External Audio Filters I have Known
• [X] - (2o24): Demonstrating the Stereo-Radio concept - for YOUR Satisfaction
• [X] - (2o24): Using Stereo Ssb in Worldwide DX Contests
• [X] - (2o24):  BLASTS from the PAST: Stereo CW and it's many Variants.

With RTTY, because we use 2 (170-hz separated) tones, we can adjust the individual filters to "peak" those tones in each ear.  Stations who call in off-frequency will be attenuated to the degree that they are off frequency.  The selectivity control on most filters enables us to control the breadth and depth
of that attenuation.

Using the R-I-T control, off-frequency stations can be "centered" by peaking both tones in both ears. 
You should notice a noticeable improvement in the RTTY decoding as the tones are peaked in each ear.  Because RTTY tones are ALWAYS 170-hz apart, the external audio filters can be set to enhance the audio frequency pair of your choosing.

Experimenting with different decoders can also enhance the quality of the decoding process.
Some operators keep 2 or even 3 different decoders running (often on separate screens) with the
hope that at any given moment, one of the decoders will make sense out of seeming-gibberish to the other programs.

Like ANY of the "Stereo" methods I make use of in Radiosport, to get the most out of these methods, spending LoTs of listening time to learn the proper filter adjustments will find you more than ready when the next RTTY contest comes up.

Do YOU run RTTY?

If you're not using Stereo-RTTY, then you are missing out on leveraging 20th-century analog
technology in today's 21st-century radiosport world.  GO ahead - Give it a try.

WQ6X WanGLes YeT AnoTher QRP WPX (Weird Prefix) ConTesT

Of the three WPX (Weird Prefix) contests, the RTTY GiG in February is how it all begins each year.  While the only multipliers are the callsign prefixes, due to the unique point system, ending scores can be in the millions:

One of the CooL things about ALL CQ contests is their 48-hour duration; not
that you have to operate all 48 hours.  

Having 3 opportunities to find openings on 20-15-10 can compensate for solar storm "pollution" and disruptions that often invade
a radiosport contest weekend, as happened during this year's WPX RTTY contest.

The decision was made to run the event from STN-1 @WA6TQT ("Radio Ranch") in Anza, Southern California offering access to the amazing antenna farm loaded w/stacked yagis and a 4-Square 80-meter vertical array.  Rather than switch operations between Alameda and Concord, the 1st 6-hours
of the event were forgone to run the event entirely from Concord.  (An advantage to this QTH is that Cw/RTTY contests can be run from this location wearing wireless headphones, while languishing on the bed, by way of a Logitech wireless keyboard and trackball - altho admittedly at one point I fell asleep causing STN-1's timeout facility to put the station in STBY mode.

In this contest, individual DX countries mean nothing (except 1, 2 or 3 points), while unique callsign prefixes mean everything.  Because WQ6 is unique/desirable WPX prefix, altho running QRP, there were often lines of stations looking for WQ6X's run frequency.  

 Thanks to the Concord location sporting 2 separate WiFi router speeds, I ran the K3/0-Mini on the
5-Ghz connection and the VNC viewer (for remote station control), using the 2.4-Ghz connection.  
The faster connection speed significantly reduced the [so-called] "jitter" in the RTTY transmission
and decoding.

Having an array of pre-programmed function keys ad RTTY buttons on the MMTY RTTY
control app enabled sending specific messages to get the job done.

My biggest beef was with the numerous stations "stealing" my specifically chosen run frequencies
(Ex: 21111.11, 21131.31, 14088.88, 7091.91, etc.).  I PURPOSELY choose those specific run frequencies such that when a station calls CQ Exactly Zero-beat on my run frequency, I KNOW
it is no accident.  WASSUP with THAT?

Another beef involves stations who call in significantly off frequency; then again, that's why transceivers come equipped with R-I-T controls (to tune these stations in).  Because the RX
bandpass is purposely set quite narrow, off frequency RTTY signals are often interpreted as
intending to be for someone else.  Using the Stereo-RTTY method, off-frequency signals can
be shifted from the extreme Left/Right side of the listening experience to becoming more evenly centered.  The [F3] N1MM function key issues a {ClearRit} command once the contact is safely
in the log.

Before-during-after the WPX GiG, we were plagued w/remnants and variants of solar noise,
inducing fading, making "repeats" necessary.  Unfortunately, using [D]NR to process the noise,
more-or-less disrupted RTTY decoding, making it a worthless liability.  

Despite beliefs to the contrary, Solar Cycle 25 is far from over.  Reading many 3830 comments
from Southern California operators, there seems to be a consensus that high K-index indicators
littered the entire radiosport weekend.  To make the noise less audibly-irritating, after the audio
was "successfully" decoded, it was run thru an MFJ-784 DSP unit (Left ear) and an MFJ-752
"Signal Enhancer" (Right ear) to "soften" the sound somewhat.

As we enter the final hour, my desperate goal was to log contact #500.  Alas, Space-WX
and internet dropouts conspired against that goal, resulting in 499 QSOs being logged.

