WQ6X Dual-OPs ARRL 2020 RTTY RU Contest

LooKing back to 2019, the 109 radiosport events ending the decade are now safely in the LoG BooKs.  If you are a RTTY enthusiast like I am, the contest season for each new year begins with
the ARRL RTTY RU contest.  I recently wrote a "Blast from the Past" BLOG about previous RTTY
RU GiGs I have been a part of ([CLICK HERE] to read that.)

For this year's RTTY RU, I began things @18:00z running NX6T remotely.  Due to heat considerations, until we had actual B-i-C operation, I kept the power dialed back to around 775
watts.  When the B-i-C crew arrived and opened the windows the power was upped to over 1200 watts.

On the intentional QRM front, for this contest there was NO intentional 40 meter QRM - Hurray!  Unfortunately, this years intentional QRM came in the form of a VE6 on 20-meters while I ran a frequency - after a 1/2 hour it became clear that this was not accidental.  I wrote him an e-mail
about it and received an apology as the QRM was evidently inadvertent altho to me it certainly sounded intentional.

Shortly after 00:00z Rick (N6CY) achieved B-i-C, followed later by N6ERD.  I'm used to running the evening "dinner shift".  Thanks to B-I-C operators I was freed up to run WQ6X on 80 & 40 meters. 
I guess different operators have a different experience of Fallbrook WX conditions - N6CY was all bundled up while N6ERD was wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

The evening crew put in an outstanding run session for over 6 hours before shutting it down for the obligatory 6 hour off period after 1am.  By 7am NX6T was back to B-IC action until around 10:30 when I put a couple of hours in the remote chair before turning it over for daytime R-i-C (Remote
in Chair) operations allowing me to get back to running WQ6X from EB section.

The Saturday night shift crew became the Sunday shift crew with me filling in remotely after N6ERD left at 10:30am and N6CY took over remotely, allowing me to run the final 2 hours of RTTY RU as WQ6X, surpassing my goal of 100+ QSOs.

After the contest I filed the required 3830 Score reports for WQ6X & NX6T and submitted the logs.  It's a relief to get
the after-contest admin out of the way as soon as possible.

Rick (N6CY) and Dan (N6ERD) are outstanding operators.  When running as WQ6X, seeing spots for NX6T, listening
to them run a frequency brought me a smile, so I gave them plenty of room to continue their RU contest barrage.

As you can see, while we worked all 48 states somehow we missed North Dakota (for RTTY RU, AK & HI are considered DX countries not states).

The BiG disappointment was the lack of Canadian stations; especially the more arcane Canadian provinces.  I guess it was too cold for the Canadians.  One of the reasons to run
a large tube amplifier for high power operations is the HEAT produced, which can somewhat warm the shack.


With the Solar Flux "struggling" to remain above 70 throughout the weekend, we were fortunate to have virtually no atmospheric noise, in Fallbrook as well as the East Bay.  If we could've scored a
10 meter opening or encountered better 15 meter conditions breaking the 1,000 QSO mark could've been a real possibility; maybe 2021 will allow us to make that happen.

In retrospect, it would seem that WQ6X took a 1st place for EB section (SOULP) and NX6T took a

1st for SDG section.  While I didn't stand a chance to win for PAC, NX6T was trounced by the Arizona Outlaws for Southwest Division honors.  Nevertheless, both stations made an incredible showing to start off the new year.

Did YOU work the 2020 RTTY RU Contest?

Is NX6T or WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

Blog #300: WQ6X Blast from the Past: ARRL RTTY RU



In the overall scheme of things I am a relative newbie to RTTY contest involvement; only 9 years
of actually doing it.  In preparation for this weekend's upcoming RTTY Roundup (RU), I took a look
down the memory track, revisiting the many RTTY RU events that have happened to include me.
Here is what I discovered:

My initial RTTY exposure happened thanks to N6GEO involving me in various RTTY
events during the 2011, 2012 & 2013 contest season.

