WQ6X runs CQ-MM & 4 other Radiosport GiGs

Remote Operation from Alameda

A major goal for WQ6X's 2019 radiosport operations is to participate in a large variety of different radiosport events throughout the year, exceeding the 82 events run in 2017 and even the 74 events during last year's operations.

There exists a number of ways to accomplish this.  Last year I transformed what began as a "flirtation" with Dual-OP'ing contests (operating NX6T remotely, utilizing the "off time" to run as WQ6X from W7AYT in the same contest) into a legitimate, premeditated, operating strategy.

Depending upon the collection of radiosport events on a given weekend, in past contest years I have occasionally run a "separate-but-dual" operation from Fallbrook; joining the NX6T crew's Multi-Single DX contest operations (on STN-2), while running a state QSO Party, or a "little" RTTY contest from STN-1. 

A secret to making this work is to REMEMBER that our amateur bands are more-or-less harmonically-related.  I take the attitude that the NX6T operation takes priority over WQ6X's
runs on STN-1.  Altho I've never dual-OP'ed from NX6T in the same contest, theoretically, doing-so
is legitimately "cheating, but within the rules".  The recent WPX-Ssb & JIDX events are examples of [off-site] dual-operating a single contest event. 

AUTEK QF-1A  &  MFJ-751

This weekend offered up the opportunity to test-run an Autek QF-1A and MFJ-751 filter combination while running several different contest events remotely from Alameda in order to "UP" the 2019-year total.  Scrolling through the WA7BNM Contest Calendar identified 7 contest events over a 50+ hour timeframe, beginning 21:00z on Friday, ending 23:59z on Sunday.

1.  ([View]) Holy Land DX Contest
2.  ([View]) ES-Open (Estonia) 80m/40m
3. ([View]) WA-PoC (China)
4. ([View]) YU-Dx Contest
5. ([View]) CQ MM Contest
6. ([View]) MIQP - Michigan QSO Party
7. ([View]) ONQP - Ontario QSO Party

 

While I listened for Holy land stations and noticed over a dozen bandmap spots for those stations, similar to previous years, no QSOs were logged with those stations.  From Southern California, the secret to working into the middle east is to point antennas in that direction during the morning and afternoon "greyline" time periods.  Doing that in the past has allowed me to "happen onto" a 5 - 15 minute "opening" allowing 4X6 or 4X4 stations to drift and float in/out of the receive passband.

Likewise, while spots were seen for "ES" stations, none were actually heard above S-2 in Fallbrook, leaving 5 out of the original 7 radiosport events to fill out WQ6X's contest weekend.  Overall, this weekend was QUITE a disappointment; other than the CQMM contest, the WAPoC, YUDX and both QSO parties lacked the kind of participation I would expect in such radiosport events. 

Because of other non-Radiosport commitments, it was not possible to begin the CQMM event until 01:25z (Saturday afternoon PDT).  However, once I got started, the QSO total took off immediately.

Usually the remote operations from NX6T bring out the intentional QRM'ers in the evening/nighttime on 40 meters.  This CQMM contest was similar but different; at 02:00z while running a frequency (14026.26) an annoying
"data cranker" made the scene.
Shifting up frequency worked for a
few minutes until he followed me
again and again.  By 03:00z 40-meters was way overdue, offering a legitimate reason to make the switch to 40-meters, without the data cranker.


At 05:00z an I encountered a CQMM station on 7.000.22 with a station purposely tuning up atop the CQ'ing station, making QSOs with the band-edge station, all but impossible.  Tuning below the band edge (6997.5) the "CQ MM" call was plainly copyable, technically out-of-band.  While an intentional-carrier is an intentional-QRM violation, if the CQ caller had been running on 7002 (or above) I doubt the interfering carrier would have started-up in the first place.

On 40-meters in the evening, RTTY QRM usually occurs during Ssb GiGs (like the recent ARRL Dx Contest).  For this weekend the RTTY QRM occurred at 05:00z while calling CQ MM on 7015.15. 
Are people THAT bored they have nothing else better to do than play RTTY in the Cw portion of
the band?

W Q 6 X  after  DARK

Running frequencies is always full of surprises.  One such surprise occurred this weekend during the CQ-MM contest when out of nowhere 9L1YXJ called "out of the blue", sent "5NN AF" and promptly disappeared back into the NR-Dsp threshold; at first, Initially, I thought it was a KL1 station (Alaska) as the antenna was pointed to 330-degrees, not 90-degrees.)

