WQ6X runs 5 contests simultaneously

 

For radiosport contest aficionados, the 1st weekend in May brings us 4 state QSO parties
(7QP, INQP, DEQP & NEQP) along with the Italian ARI DX contest.

My first exposure to this weekend was 5 years ago with N6KI operating NX6T in Fallbrook,
attempting to log all the contests by way of one logging program.
Since then NX6T has managed to win a couple of plaques for the NEQP and a 2nd place in the 7QP.

For 2016 I was not up to a long drive to Fallbrook and running remote would not have worked in
a multi-mode Multi-single operation with 5 operators.  Instead, I chose to setup my FT-1000mp at W7AYT's QTH in Concord (California), giving his recently installed Comet CH-250 vertical
a thorough test.

All the contests allowed multi-mode operation and a couple of the QSO parties plus the ARI contest also allow the use of RTTY which I considered for extra fun until I realized that my West Mountain Plug-N-Play interface was cabled for the ICOM 7000, not the (more recently acquired) FT-1000mp.
Until I work out the 1000mp cabling for RTTY, the Plug-N-Play is simply relegated to CW keying;
which it does extremely well.  As it turns out there was virtually no contest RTTY activity.
Then again, if I had been calling CQ on RTTY, I might well have paved the way for legitimate activity.

Comet CH-250 Vertical

 Each contest this weekend had a different length
and a unique starting time:

12:00z (5am PDT) --- ARI Dx Contest
13:00z (6am PDT) --- 7QP QSO party
15:00z (8am PDT) --- INQP QSO party
17:00z (10am PDT) --- DEQP QSO party
20:00z (1pm PDT) --- NEQP QSO party

Rather than use a single N1MM log, I made logs for
each contest switching to the proper log for each group
of contacts.

After 4 hours sleep I fired up the coffee pot and the
FT-1000mp for a 12:30z start.  Because in years past (operating from NX6T) I experienced LoTs of ARI contest activity, I was expecting the same for 2016 - WRONG!  NX6T's ACOM 2000 amps into 70' high yagi's and the Fallbrook location make all the difference;
literally in the world.

Evidently, 100 watts into a vertical from the SF east bay is not enough to play like the big boys and girls in the ARI contest.  Fortunately, this fate did not apply to the state QSO parties.  By the end of the ARI contest Sunday morning I had amassed a whopping 4 QSOs.  Other than the 2 European stations worked, I heard no one else calling CQ.

Throughout Saturday day and evening I would periodically put out a CQ ARI Test call on CW,
with no callers other than a couple of frustrated 7QP stations who didn't understand why I was sending a serial # and not my state.  If they had ACTUALLY LISTENED to my CQ call they would have KNOWN  I wasn't playing 7QP at THAT moment in time.  They SHOULD have been calling
CQ 7QP for me to work them in their own contest! - Oh WELL!

Within minutes after 13:00z, 40 & 20 meters came alive with 7QP calls.  For 7QP-2016 I was pleasantly surprised at how many stations were operating on county lines and in one operation
a county from each of two states - how cool is that?!

7QP Summary Statistics

Multi-contest weekends often have interesting quirks.Notable this year
was WJ9B calling CQ IDQP (not INQP).  When I called him I got no reply. 
His contest exchange said he was in IDAHO, so he should have been calling CQ 7QP.  Eventually he figured it out - when I finally worked him he was calling CQ for 7QP.

Of all the contests, I made more
QSOs in the 7QP (185) than any other, followed by NEQP (28), ARI (4), INQP (2) & DEQP (1).  INQP was over at 04:00z and 7QP ended at 07:00z (midnight PDT).

As it turns out, for 7QP my score took 1st place for low power mixed mode.

NEQP Summary Statistics

With DEQP & NEQP on hold until Sunday morning, all that was left was the ARI contest.  Calling CQ for over an hour on 80 & 40 meters produced no results so I called it quits at 09:00z for 7 hours sleep.

By Sunday morning the K-Index had risen to 5 (and eventually 6) which all but nullified any upper band activity.
I managed one more NEQP QSO before calling it quits at 21:00z and taking down the radio.


Poor space weather probably had a lot to do with sparse contest activity;
such is the unknown variable in every contest weekend.

DiD YOU play in this last weekend's contests?

Is WQ6X in YOUR log?


This certificate was received on June 10th 2016 - these guys are QUICK!

1st place outside of the 7th call area
is QUITE an honor when you consider what I had to work with.

The last weekend of July brought this plaque to my mailbox.  Who woulda thunk?

WQ6X RTTYily dabbles in SP-DX RTTY Contest

The end of April found me in Westminster (Orange county, S. California) on business.  For the first Saturday I drove in from the Bakersfield area.  My thinking was to get situated at the Super 8 and initiate multi-band activity in the SP-DX RTTY contest, operating remotely using STN#1 @ NX6T in Fallbrook (aka "NashVille").  As it turns out I accomplished about 1/2 that.