• [x] - 2014 Our EPIC 1st-place worldwide win as WP2/WQ6X (see above OP pic)
• [x] - 2015 - N6GEO & WQ6X dual-OP another RTTY RU operation
• [x] - 2016 - WQ6X Ron runs RTTY RU Remotely and Robustly
• [x] - 2017 - WQ6X runs RTTY RU Remotely to open 2017 contest season
• [x] - 2018 - WQ6X runs RTTY RU Routinely but Remotely
• [x] - 2019 - WQ6X Rips another Remote RTTY RU 1st place from San Diego

As you can see - I have participated in a wide variety of RTTY RU activities over 9 years.  RTTY GiGs are a favorite with me because there is no wear/tear on my voice and I don't have to copy code in my head.  When running remotely, even if there is an internet "hiccup", the data is still on the computer screen in Fallbrook waiting for a reconnect to pick up where we left off.

For the 2020 contest year, I will be working with a handful of operators (some remote, some B-i-C)
to put NX6T on as a Multi-Single operation from Fallbrook (SDG Section); in between, I will be running WQ6X from East Bay (EB) Section, testing the recently updated WQ6X Lazy 8JK
Inverted Vee.

Do you play around in the ARRL's RTTY RU Contest?
Is WQ6X, N6GEO or NX6T in YOUR LoG?

C U in RTTY RU for 2020.

    de WQ6X

WQ6X Contest BLOG #299: Writing a BLOG Entry is Like.....

.....making a radiosport QSO.

When I work a station during a radiosport contest,
with each individual QSO I do not QUIT until the
information is properly exchanged; both ways.

Then, when it is done, we move ON,
almost as if it never happened.

Later if we are allowed, we can repeat
the above procedure - on a different band.

Similarly,
When I compose/publish a [new] BLOG Entry,
depending upon the BLOG Topic, I may be researching
new ideas to write about; or, I may be cut/pasting stats and/or
the .JPG files you see in each published entry.

I often write out of an intense flurry of ideas and activity;
then when the BLOG is finally published,
it is again, all but forgotten.

This is the 299th Contest BLoG Entry;
I've pretty much forgotten about the other 298.

73, Everybody - C U in 2020.

WQ6X OK w/OK Dx RTTY & Croatian Cw Contests

When I arrived @W7AYT's QTH in Concord on Friday afternoon, I had no expectations as to what this weekend would be about.  My original plan was to test-install my recently-repaired ICOM 7000 and play around with a recently-acquired Classic 1983 "Moscow Muffler" Blanker device'; with the
OK Dx RTTY contest barely in the back of mind, I had completely forgotten about the Croatian Cw contest.  When the weekend was over, the OK RTTY was run as both NX6T (remotely) and as
WQ6X (@W7AYT); just to show that it can be done.

As the weekend progressed, I realized that no attention had been given to the 9A Croatian DX Cw Contest.  The 9A GiG started @ 14:00z, altho at that time I was catching up on Sleep, after running the OK-RTTY contest all night.  The plan became to run the OK GiG until its official end @ 00:00z, followed by a mode switch to Cw.

While the 2 contests could not have been more different in their exchange, both were world-wide GiGs offering more QSO points for contacts with stations in other continents and countries.

On 20 meters, I purposely ran the Expert 2-K amp into a 3-element Stepp-IR allowing the use of BI-Directional mode, in order to work Asia (mostly JA) and SA (mostly PY & LU).  I was amazed by the number of recognizable stations worked from the previous 3 contest weekends.

The QF1-A and NIR-12 external filters @W7AYT shaped the [after-the-fact] RTTY audio, directing the 915-Hz MARK signal to the left ear and the SPACE signal to the right.  Adjusting the balance between the two ears can make for a more relaxing contest experience.

For Cw, the QF1-A PEAK mode complements the K3/0's R-i-T control, "popping" stations above the audio noise-level.  From the Space-WX perspective the bands were QUITE QUIET in Concord and considerably more noisy atop the hill in Fallbrook.

During any given contest weekend, I scribble notes detailing significant

events that occur during each operating period.  It is from such scribbles

like this one that WQ6X Contest Blog entries are derived.  Using my SNAP-Shot

screen capture software, it is a SNAP to document contest activities as they occur.

 

While none of the submitted contest scores were anywhere near spectacular, it would seem that the weekend operation may well have resulted in a couple of single-band 1st-place entries; 1st for NA in the 9A contest and 1st for W6 in the OK RTTY GiG.  This is why I ALWAYS submit a log - you never know when it might "accidently" win an award.  Remember: I run radiosport events for the emergency preparedness training, as well as JUST for fun; collecting plaques and "pieces of paper" is just the bonus on top of it all.

 

Did YOU work the 9A Cw contest or OK DX RTTY?