C - 3 1 (Tower #1) & Stepp - IR + Shorty - 40 (Tower #2)

Another surprise was finding Sunday openings to South America on 10 & 15 meters. Then it occurred to me that switching from the C-31 Yagi to the Stepp-IR on Tower 2 allows the possibility of running BI-Directional to work Asia (AS) and South America (SA) simultaneously.  Because QSOs outside
of NA are worth 3 to 10 points, running BI-Directional is a good strategy.

C Q M M  - E n d I n g  S t a t s

Submitting all 5 logs and posting the scores on the 3830 Scores website, it would seem that technically, even with minimal score submissions, WQ6X may have inadvertently taken a 1st place in several of those GiGs.  For the CQMM contest, WQ6X may well have made a 1st-place for the Left Coast.

Did YOU work the CQMM contest (or one of the other GiGs)?
Is WQ6X in YOUR Log?

WQ6X runs JIDX-Cw and a few other things

K 3 / 0 +  FT - 1 0 0 0mp

In the previous Blog entry I wrote up an overview of JIDX Cw GiGs WQ6X has been a part of in the last 6+ years.  ([CLICK HERE] to read that Blast from the Past.)  JIDX coincides with the NCDXF Foundations' DX convention in Visalia (Southeast from here), leaving a dearth of Cw operators available to reprise another NX6T plaque from the Japanese International DX (JIDX) contest.

By Friday we cobbled together a trio of operators: KI6RRN, WM6Y & WQ6X.  While this was largely
a remote operation, at one point 01:00z-6pm) Phil (WM6Y) actually achieved B-I-C (Butt-in-Chair) status atop the hill in Fallbrook.  It's always nice to have real live operators onsite and in the chair. 

Who nose, one day we may have an android-assisted category: Single-OP Android, Single-OP remote-Android, Mult-OP 2-Androids.

Because this weekend coincides with a number of state QSO parties and "mini" Dx contests, I decided
to bring the Elecraft K3/0 bag to W7AYT giving direct Ethernet access for remoting into NX6T to work JIDX while running the other contest GiGs on the side using the Yaesu FT-1000mp.  Thanks to a considerably higher Solar Flux Index (SFI) of 77 I was hoping for improved band conditions (over previous weeks).

Being a San Francisco Giants (baseball) fan, while waiting for JIDX I decided to watch them beat Denver 3-to-2; but in 18 innings (over at 1am Pdt).  JIDX was well under way @ NX6T w/KI6RRN running things from the STN-1 remote "chair".

Typical of my visits to W7AYT, getting a stable internet connection is an unnecessarily-challenging hassle; this weekend being no exception.  Usually I can get an IP-connection for the K3/0 and difficulty w/VNC Viewer; this weekend was just the reverse. 

W I N T E S T  &  R C F o r b

In order to take the "helm" at 09:00z (2am) I reverted to a backup to the backup plan: VNC Viewer for running WINTEST and the antiquated RCForb (control software) to run the radio.  Other than having RCForb's "buckshot" riddled audio requiring callsign repeats, I managed over 125+ QSOs
on 40 (mainly) and 80 meters.

After 5+ hours sleep I was back at it, but on the WQ6X side of things.  The QSO parties were kinda full of activity, at least for GA & New Mexico.  No "0" stations were heard from North Dakota (ND); wassup with THAT? 

New Mexico stations were plentiful; finding stations in GA required a "field telescope" in order to locate their peachy signals.  Unfortunately, NMQP is only a 12 hour contest - wassup with THAT?   If you want us to work you, then give us multi-band access during the evening hours.  Otherwise, whut's the point?

The K3/0 internet access never materialized; having RCForb ready as a backup to the backup plan (blue Ethernet cabling) is always a good idea - altho having to endure "buckshot audio" (requiring LoTsa repeats) was no fun, at LEAST there was audio.

When running NX6T remotely, I would often dial-up the run frequency on the local FT-1000mp using RX-A as an extended Cw sidetone monitor.  This allowed using RX-B to locate stations for WQ6X's bandmap (N1MM+ ran in the background tracking the 1000mp's receivers).

3 8 3 0  Scores  Results

Considering that we ran JIDX with only 3 operators (2 of them remote) we ran an amazing operation.  As in recent years, we bested our nemesis HG7T.  Unfortunately, the team of K3EST & N6RO (Et. al.) showed up out of nowhere.  Unless their log is riddled with errors, they will take the Top-Mop plaque.  Of course, having an operator who speaks fluent Japanese is a plus for a Japanese Dx contest.  Possibly it is time for me to retread Japanese lessons once attempted many, many years ago.




N X 6 T @ 13:00z  (Sunrise) - after J I D X

Did YOU work the JIDX Cw contest?
How many prefectures did You work?

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?