BLASTS from the Past: JIDX Cw

W Q 6 X  @ N X 6 T  for 2010  J I D X  Contest

As the JIDX Cw contest draws near this weekend I took a look back to previous WQ6X Contest
Blog write-ups about my past runs of this event; many with NX6T, altho a few W6J solo events also happened.  The JIDX GiG is where non-JA stations seek to log as many JA contacts in as many Japanese prefectures as can be found.

Many plaques and awards have been won from operations I have been involved with. 
Over the last 6 years the following JIDX Cw GiGs have been run:

1. 2013 - W6J Solo from W7AYT's QTH in Concord
2. 2014 - W6J Solo from Alameda
3. 2015 - NX6T Multi-OP in Fallbrook
4. 2016 - W6J Solo from W7AYT's QTH in Concord
5. 2017 - NX6T Multi-OP in Fallbrook
6. 2018 - NX6T Multi-OP in Fallbrook

To help track all the Prefectures on each band, I devised a tracking APP expressly for this purpose.  Unique to this software is the ability to input a Cabrillo file and automatically populate the prefecture stats for each band.

2 0 1 3 - W Q 6 X  Flustered by Lack of JA participation

Two of the biggest difficulties of this contest come from lack of JA participation in their own contest followed by stateside stations who blindly respond to our "CQ JA" calls; what part of "JA Only"
do you not understand?

In recent years, the usual motley crew of operators at NX6T have managed to secure
the 1st-place (worldwide) JIDX plaque in BOTH Cw and Ssb events.

If you look closely at the plaque inscription,
it says that we are the "Top Mop" (i.e. multi-OP).  However when I first read this I thought of an
oval floor mop.

I guess you could say that we really cleaned
up for those events.  Our main rival HG7T (in Hungary) seems to have slowed down a bit, giving us an easier chance at another 1st place.

Our sea view location  (at 900' above sea level) gives us the advantage of more easily skipping signals across the "Pacific pond".

N N 6 X  +  N 6 K I  +  N 6 E E G

Last year (2018) brought in our usual bunch of superb B-I-C operators along with WQ6X via remote  access using the antiquated (but still capable) RCForb rig control software.

I wonder what 2019 will bring.....

Do YOU work the JIDX contest(s)?

Is NX6T, WQ6X, W6J or W6V in YOUR Log?

WQ6X Runs another Random Contest Weekend.

N X 6 T  R e m o t e  S e t u p

The 1st weekend of every April brings about a plethora of contests worthy of playing around.  In years past I have found time for radiosport on this 1st weekend.  To read about it click [HERE] and [HERE].
For April 2019 the weekend offered up 4 HF radiosport events:

1. SP-DX Contest (X)
2. EA RTTY Contest (X)
3. Missouri QSO Party (MOQP)
4. Mississippi QSO Party (MSQP)

There was also the Florida State Parks on the Air (FSPOTA) GiG but was just one more event to keep track of so I decided to give that one a go next year.  [CLICK HERE] to learn more about event.

Evidently, there as been a controversial rule change for the 2019 SP-DX  event that has caused many operators to boycott that contest.  While dozens of SP-station spots were seen in the N1MM+ bandmap, none of those stations could hear me, making this a non-event anyway.  With this
GiG out of the way that left the two QSO parties and the EA RTTY up for consideration.

Elecraft  K 3 + QF - 1A  &  MFJ - 751

The Elecraft K3/0 remote equipment and the contest logs were setup on Friday evening passing all the verification tests.  Being that the first events (the QSO parties) didn't begin until 14:00z (7am PDT) allowed me to sleep in until well after 8am. 

Space-WX SFI #'s allow gauging propagation condx.  An SFI of 73 (versus 68) was very encouraging.

Unfortunately, a faulty power supply cable delayed the actual operational start to 18:50z Saturday morning.

MOQP & MSQP opened the remote operation as NX6T.   Band conditions seemed promising, yet  pointing the Stepp-IR yagi 70-degrees  yielded
few QSO party stations - by 19:20z it was time to turn up the ACOM-2000a amplifier and switch to running the EA RTTY GiG.

After an hour of Search and Pouncing it was time to find  an EA RTTY run frequency (14086.86), letting stations come to me for a change.  QRM moving in required moving up and down around
that frequency.  What amazes me is how stations can move in on my run frequency (down to the EXACT Hz.) and try to "wrestle the frequency away".  On Cw it is understandable that another
station might move in approximately around the run frequency.  However when the "invasion"
is EXACTLY on frequency, I know it was no accident.