 

Is WQ6X or NX6T in YOUR LoG?

 

 

ARRL 10-Meter Contest: It Don't Get any Weirder

The ARRL 10-Meter contest is an interesting paradox.  It feels like we have been languishing in the trough of the solar cycle for the last 7 years; whereas in fact it has been about 4.  Because this year's 10-meter GiG seemed so weird, a trip down memory lane helped put it all in perspective.
I began documenting my 10-meter operations in this contest Blog beginning in 2013:

• [x] - 2013: WQ6X & N6GEO join up for 2013 ARRL 10-Meter contest
• [x] - 2014: N6GEO & WQ6X Score another 1st place in the ARRL 10-Meter contest
• [x] - 2015: WQ6X test drives the 1000MP for 2015 10-meter contest
• [x] - 2016: WQ6X joins NX6T remotely for ARRL 10-meter contest
• [x] - 2017: WQ6X Survives 2017 ARRL 10-Meter Contest
• [x] - 2018: ARRL 10-Meter GiG Fascinates & Frustrates

At the last minute (what else is new) N6KI put together a multi-OP operation from NX6T. 

With no actual B-i-C action, N6KI fired things up at 01:10z remotely.  While we are used to

having 10-meters "fold up" by 01:00.  Amazingly, NX6T kept Ten Meters alive until 04:25z. 

Reading 3830 comments from a dozen W6 stations, they all experienced a strong opening

on Friday evening.  Most of those stations reported extremely POOR conditions on Saturday afternoon/evening, which is surprising as my experience was quite the reverse.

Client commitments kept me off the air until late Saturday afternoon.  At 02:30 I fired up RCForb and VNC Viewer to remotely run NX6T from Alameda.  I opened by putting a couple of QSOs in the log .  Then calling CQ on 28029.29 I was jammed by a Cw "heckler' sending errant Cw tones after my CQ calls, often obliterating weaker stations underneath his obviously local signal. 

While I'm used to this behavior on 40 meters after midnight, encountering this kind of IDIOT on 10-meters is a new experience.  Altho the local QF-1A filter helped notch the intentional-QRM, being audio-based it could not overcome the AGC-induced signal reduction.  N6KI informed me that the QRM-Idiot plagued his operations on Friday evening. 

My solution to this Idiot was to play frequency "Leap-Frog", jumping from the low end of the Cw band, up to the middle and then back again.  Luckily, with 20 minutes the station got bored and gave it up.  Running frequencies on 28016.16 and 28028.28 put 17 QSOs in the log. Like the previous evening,
I gave it up at 04:30z.  By that time, the only spots for NX6T came from N2IC (in NM) and N0OI (Perris Valley, Ca).  I got the message and shut things down, hoping for one more run on Sunday morning.

On Sunday, I was back in the remote chair @18:00z, calling CQ again on 28028.28.  Sensing a

South American opening, point the Stepp-IR to 120-degrees put CX2, LU2, LU7 & XE2 in the log.  Not having a microphone, i could not call CQ on Ssb altho thanks to the K3's Voice Keyer a number of S&P QSOs made it to the log.

While most W6 stations reported a dead 10-meters on Sunday, over the course of 5 hours I managed to add 48 QSOs to the log, 34 from South America - so much for a dead band.  The last QSO made it to the log at 23:22z; the remaining 38 minutes yielded no one new.

At contest end, it would seem that NX6T took 7th place worldwide, 5th place for USA & North America and 1st place for W6 and the Southwest Division; not too bad considering the overall marginal band conditions and only 3 operators.

 

DiD YOU work the ARRL 10-meter contest?

 

Is NX6T in YOUR LoG?

 

WQ6X teams up w/NX6T for Wonderfully Quiet 160 GiG

D F 8 D X  &  N 6 K I

While I long for the days of an SFI = 185 solar flux, being at the other end of solar cycle we can hopefully console ourselves that 160-meter condx. are all that they can be; the "truth" is somewhere in the middle. 

Considering that the last 1/2-dozen contest weekends have been loaded with crappy Space-WX, this weekend was AMAZINGLY Quiet.

This year's ARRL-160 contest began at 23:00z on Friday; 3pm California time.  Being a typical 30-hour ARRL contest,
it ended at 16:00z (9am California time)
on Sunday.  Initially, Dennis (N6KI) could find no other available operators for a Multi-Single setup except WQ6X and
Axel KI6RRN.