At NX6T, renovations to STN#2 limited multi-band opportunities for me, requiring that I pick one band and stick with it.  Because the contest period was 12:00z Saturday to 12:00z Sunday, I realized that nearly half of the contest period was behind me.  Based on propagation predictions I decided that 40 meters would be the best all around band, allowing me to work stations right up to the contest end. 

Most DX contests allow single-band submissions; all but this one.  By contest end my log was lumped in with all the SOAB LP stations, so the only thing I won was a self-pat on the back.  Instead, I used operation in the SP-DX contest to learn new operating techniques with N1MM (for me the preferred RTTY contest logging program).

While N1MM was auto-CQ'ing I spent the listening time writing the JIDX blog entry and at one point even playing in a poker tournament online.  Result?  I just missed the final table in the tournament and managed a whopping 2 QSOs in 2.5 hours. 

Then I got a brilliant idea: I turned the 2 element 40 meter yagi towards Japan calling CQ contest
to enjoy the usually expected dozens of JA QSOs.  The result?  0 QSOs. 
I guess JA's don't play in SP-DX RTTY contests. 
Bummer Dewd!

There was virtually none of the usual 40-meter intentional contest QRM even tho RTTY stations ran as low as 7.035.  Amazingly, a number of CW stations were able to co-exist; many intermingled between a dozen RTTY stations.  I was amused to hear a CW station calling CQ on a nearby frequency while I called CQ SP-DX on RTTY. 

Over the period of an hour the CW station enjoyed several ragchews, seemingly oblivious to my RTTY operations next door to him.  Because this area of 40 meters is also used for SSB operations in regions 1 & 3, it is proof that we CAN share areas of the RF spectrum effectively.

2-el 40 Yagi w/Stepp-IR

Equipment-wise I ran an Elecraft K3 barefoot at 62 watts as I was unable to turn on the KPA-500 remotely.  I worked every station I could hear, so running low power was not an issue. 


In fact, I was surprised when I received a call from ZS6WB (South Africa).  At first the ZS6 prefix looked so much like just a jumble of characters that I ignored it. 


When the same "jumble of characters" showed up again I took a chance by pasting the ZS6 callsign into the callsign window and pressing the INS key to initiate a QSO.  Receiving a correct reply I logged the QSO for my only non North American QSO during this contest.



While I was severely limited in what I could do remotely, it WAS a lot of fun working the SP-DX RTTY contest to the degree that I did.  After all, amateur radio contesting is about being prepared for
just about anything which comes our way during the contest period. 
For the SP-DX contest I certainly got to make that happen.

What about you?  Did You play in the SP-DX RTTY contest?
How manny RTTY exchanges ended up in YOUR Log?

W6J takes North America for JIDX 2016 CW contest

For JIDX 2016 client commitments relegated me to remain in the SF bay area so I setup the Yaesu FT-1000mp at W7AYT's QTH, allowing us to test his newly installed Comet CH-250 Vertical antenna.  As in years past, I registered the W6J callsign to commemorate the Fukushima cleanup actions.

Originally, the setup began with just a Toshiba computer.
Later it occurred to me I could affect an HDMI hookup to
a 35" Sony TV in the room as the contest monitor.

Opening conditions were not all that great.   40 meters was quite limited.  A couple of weak JA's could be heard on 80, but no QSOs made in this contest even though several listen periods were made both evenings and a series of CQ calls in the last few hours of the contest.

The weak signals or lack of them probably had as much to do with the
use of a vertical as did the poor solar conditions.

One of the BEST sounding JA signals was a JA0/6Y5 station who always had a pile-up of JA stations to work.

Unfortunately, in the JIDX contest,
6Y5 prefixes don't count for stations
like W6J.



This weekend was shared by the GA and NM QSO parties (during which I heard very few stations and worked none), as well as the Yuri Gagarin DX contest, during which I managed to work two stations: one stateside and one in Russia.

W6J 20 meter spot on DX-Maps

10 meters was a complete no-show, while 15 meters was the way 10 meters often is; it seemed dead
and then a JA station would jump
out at S-7 or more.
Signals on 20 meters were also lacking, making the "best" DX band quite a disappointment.

As you can see I WAS being heard
in Japan on 20 meters.





40 meters finally came alive 24 hours into the contest.  Luckily, for this contest, the only "intentional" QRM came from JA stations tuning up on frequency before calling me - at least I got the QSO.


Because the 1000mp's auto-notch is so good it can't be used on CW; however, the manual notch really worked well here.

Amazing enough, no Russian beacon stations were heard on 7.039.

Unlike previous JIDX contests, this year all the JA stations I worked knew their prefecture #; confusion on this usually occurs only in SSB JIDX contests.