 By 00:30z it was time to move on down to
40 meters, hopefully repeating the success had on 20.  Within a half-hour a new run frequency was found (7058.58).  When that ran out it was back to S&P'ing, eventually moving to a new run frequency (7059.59).

By 04:50z it was time to give 80-meters a try.  Amazingly, no stations were heard, requiring the adoption of a run frequency (3585.85). 
I guess most stations did not see the internet spots; only 9 QSOs ended up in the 80-meter section of the log.  At 07:30z running out of stations to work it was time for some sleep.

By 13:15z, 40-meters opened to Asia.  Settling in on 7043.43, a flood of new multipliers made it to the log, including: JI1, 7N2, JR3, YC6, JA1, 7L4, YG8, JA3/1 & YB7. 

When that ran out, at 15:50z it was time for a switch to 20 meters during the last hour of the contest.  After some serious S&P, 15:15z found NX6T on 14090.90.  A marginal opening put AM70D, SP4, GW0 & CO2 into the log.  However the BiG surprise came from 5C5W; Africa being a very difficult propagation path from N. San Diego county. 

At 16:00z the EA RTTY contest was over, leaving
one more shot at the MOQP.  After a short Kona coffee break a switch to Cw put 14 more MOQP QSOs into the log.

Being rover stations, K0I & K0R gave out multiple QSOs per contact by straddling one or more county lines.  I wish more MOQP stations did that.

Surprisingly no QSO party callers were heard
on 15 & 10 meters.  Was I listening to the wrong frequencies at the wrong time, or, was there in
fact no MOQP or MSQP activity on the high bands?

It is a shame that the MSQP did not reprise on Sunday, the way MOQP does.  If band condx are poor on Saturday, we have another opportunity on Sunday.  Ending MSQP at 02:00z cheats left-coast stations out of 80/40 meter activity - Bummer Dewd.

 Did YOU work MOQP, MSQP or EA RTTY contests?

Is NX6T in YOUR Log?

12 OPs make Ssb WPX (Weird Prefix Contest) - Weirder than Ever

W Q 6 X  operating  as  N X 6 T

The WPX contest is frequently called the Weird Prefix contest for a good reason; this year for MANY good reasons.  In past WPX Ssb events we have used the WQ6X callsign when I was physically onsite at the Fallbrook.  Because I also wanted to run separately from W7AYT's Concord QTH,
when I heard that my callsign was chosen to be used from Fallbrook, I made a reciprocal
agreement with N6KI to run as NX6T from W7AYT's S.F. East Bay location

To make remote operations run smoothly, I brought the Elecraft K3/0 equipment and set it up along with the FT-1000mp I normally use in Concord.  Using a direct connect Ethernet cable allowed for
the fastest data transfer possible during remote radio running.

Thanks to a series of cables for splitting the audio, it was possible to "mix" the audio from the K3/0 and the 1000mp into the Heil PROset headphones via a pair of Autek QF-1A filters; one for each ear.  At the very least, it allowed using the FT-1000mp to monitor the WQ6X signals originating from Fallbrook as my audio from the K3/0 was being sent over the internet to STN-1.

While K3/0 WQ6X remote operation worked flawlessly from the beginning, the FT-1000mp's RigExpert CAT connection was not happening.  N1MM+ could send CW flawlessly with the radio,
yet was unable to control the rest of the radio's operation.  This left me with no option but to either S&P (typing each frequency manually before logging the contact), or pick a frequency and run it, despite not having a great signal.

In recent contests we've had a shortage of CW operators.  For this Ssb GiG we ended up with a dozen operators; most operators actually making the drive up the hill to NX6T's (900' above sea-level) QTH.  This allowed me the opportunity to set things up in time for my running the dinner shift @03:00z (8-10:30 pm) after 1st putting a bunch of QSOs in the NX6T log.

Due to an abundance of operators, we had virtually all shifts covered running as a Multi-OP 2-transmitter entry.  Some people are morning operators (like K6GO & NA6MB) others are
afternoon operators (such as N6EEG & NN6X), evening operators like N6KI or after midnight
OPs (WQ6X & N6ERD).