Late Saturday afternoon a visit from DF8DX brought B-I-C (Butt-in-Chair) action to the NX6T shack.  Bodo ran STN-2 during the 7:00 to 10:30 "dinner hour"; I usually run STN-1 remotely during that time-period.  Thanks to DF8DX, I was confident that NX6T was in capable hands, giving me the freedom to put 22 QSOs in the WQ6X ARRL-160 Log.

N6KI and WQ6X ran NX6T remotely Friday evening; Ron running STN-1 via RCForb and Dennis running STN-2 via an Elecraft K3/0.  KI6RRN also put some QSOs in the log, but we never crossed paths so I dunno when he was actually on the air.  Space WX-wise, 160-meters was incredibly quiet; both in Fallbrook (SDG section) and Concord (EB section).  Unfortunately signal levels were often weaker than usual.  Then again, one of the weak-signal surprises was from IK0XBX; not bad from San Diego using only an Inverted Vee.

While we got a late start (03:45z), N6KI quickly made over 160 QSOs in just under 2 hours.  It's a nice feeling to start an operating session knowing that team members have been keeping the NX6T call in bandmaps all over North America, as well as around the world.  Continuing to run on 1805.71 found me keeping alive a busy frequency, interspersed with "popping" multipliers from the bandmap.
Amazingly, by contest-end we managed to work all sections except NT.

At 07:25z a W4 in TN out of nowhere began calling CQ on my run frequency.  Ignoring him (NX6T was louder) I continued making QSOs and calling CQ.  After one of my CQ's the W4 station moved right ON TOP of me and sent "L-i-D" several times and moved down frequency just enough that the stereo Cw put his high-pitched signal in my right ear while I worked stations heard in the left ear.
A move to 1806.06 put his puny (but annoying) signal out of the passband; not working anybody
he eventually disappeared.

For this weekend I accomplished what I set out to do; run NX6T remotely from Concord via my Elecraft K3/0 and test-run the recently devised WQ6X Lazy 8JK Inverted Vee (converted from the original Lazy 8JK Sloper).  As a Lazy 8JK Sloper, on 160-meters the antenna could barely work N6RO (5-mi away); as a Lazy 8JK Inverted Vee, the WQ6X signal was able to work nearly
all of the Northwest states and as far as Colorado.  As a sloper, the 8JK was a noisier antenna
than the CH-250 Vertical next to it; as an Inverted Vee it is now much quieter than the vertical.



Around 03:00z on Saturday, I noticed on the webcam that N6KI and DF8DX had arrived @NX6T putting B-i-C for 3 hours.  It was during this time that WQ6X managed to make 22 QSOS; one of which was a reply to my CQ call from NX6T (manned by DF8DX).  Around 06:30z NX6T was again dark; the only "light on" being from Station #1 being run by me remotely until N6KI returned to San Diego (07:30z) to run Station #2 until I took over at 10:30z to wrap things up.

WQ6x scribbled contest projections .VS. 3830Scores.Com

You have heard me say ALWAYS submit a log because no matter how small your score is.  If no one else in your section/division/power-class submits a valid logfile then you win by default.  For this year, listening to the other W6 stations during the ARRL 160 contest, it would seem that NX6T may well be the front runner; not only for San Diego Section, W6  & IARU Zone 6, but for Southwestern Division as well - Just barely slipping by the Arizona Outlaws (AOCC).

Based on scores reported (or should we say, scores NoT reported) to the 3830Scores website, it would seem that WQ6X took 2nd place for W6 and IARU Zone 6, 1st place for East Bay section
and surprisingly, 1st place for Pacific Division.

While the solar flux for this year's ARRL 160 contest was depressingly low, I need to remember that low-SFI's make for GREAT 160 contests; we'll know more after the upcoming Stew Perry 160 contest.

DiD You work the ARRL 160 Meter contest?
What band condx. did you encounter?

Is WQ6X or NX6T in YOUR LoG?

Analog or Digital Audio - Which should we choose?

Ever since I got access to a 1939 Hammarlund Super-PRO (SP-210 LX) receiver when I was 13,
I always loved bigger radios and add-on units w/all kinds of knobs to twiddle.  A few years back
I jumped at the chance to buy one of N6VR's filter-laden FT-1000mp's.  He was retiring the Yaesu radios from SO2-R operation and switching to a pair of (much smaller) Elecraft K3's.  Ergonomically,
I way-prefer the FT-1000mp over the K3.  I really appreciate the BiG main tuning knob w/shuttle jog.  Having access to dual-receive in the FT-1000mp makes knob-twiddling infinitely more fun.