While I was sad to see it all come to a swift end, it was a relief when it was all over. 
According to 3830Scores, WQ6X took 4th-place overall and 2nd-place for USA/N.A.,
which is not bad for operating only 24 hours of a 48-hour event.

DiD YOU work the 2o26 WPX RTTY Contest?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

WQ6X Wangles a Divergent 5-Contest Weekend

This 5-contest weekend engaged many divergent operating modes implemented by 2 computers
at W7AYT's Concord QTH.  While the Windoze-7 computer is capable of running RTTY effectively,
the firmware is so ancient that it does not "see" the 5-Ghz wireless router, only the antiquated 2.4-Ghz signal.

The decision was made to connect the RRC-1258 interface unit to the faster 5-Ghz router by
way of a Windoze-11 computer borrowed from my Alameda office to run remota from Ramona. 
While internet access was dramatically improved over the previous weekend, there were numerous
"2-second dropouts" throughout the weekend.  Nonetheless, 5 radiosport events made into the 2o26 Logbook.

• [X] VTQP - (Starting @4pm Friday in PST)
• [X] XE-RTTY - (Starting @4am Saturday in PST)
• [X] MNQP - (Starting @6am Saturday in PST)
• [X] BCQP - (Starting @8am Saturday in PST)
• [X] NA SPRINT Cw - (Starting @4pm Saturday in PST)

While the hosts of the VT QSO Party don't like me pointing out the obvious, lack of in-state CW/Ssb participation is always a disappointment.  Their response to my 2o25 soapbox entry deserves my obvious response.

The above response boasts that 33 VT stations were on the air during last year's event (Really?  THAT many?), however my running QRP has nothing to do with my hearing only 6 stations on traditional HF modes (IMO FT4 and FT8 are HARDLY conventional).  Over 48 hours of OP-time, 
I would expect to hear 2x to 3x last year's 33-station count.  If there in fact WERE more hearable stations, they would end up on the spotting bandmap.  My goal was NOT to run remote from other states, ONLY from California.  My moving to the East coast is NoT the answer to not enough CW/Ssb stations.

Rather than make ridiculous recommendations for me, the contest committee should be soliciting
in-state VT participation beginning in September, for the following February event.

Behind the scenes was questionable Space-WX.  Despite the "GREEN" reports,
the higher bands were considerably noisy and full of fast-fading, requiring numerous
EXCHG repeats.

When it was all over, it would seem that WQ6X made MANY 1st-place scores, altho we
will not be sure until each contest publishes their ending results, as many OPs don't use
the Scoreboard or submit their scores to the 3830 website.

DiD YOU work the 5-Contest weekend?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

BLAST from the Past: LooKing Back at Radiosport 2025

 Scrolling thru the WQ6X contest submissions to the 3830 Scores website, it would seem that
142 events were engaged in during the year, 2nd only to 2o20, where 144 submissions were listed. 
The majority of events run remotely (from Anza or Ramona); there were actually less than a dozen
events run "live and in living color" from the SF Bay Area.

QRP has been a major operating category of remote operations, thanks to excellent hilltop
locations and outstanding antenna configurations at those locations.  Most of the live operations
I have operated all sported compromised antenna configurations, making QRP running completely
non-viable.

Breaking things down into significant categories makes it much easier for an at-a-glance LooK.
As it turned out, nearly 2/3's of the events were run QRP.  Virtually ALL of the new records set
during 2025 were accomplished running QRP power.  AMAZING!

In summary, 2o25 represents the most varied array of radiosport conglomerances of any previous
radiosport year.

DiD YOU work WQ6X in the year 2o25?

WQ6X Weasels another Weird NA SPRINT Ssb Contest.

Logistical screw-ups in my operating world found me starting this GiG late (1st QSO happened at 00:52z on 20-meters).  The original idea was to run the NA SPRINT contest GiG from my Alameda office, except that the RRC-1258 (internet interface) box was left in Concord.  The solution was to bring the K3/0-Mini control head to Concord and run from there, except the internet connection in Concord was horribly spotty, especially compared to the barely passable internet access in Alameda.

During Ssb contests, spotty internet can be worked around by properly recording the transceiver's four voice memories in advance using a "clean" internet connection.  While on Sunday I rewired the external audio filter conglomeration in Concord, using the pair of MFJ-752 "Signal Enhancer" units on the K3 audio line was enough to dramatically improve Ssb intelligibility.

The "difficult" aspect of the contest was not on my end, but on the other end of the QSO connection.  WQ6X's QRP (5-watt) signal was often QSB'd out of existence.  Stations all too often, gave up, all too soon.  If I suddenly disappeared on you (only to come back 5 minutes later as if nothing happened), disappearing internet was behind that.

While the operating goal was 100+ QSOs, considering the contributions from poor Space-WX
and nasty internet, managing 54 logged QSOs was indeed an operating miracle.

IRONICALLY, while conditions and internet were HORRIBLE, according to 3830 cores, WQ6X

managed a 1st-place win for the QRP category, valid until an OP submits a higher non-3830 score.

DiD YOU work the NA SPRINT Ssb contest?

Is WQ6X in YOUR Log?