Meanwhile, back at W7AYT's QTH it was time to once again tweak the WQ6X Lazy 8JK Sloper, giving 450-ohm ladder line access, as well as coaxial access to one of the sloper lines.

The good news is that this configuration seems to have eliminated the stray RF in the shack (which previously would cripple the RigExpert interface).  Unfortunately, for this contest weekend, it was the CHA-250 vertical which made all the contacts; the
8JK Sloper ended up being just a receive antenna.

10-meters never experienced any activity, not even with the 3-el 10-meter yagi pointed towards South America.  I can't wait for the sunspot cycle SFI to move solidly into the 75+ range.  Until then, the
yagi just sits there looking good.


Typical of most evening-style radiosport events (especially on 40-meters) intentional QRM always seems to be an issue.  For this Ssb contest, RTTY QRM was rampant throughout the phone band (below 7.200).  This same RTTY QRM plagued us during last month's ARRL Dx Ssb contest.
([CLICK HERE] to read about that.)  At first I wanted to believe the QRM was random, until
it became clear that every time I changed frequency the QRM followed me.

Overall, our WQ6X operation for the 2019 WPX contest was quite a success, amassing over
3.88 million in contest points.  Were it not for the concentrated effort at WC6H we would have taken 1st-place for the left coast in the Multi-2 category; alto 2nd-place was still a surprise.  It would seem that WQ6X took 3rd-place  for USA and 4th-place for North America.

Did YOU work the WPX Ssb contest?
Is WQ6X or NX6T in YOUR log?

UK/EI & FOC Give WQ6X false hope

W Q 6 X  @ 0 6 : 0 0z  (11pm)

The weekend before March's WPX Ssb contest is typically a slow one in the radiosport world. 
As someone who loves the challenge of radiosport contesting, I'm willing to give most HF
radiosport events a GO.

K 6 J O  Running NA - S P R I N T ( S O 2 R)

This contest weekend, the only GiGs of interest to me were the FOC QSO Party, the UK/EI
contest and the Ssb NA Sprint.  K6JO had already reserved both stations @ NX6T for another
SO2R operation and I was too lazy to make the trek to W7AYT's QTH to run my FT-1000mp,
leaving WQ6X to run remote CW-only for the weekend.

F O C  Ending  Screen

The FOC (First-Class Operators Club) QSO party began at 00:00z, altho I didn't have a working
K3/0 setup until 05:00z.  It was purposely decided to run high[er] power; because I could, and because we needed all the help possible in being heard.  There are TWO kinds of FOC events;
the 1st for FOC members (earlier this month); the 2nd for all of us, FOC or not - while we can
work any station, FOC stations are worth more points.

U K / E I  Ending  Screen

For those of us on the Left-Coast, the UK/IE GiG was the "almost" contest; from beginning to end. 
It would be quite different altogether if the Solar Flux (SFI) was in the 100+ range instead of the current 68 - 72.

2 - Element  "S h o r t y  4 0"

Using the N1MM+ software, running as Assisted found the 40-meter bandmap to be populated with numerous UK/EI stations when the K3/0 was switched
to 40 @06:15z.

Immediately, 2 contest stations made
it to the log: GM4Z & GW4J.  After that, none, nada, ZIP.  Clicking on bandmap spots and making a call yielded nearly a dozen "almost" QSO, like: "WQ6?, WUQ6? W6QX?, but nothing more.

OH Wail.  Despite only 2 QSOs, a
log was submitted.  Unfortunately,
the contest was not on the 3830
scores list. 

An e-mail to Bruce Horn (Wa7BNM) resulted in it being added less than 24 hours later - Thanks Bruce!  [CLICK HERE] to view the overall contest stats and [HERE]  to see my minimal contest
write up.  If the reported scores are in anyway indicative of reality, technically, WQ6X's 2 QSOs
would take 1st-Place for USA; however I doubt it - not everyone who submits a log posts their
score on 3830Scores.Com.

Regardless of how any of this turns out, putting the K3/0 on the air from Alameda allowed a thorough test of IP-based internet connection for the K3/0 as well as the DNS-based VNC Viewer connection. 

The REAL test for this configuration will be running NX6T remotely the following weekend in the WPX Ssb (aka "Weird Prefix") contest using the K3/0, but from W7AYT's QTH in Concord, where I expect to be running as WQ6X during non-NX6T hours.