In addition to a series of reasonably sharp I-F filters, the Main RX sports a reasonably effective
e-DSP facility.  Even tho the e-DSP is not I-F based (like its successor - the FT-1000mp MK-V),
minus agc-pumping, the 1000mp's eDSP allows shaping the audio in a number of different ways
to peak the audio passband in such a way that muddied-signals often "PoP" a few db ABOVE the
ramble-mud; and, of course the auto-notch facility is, shall we say, "top notch".

While I LoVe the FT-1000mp design overall, what is often overlooked is the fact that the e-DSP
facility works ONLY with the Main-RX (VFO-A).  The Sub-RX is in reality, relatively wide-open. 
Prior to bringing the MP into my WQ6X operation, the JPS NIR-12 DSP and the MFJ-752c analog filters had been shelved in the storeroom.

During the 5-contest weekend in May 2017 (where I took 3rd place for 7QP QSO party and 1st-place for the INQP GiG), amongst other experiments, I devised a cabling-trick allowing the NIR-12 and 752c to be cascaded in the Sub-RX audio line.  Right after that weekend 2 BLOGs were posted describing what was done and how it turned out.  [CLICK HERE] to read that picture-laden description.

In time for 2017's Cw All Asia contest, I brought a languishing Autek Research QF-1A off the dusty storeroom shelf, inserting it in the laptop audio line for running NX6T remotely.  After I got the right-feel for the different filter configurations and settings w/the QF-1A, I was amazed at the peaking effects of the Peak & High-Pass filter settings of that vintage analog filter.  [CLICK HERE] to read about that.

Because the All Asia GiG was a Cw contest, I got a "quick-learn" about all the things 25+ year-old analog technology can still bring us, in an overly-DSP'd society.  As you can see, the QF-1A is equipped with Low-pass/High-pass filters, a pair of audio-notch controls and most important, an
audio peak filter (APF) that is as good as the inboard APF controls that came with the high-end transceivers released during the time-period the QF-1A was on the market.

The Autek filter design is of course an audio emulation of the classic I-F based Q-Multiplier circuitry; without the caveat of having to TAP the I-F signal line.  Except during moments of extreme agc-keying (when a strong station is near the RX passband) the Autek QF-1A is as good as ANY Q-Multiplier.
Because the audio passband is processing is analog, the operator can "fine tune" the passband shape characteristics more precisely than most DSP methods allow us to do.

A filter you may not be aware of is the WW-II Navy "BEAM" filter (or FL-8), initially intended for on board aircraft receivers.  Think of the "RANGE" switch position as a CW filter and the "PHONE" position as a medium-skirted SSB filter.  As I recall, the "BOTH" position effectively bypasses the filter.

Technically, there is enough room
inside the box to mount a small IC-based filter/amplifier.  I have seen a modified Beam filter with one of headphone jacks removed and replaced with a filter adjustment pot.


A major advantage of external filters is their plug-in and play operation; no circuit modifications
to the receiving equipment are necessary.  The major disadvantage is that most external filters are usually relatively worthless in the presence of adjacent signals down-pumping the receiver's AGC.  Nevertheless, while most analog audio-processing is vintage "old school", your ears don't
care about that.

Altho Digital Signal Processing is for the most part here to stay, you pay a premium price to purchase a DSP-laden radio.  In most cases, external analog and digital external filters do a near-equivalent filtering job, and quite frequently for well under $100.  Another advantage of external filters is that
with an audio cable switch box, they can be used with a multitude of transceiver and receiver units.

What approach do YOU take?

ANALOG?  DSP?  BOTH?  OR?.....

WQ6X Works another Wiley Wonderful World-wide Contest

In recent years due to CQ W.W. running AFTER the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, NX6T has been "officially dark" for Multi-2 operation; instead, WQ6X has run these weekends as SOAB(A) during those events.  LooKing back chronologically, in this WQ6X contest blog I have reported on the following CQ W.W. Cw radiosport events:

• [x] 2018 CQ WW Cw Contest - Only 81 QSOs remotely, but at least a presence.
• [x] 2017 CQ WW Cw Contest - 727 QSOs & 260 multipliers - for winging it remotely.
• [x] 2016 CQ WW Cw Contest - 194-Q's/143-Mults remotely from the SF East Bay area.
• [x] 2015 CQ WW Cw Contest - 225-Q's/211-Mults run remotely from 2 hotels.
• [x] 2014 CQ WW Cw Contest - Multi-OP w/N6GEO (FLEX-3000 & KPA-500).
• [x] 2013 CQ WW Cw Contest - Joined-up w/NX6T crew for 3016-Q's & 651-Mults.

W M 6 Y  &  N 7 D A

This year, with CQ W.W. preceding the holiday period, N6KI rounded up a few long-time regulars (K4RB, N6NC, NN6X, WM6Y & WQ6X) and gave up-and-coming contester N7DA (Drew) his first exposure to Cw radiosport NX6T-style.

For WQ6X operations I chose to run another dual-OP operation from W7AYT's QTH enabling
opportunity to test-run various audio cable configurations between the Elecraft K3/0 (for NX6T
remote access), my FT-1000mp (in Concord) and laptop audio, used this weekend for streaming electronic music in the background (via Pandora) while running the radio contest. 

Eventually, the messy junction-cabling will be replaced with a custom-configured switch box. 
An advantage of combined audio is the ability to call CQ from NX6T in Fallbrook (using the K3/0) while monitoring that CQ call (on 80 & 40) using the FT-1000mp in the SF bay area.

For WQ6X CQ-WW operations the "antenna farm" @W7AYT was given a GooD workout. 
The current antenna setup includes:

• The WQ6X Lazy 8JK Inverted Vee - recently converted from an 8JK Sloper.
• The WQ6X JA Sloper - which seems to favor an SA (not JA) directional pipeline.
• a Comet CHA-250 wide-band vertical - noisier but lower angle overall.
• a Hy-Gain 3-element 10-meter "Long John" yagi - tunes FB on 15-M to work SA.

On my next visit to W7AYT I will reintroduce the WQ6X antenna phase switch box, allowing the
8JK Vee and JA Sloper to run in parallel, taking advantage of the advantages of each antenna.

At NX6T in Fallbrook (900' above sea level), tower #2 was raised to its full 72' height for maximum DX reach.

With Tower #1 a recent rotor malfunction was remedied, restoring the ability to "sweep" back and
forth while running a frequency.  Working Africa from NX6T is not an easy thing to do; however thanks to yagi-sweeping we were able to "Zoom-in" on individual countries and amazingly, break pileups on 1st/2nd call.

In Fallbrook, both afternoons presented us with propagation to JA & SA simultaneously.  When that happens I switch over to the 3-el Stepp-IR on tower 2, running it in BI-directional mode.  During those periods the log is interleaved with SA/JA & S-E (USA/Caribbean stations).  Eventually when SA stations had either faded or all been worked, the yagi was pointed 100% to JA.  Unlike years past, the JA presence near the end
of the 2019 GiG was noticeably substantial.

In years past, we've had all but a skeleton crew on Sunday afternoon in the CQ W.W. contests. 
This year we had 2 B-i-C OPs and N6KI running remotely, freeing me to work the bands as WQ6X from the bay area.  While my 52-QSO total was hardly worth mentioning, the opportunity to test various antenna configurations & combinations was what the 2019 event was all about anyway;
in that respect it was a resounding success.

When it was all over NX6T ended up taking 1st place for San Diego, the 6th call

area and possibly even Zone 3; for USA & North America, we were 14th & 16th place.

Did YOU work the CQ WW Dx Cw contest?

Is NX6T and/or WQ6X in YOUR LoG?

SS-Ssb 2019: The Radiosport GiG that Faded into Obscurity

W Q 6 X  Pondering the FT-1000mp while recording Brainwaves

Every [November] Sweepstakes contest (and in particular Sweepstakes-phone) has some memorable aspect to it.  In the 1979 SS-Phone GiG (running as WA6LKB/8), from my Cincinnati Western Hills townhouse, I developed a minor hand infection which required me to QRT the contest and QSY to St. George's hospital for that Thanksgiving week.