Did YOU work the SPRINT, FOC or UK/EI contests?
If not, y'all missed out.

WQ6X reprises Russian-BARTG Rigorously Reversed

W Q 6 X  in  A L A M E D A

In recent years (March 2018, 2017, 2016 & 2013) WQ6X has dabbled in  various combinations ("flavors"?) of the BARTG RTTY & Russian Dx contests with varying levels of success.

For 2019 I had not given the Russian GiG much thought until N6KI informed me NX6T would be running this GiG as a Multi-2 operation; with newer operators being added to the San Diego contest club roster, events like this one give newer operators a chance to improve their skills and the more seasoned operators to discover new operating variations and techniques that in the future will help take NX6T's Radiosport scores to the next level.

This year I was hoping to begin with the BARTG RTTY contest before the start of the Russian Dx contest.  Unfortunately internet disruption on the Alameda end of the remote connection prevented that possibility from becoming a reality.

N X 6 T  S t a t s  by  H o u r

For the Russian Dx contest, a lack of available Cw OPs relegated N6KI, N6NC and WQ6X
(all running remotely) to make it all work.  Thanks to N6NC a number of SSB QSOs made it
to the log; otherwise it was largely a Cw contest @NX6T.

After the Dx contest was done there was still an opportunity to make BARTG RTTY contacts and
look for stations in the VAQP.  While operations in these GiGs were minimal, at LEAST I can say
I participated.  How about you?

Did YOU work the Russian DX Contest?
Is NX6T in YOUR Log?

WQ6X Sprints thru yet another "Weird" Contest Weekend

W Q 6 X  Remoting in from A l a m e d a

It's no surprise that I like to work all manner of radio sport events that congregate over a given single weekend (almost nothing is off adventure limits for me); the March 9th weekend was no exception. 

Of the 9 major radiosport events that weekend, looking back I managed some sort of operation in
the following:

• OKQP, WIQP & IDQP QSO Parties
• The Stew Perry 160-Meter GiG w/N6KI
• The [4-hour] NA SPRINT RTTY GiG
• The Tesla, YB-Dx RTTY & SA-10 contests were all propagation "no shows" @ NX6T. 
  (My hope of resurrecting our 2016 SA-10 contest 1st-place win never materialized.)

W Q 6 X  R e m o t e  @ S T N - 1

There was the prominent Commonwealth Gig; 'cept USA stations aren't part of the Commonwealth and are therefore excluded from the fun.  For the Tesla Memorial contest the log/macros were ready; unfortunately no "CQ Tesla" was ever heard and no one answered my Tesla CQ calls.



Antennas  @  W 7 A Y T

This was a portable operation from W7AYT's QTH in Concord.   Being too lazy "lug around" and install the K3/0,
I took my chances and "suffered thru" using the RCForb to run the radio and VNC Viewer to run the N1MM+ and WINTEST software.

Originally, Dennis (N6KI) msg'd me about the 160 contest.  I reminded him that we took 1st-place (world) in the 2016 SA-10 GiG and that maybe we can reprise
that win.  He bellered a "HaH!"

Once we resolved some cabling problems with STN-1 (it's ALWAYs something), the C-31 yagi was pointed to 120-Degrees (South America) and the listening began. 

At W7AYT, the 3-element 10-m yagi was also pointed to more-or-less 120 degrees.  RCVR-A of the FT-1000mp tuned the Cw band while RCVR-B tuned the Ssb portion - in the end NOTHING! NADA!

W h i t e b o a r d  C o m p a s s  for  S A - 1 0  Contest

Calling "CQ SA Test" throughout the day yielded no callers, South America or otherwise; not even a LOCAL ham via ground wave.  Well at LEAST we were READY to take another 1st-place - validate THAT fact.

F T - 1 0 0 0 mp + Q F-1A's, N I R-12 & Rig Expert PLUS

Event-wise, while there were a number of no-shows, luckily GiGs like the OK QSO Party (OKQP)
kept on going throughout the weekend to "keep me amused".  The OKQP web page is quite thorough.  The counties list is WELL laid out.

Arriving mid-afternoon @ W7AYT allowed me to thoroughly check the audio cabling just in time
for the 4 hour RTTY SPRINT GiG.  SPRINT is a unique radiosport GiG in that contestants are not allowed to "run a frequency"; the game is to make a QSO and move on.  While Sprints can seem a
bit chaotic (hence the 4 hour contest period), it's amazing how orderly things can become if everyone pays attention.