Fast forward to 2019 and:

• The WA6LKB callsign became KX6H (in 1983) and then WQ6X (in 2000).
• The SX-101a / HT-37 became an ICOM 740 (in the mid-80's) with several interim Xcvr iterations leading to the current Yaesu FT-1000mp installation @W7AYT.
• Hand-written LoG/DuP sheets became crudely automated by simple computer logging software.  Of course today, the software not only dupe-checks and logs, it completely runs the contest and controls the station; culminating in SO2V and even SO2R, SO3R & SO4R.
• My simple sloped (down the hill) "toaster-wire" antenna in Cincinnati has evolved into over a dozen antenna designs @ NX6T, N6GEO & W7AYT.
• The old war surplus audio filter (a "BEAM Filter") has been transformed into various forms
  of external filtering (Autek QF1-A, MFJ-752 & JPS NIR-12) and built-in DSP processing
  to "weed out" interfering QRN & QRM.

For this weekend a major goal was to test-drive the recently-updated audio cable configuration for my portable operations @W7AYT's QTH while running the Ssb contest largely by F-Keys and .Wav files.  Saturday morning, time was spent recording, and as needed, re-recording a set of .Wav files designed to largely run the contest.  Other than saying your callsign and my QSO#, everything
else comes from a .Wav file.

S & P  (Left)  ---  R U N  (Right)

As you can see, each of the 12 F-Keys had a purpose; depending on whether the RX or Sub-RX
was in RUN mode or S&P Mode.  Experimentation was done to determine whether RUN'ning a frequency should be done from Main-RX (with DSP, Shift and NB) or the more wide-open Sub-RX,
for which - it turns out - there is no R-I-T control - bummer dewd. 

If some Yo-Yo calls me significantly off frequency, I then have to note the OP frequency, tune him
in, make the QSO and return to the OP frequency w/o anyone "waiting in line" even noticing what just happened.  Wouldn't it be easier for the Yo-Yo to properly Zero-beat the operating frequency, saving us ALL LoTs of time?  Am I missing something?

While the WQ6X signal was hardly insignificant, running frequencies yielded callers ONLY on 75-meters late Saturday evening: 3764.64 @08:00z (3 callers) and 3792.92 @09:00z (3 callers).

From the frequency list at left you can see that WQ6X made a LoT of unanswered CQ calls.  On 10-meters, the Long John yagi was swept back and forth from 0-degrees to 180-degress and all points in-between; all for naught.

Overall, for better-or-worse, the 2019 November Sweepstakes was largely an S&P affair.  Unfortunately, there was a DEARTH of hearable/workable "CQ Sweepstakes" callers.  Wassup with THAT?

A number of after-contest reports from "BiG GuN" stations indicate that the volume of participants decreased noticeably from 2018.

At LEAST I had a full weekend opportunity to test-run the installation @W7AYT thoroughly from an Ssb standpoint.  Not wanting to be "wired in" I wore wireless headphones and "mounted" the Heil HC-4 headset atop the station's Electro Voice EV-664 mic.  The 664 is more of a ragchew microphone; for radiosport the HC-4 has more syllable "punch".

On the receive audio end of things, the pair of Autek QF-1's and the JPS NIR-12 were largely run
at the "other end" of the hearable audio spectrum.  The Main-RX DSP-Contour control sometimes peaked a voice into intelligibility; necessary as so many of the signals this weekend were so weak.

By 03:00z (7pm PST), it was all over.  10 and 15 meters never materialized.  20-meters "folded up" early both Saturday and Sunday, sending us down to 40-meters, which was not quite ready for some sustained action that early in the afternoon.  I guess it's a GooD thing that 30 meters does not allow contest activity.

A couple of annoying anomalies this weekend were the 100's of stations who said "PLEASE COPY..." before EVERY QSO.  Not only is it a waste of time, it becomes an annoying bunch of gibberish.  Make it short and succinct.  Because of the severe fading, saying "Please Copy" wasted enough
time that the signal would then fade right as the Check & Section were spoken, requiring one-or-more repeats.  Remember: every repeat DOUBLES the Qso-time.

Despite all of my bitching, I enjoyed the 2019 SS-Ssb GiG as I've enjoyed ALL the Sweepstakes events over the years.  According to the 3830 Scores website, it would seem that WQ6X took a
1st-place for East Bay (EB) section, 2nd-place for the Pacific Division and 37th-place overall.

Where were YOU during the 2019 November Sweepstakes Phone contest?

Is WQ6X in YOUR LoG?