This weekend also gave us a visit from our favorite bird - the OTH WooDPecker.  Woodpecker interference is BEEF #6 in the "Role of Respect in Radiosport BLOG series from June-2018. 
WQ6X no sooner started calling CQ Tesla (on 7.007.07) when the Woodpecker began pecking
on 6.995.  The OTH radar pulse width seemed to diminish by moving to 7.018.18; unfortunately,
no callers came back to my "CQ Tesla" calls.

After all the other contest hoopla, I found time to contribute a few dozen QSOs to NX6T's Stew Perry 160-GiG.  Noise-wise, despite the poor Space-WX predictions, we did amazingly well for a screw-around operation.

Did YOU work one or more of the 9 contests?
Is NX6T or WQ6X in YOUR Log?

ARRL Dx Ssb GiG: the contest RTTY Ruined

W Q 6 X  @  S T N-1 - R e m o t e l y

The ARRL Dx Ssb GiG completes the late winter contest trio, with last weekend's CQ-160 Ssb contest sandwiched in between the ARRL DX contests.  Every contest (esp. every Ssb contest) is riddled with challenges; some hardware-related and some OP-performance related.

I experience "weirdness" in nearly every contest, but this last weekend's combination of A-Index=24 QRN, along with a plethora of RTTY stations littered throughout the bands; particularly on 40-meters, both evenings.

S F I = 7 0  A-I n d e x = 24  K-I n d e x = 3

Because the competition is so strong in ARRL Dx contests @N6KI we don't usually expect to win
the overall BiG plaques, altho it would seem that we took 1st place for the Southwest division in the Cw GiG 2 weekends prior - overtaking the Arizona Outlaws, no less.


The  S a t u r d a y  E v e n i n g  s h i f t

For this event, it would seem that having a variety of operators and skill-levels added up to out-best the Outlaws.  In recent years some new operators have been perfecting their contest skills at NX6T up on the hill in Fallbrook.


The  F r i d a y  E v e n i n g  s h i f t

While there is a tendency to focus on the evening shift operations and operators, a significant amount of our score is made in the daytime on the high bands; 20 meters in particular.

The  S a t u r d a y  D a Y  s h i f t

With the solar cycle still near the bottom (SFI = 70) 40 meters often opens up eastward around
mid-afternoon in Fallbrook, giving us early access to Mexico and the Caribbean. 

N X 6 T  spotted by K H 7 M  on 160

Despite only a pair of coaxial inverted Vee's for 80 & 160, NX6T radiates a surprisingly strong signal; granted, running 1.35kw helps.  On 80 & 160 meters we are consistently heard much better than we can hear those who hear us.

Because I routinely run the nightshift, I routinely encounter intentional QRM on 40-meters;
altho usually only during CW and RTTY contests, not SSB GiGs.  Unfortunately, for THIS
Ssb contest RTTY stations were littered throughout the lower portion of the 40-meter phone band.

Around 09:00z several RTTY stations converged on my 7160.45 run frequency.   Moving down
to 7134.64 seemed like a good idea until an S-9+ MCW station began sending code groups, eventually, switching to RTTY; doing this repeatedly.  If I had been running the FT-1000mp
the RigExpert PLUS could've been switched in to decode the RTTY - maybe next time.

Taking refuge on 7194.94 quieted things down considerably; evidently RTTY stations don't operate above 7175.  While Saturday nite was somewhat more quiet on 40 meters, 75 was loaded with ragchewers (particularly from W5-land) grumbling about how contesters were ruining their evening, oblivious to the fact that 3680 is HARDLY a haven for Dx contest activity.
Other than the complainer's LOUD MOUTH, this ragchew frequency was relatively quiet;
atmospheric QRN was way more of a problem than "those pesky Dx contesters".

An operational advantage of NX6T's Fallbrook location is the relatively easy access ("across the pond") to Asia and Oceania. 

A majority of the VK/ZL stations made things easier
by running 400 watts.  On 40 meters, all the ZL stations worked were literally off the backside of the Shorty-40 2-element yagi.  On 20, switching the Stepp-IR into BI-Directional mode allowed simultaneously working CS3 & ZL3; PY7 & 7L4; KH6 & ZS6.

Numerous JA stations were running a KW+ giving them BiG signals.   Unfortunately, the completely insane Japanese phone band plan made working those
stations a bit tricky.

Of all my beefs in this ARRL DX contest, the biggest complaint were stateside stations responding
to my "QRZ the Dx contest".  I would reply "DX ONLY - you should be working Dx too". 
If these operators would READ the RULES, they would know that.

Did YOU operate the ARRL Dx Contest?

Is NX6T in YOUR Log?

NX6T's Fab-Four Fly Forward for CQ-160 Ssb GiG

R u n n i n g   1 8 1 5 . 1 5

After last weekend's [projected] S-W Division win in the ARRL Dx Cw contest, looking back, 160 was the low-band most lacking; altho incredibly, long-haul Dx (from the W6 viewpoint) made it into the log.
While Space-WX reports were optimistically favorable, those #'s did not take into account the reality of our being 900' up the hill, in Fallbrook.

Oblivious to this being an SSB contest weekend, several PTT switches were left languishing in various locations @W7AYT (in Concord).  Initially, shorting two wires created a crude PTT effect,
until it occurred to use one paddle of a Hamkey keyer paddle (with the unit on its side) as a pushdown PTT switch; oh what a difference technology makes

This weekend brought together a number of ssb contest-fluent operators as well as the
appearance of a nearly-new Kenwood TS-890 for use at STN-3, the multiplier-hunting OP-position. 
(I will have more to say about this TS-890 @STN-3 in coming BLOG entries - stay tuned.)

Dennis N6KI started the contest off with some B-I-C (butt in chair) action, while I cobbled together
the necessary audio cables putting the Heil HC-4 PRO into the mic audio line and then load up the Elecraft K3/0's 4 Voice Keyer memories.  With the coming of the 04:00z "dinner hour", N6KI enjoyed his traditional Sat. evening dinner break while I split the OP time between (first) S&P and layer running frequencies.



W Q 6 X  R e m o t e  S e t u p

For many years now, intentional QRM is part of WQ6X's 40 meter operations from NX6T; this weekend was certainly NO exception.  At one point a station moved atop the run frequency with a BiG carrier for 5+ minutes, followed by Ssb testing on USB.  While the K3 auto-notch works on the K3/0 eliminating it in MY ears, the IDIOT tuner-upper is STILL there and probably as LOUD as I am. 
When I changed frequency, so did the QRM; i.e., nothing accidental about that. 
I thought intentional QRM happened only on 40-meters after 08:00z.

N 6 K I  @  0 6 : 3 0 z

N6KI relieved me at 06:15z.  Less than 3 hours later WQ6X was back in the remote operator "chair".  Immediately after 09:00z the QRN-level jumped to S9+15db.  No setting of the DNR-Dsp was of
any value w/o destroying the voice quality of weak Ssb signals.

At NX6T, the 160 antenna is nothing more than a coaxial inverted vee (70' apex).  While we could
not hear many S9+ signals (due to the noise) I received e-mail notifications and spots indicating that our 1.35kw signal was being heard in Europe.  It is frustrating for me knowing that we are being heard (in the N/E - S/W direction) yet we can't hear those who are hearing us.  At one point, a VK2 station called in on Cw (which of course does not count in an Ssb contest).

N 6 E E G  +  N 6 K I

By 12:30z, continuing noise-levels and intermittent internet dropouts conspired against my continuing on further.  I shut things down knowing that NN6X and N6EEG will join up with N6KI in less than 12 hours to give it another GO.

N X 6 T  @  S u n r i s e

You may recall that last year I wrote a WQ6X BLOG series on my BEEFs regarding radio sport.  ([CLICK HERE] to read that series.)  For this year's CQ-160 Ssb contest, one of my biggest Beefs was #3 in the Beef-List: stations who work NX6T and then less than 10 minutes later they call in again.

HuH?  Am I missing something?  WTF is that all about? 
What part of DUP QSO do they not get?

Saturday evening was a slow go; partially from having "worked everyone" the night before, and partially from the fascination with the Kenwood TS-890 in Fallbrook and WQ6X (in the SF bay area) learning all the various DNR settings available via the Elecraft K3/0.

Being the nightshift operator again Saturday, operating time was split between S&P, running frequencies and dodging National Tuneup Frequencies; something, the K3/0's auto-notch DSP handled quite nicely. 

Sunday morning (14:20z), after putting RT0F into the log I finally shut things down. 
1-Qso every 8 minutes is not my idea of a GooD time; especially at 6am.

Overall the 160 contest was a mild amount of fun.
On the Fallbrook end, the test-run of the new TS-890 was (according to N6KI) a resounding
success; so much so that the new Kenwood seems to have become the current replacement
for the Elecraft K3, formerly installed at STN-#3.

Did YOU work the CQ-160 Ssb contest?
Is NX6T in YOUR Log?

NX6T Nixes ARRL Dx Left Coast competition

W Q 6 X  @ W 7 A Y T

I more-or-less fell into the Cw ARRL Dx Contest operation @ NX6T in Fallbrook (SDG Section).  Dennis (N6KI) was at the Yuma Hamfest relegating me to cobble together inspiration from a handful of operators from around the Fallbrook/Oceanside area.  Seemingly out of nowhere a Multi-2 (M/2) operating schedule came together.

This year's NX6T Cw entry was a nice mixture of remote and B-I-C operators. 
My goal was for the group to find an operating "groove" Friday evening, Saturday morning
and early-afternoon, allowing me to make another trip to W7AYT's QTH and put WQ6X on the air.
All of this more-or-less happened.

A n t e n n a s  @  W 7 A Y T

Being a 48-hour radiosport event, the ARRL
Dx contest is loaded with operating opportunities, allowing each of the 6 operators (K4RB, N6CY, N6KI, N6NC, WM6Y & WQ6X) to operate during their peak periods.

As in recent Fallbrook events, I am no longer the lone operator during the after-midnight operating periods.  That allows me to slip an extra 90-minute sleep into my schedule, making it easier to get up
at 8am for the morning shift (and then go back to
bed for 2 hours).

Actual OP time began for WQ6X @ 05:50z, spending a couple of hours running frequencies on 160 & 80 meters.  Later an S&P journey picked up the stations who were themselves running a frequency.  Eventually it was time to migrate to 40-meters and point the 2-el shorty-40 to Asia putting 180+ QSOs into the log.

Around 08:30z while running Asia (antenna pointed to 315-degrees), a number of European calls came in from QTH's like DL3, PA5, RA1, OH1 & SM3.  HuH?  At 12:30z my DNS internet connection to Fallbrook stopped working.  Because the remote K3/0 radio is IP-based, the radio itself continued working flawlessly;  however w/o the ability to log, it does no good.  Fortunately, N6CY took over on STN-1 and I came back later.



W Q 6 X  (Remote) & W M 6 Y (B-I-C)

After a couple of more hours sleep, I awoke to a 15 meter opening, putting 38 QSOs into the log.  Unfortunately for me, 10 did not deliver.  However on Sunday the crew managed to put 11 QSOs
in the 10-meter log; all with SA.

Running Multi-2 allowed a mixture of remote and B-I-C (Butt-in-Chair) operations.  I was too lazy to drag the Elecraft K3/0 to W7AYT so from there I took a chance and ran STN-1 remotely using the antiquated (but marginally workable) RCForb software.  N6KI, back from Yuma ran STN-2 remotely while I ran STN-1.

K 4 R B  &  W M 6 Y

Sunday morning K4RB (Bob) and WM6Y (Phil) accomplished B-I-C taking the NX6T log to exciting new heights.  Due to a weird cabling glitch with the 8JK Sloper, WQ6X managed only
4 QSOs on 40 meters Saturday nite.  Sunday @ noon, switching to the CHA-250 vertical allowed 4
15-meter QSOs and 9 QSOs on 20 into the log before it was time to make the drive back to Alameda to work with clients.

N X 6 T  &  W Q 6 X  S t a t s

N6KI joined the day shift to wrap the 48 hour contest.   The day crew not only put NX6T ON 10 meters, they managed to amass nearly 100 more 15 meter QSOs in the log; not to mention taking
the 20-meter QSO total to over 600.

After it was all over, N6KI provided us with comparison stats to our most immediate rivals - the Arizona Outlaws.  Assuming we survive the Log Checking Robot (LCR), NX6T will not only submit
a high score for San Diego section, but for the entire Southwest Division.

Did YOU play in the ARRL DX Cw contest?
Is NX6T or WQ6X in YOUR Log?