For people who know their way around JA callsigns and prefecture numbers, these are easily verifiable.  Because signal levels were so marginal I managed only 32 prefectures out of the
possible 47.  Next year will always be better.

As I report in every blog entry on JIDX contests (and Asian contests in general), my biggest beef with these events is not enough participation by the target stations themselves; in this case, the Japanese.
Looking at the QSO total for NX6T (800+ for 2016 versus 1000+ last year) this would seem quite evident.  Then again, had I joined the team at NX6T, with my after midnite assistance, the QSO total might have been as high as 1100+ - who nose.  While I am bummed that I couldn't join up with NX6T,
I enjoyed myself and managed a 1st-place for North America - just by screwing around.

As you can see from the stats, 40-meters was my best band influencing my decision to submit the log as a single band 40 meter entry.

Based on that submission, it looks like WQ6X will take 1st place for North America in the 40 meter low power category. 
Go Figure!


Did YOU play in the JIDX contest?
How many different prefectures
are in YOUR log?

WQ6X runs BARTG RTTY & Russian DX contests remotely

Lately, business traveling has demanded that for contest operations I largely operate NX6T remotely from the bay area.  Some of the contest gigs I've operated remotely this year include:  RTTY RU, the CQ 160 contest, ARRL DX CW and NAQP RTTY.

This past weekend left me with no client commitments.  Instead of running my usual portable operation from W7AYT's QTH in Concord Ca. (East Bay section) requiring extensive equipment and antenna setups, I decided to book a room with a view for the weekend at the Clarion Hotel near the Concord airport and run this weekend's contest events remotely from NX6T (Fallbrook); otherwise known as "Nashville".
Listed on the contest calendar were the BARTG RTTY and Russian DX contests,
along with the LA & VA state QSO parties; in that priority order.

Unlike CQP, it is typical of many state QSO parties that they last only 12 hours.
By the time 40 & 80 meters finally come alive those QSO parties are over; as happened with this year's LA QSO party.  Although the VA QSO party had a 2nd run on Sunday, while working the final portion of the BARTG contest I never heard any VA stations - so much for the weekend's QSO parties.

Running remote, CW contests are the easiest to operate.
While I largely prefer to sit on run frequencies, attracting stations to my signal, it also pays to search and pounce from time to time; either by tuning the radio "manually" or - if I am running assisted - by clicking callsigns on the bandmap.

Because tuning RTTY stations remotely is tricky (even with negligible internet latency), for contests like BARTG & the RTTY RU, I prefer to run a frequency to reduce the operating complexity.
The 5% (or so) S&P contacts made in these contests largely happen "by accident".



One of the many desirable aspects of the BARTG is the contest length (48 hours) starting @ 02:00z; just after dinner PDT time.

An order of takeout sushi set the stage for a somewhat productive Friday evening on 20 meters and later, on 40.
Hamachi (Yellow tail tuna) is one of my favorite sushi rolls.

Using LogMeIn Hamachi on the Toshiba laptop gave me access to the NX6T VPN allowing remote access to station 1's Toshiba laptop and control of the K3 radio and KPA-500 amplifier.

At NX6T, STN's #1 & #2 are now both remote capable so this weekend I got to share the Nashville antenna farm with other operators who wanted to run the BARTG gig along side the Russian DX contest, but on SSB instead.

For STN#1 my configuration was relegated to running BARTG @ 65 watts onto a 2-el yagi on 40 meters and via the KPA-500 amp (at about 360 watts) into a 3-El Stepp-IR yagi for 20 & 15 meters (both antennas 15mh high).

While I was able to turn the rotor remotely, switching between 20 & 15 meters on the Stepp-IR required the next door neighbor walk into the ham shack and manually turn the bandswitch on the WX0B SIX Pack antenna switch box.

For the Russian DX contest I ran the K3 @ 100 watts on 40 and 360 watts on the high bands.  Unfortunately I was unable to run 80 or 10 meters for those contests.

A problem I increasingly encounter when running RTTY contests  remotely is an increasing number of stations increasingly off frequency when responding to my CQ test calls.   If I were running my FT-1000mp, I would simply turn on the RIT and tune them in; rewarding poor operating procedure.  These stations either have THEIR Rit on or they found me via a DX spot entry on the internet that listed my MARK frequency incorrectly.  Rather than check to see if they could decode my data correctly BEFORE transmitting, they just blindly press F4, sending their callsign off frequency.

My solution to this was to define N1MM's F-10 key to send "UR OFF FREQUENCY - PLEASE TUNE ME IN", followed by the F9 Key ("CALLSIGN?").  After a short pause, most stations tune me in and a proper QSO is made.  Unfortunately, some stations don't get it and eventually disappear; probably cursing me for not working them.

Although the Russian DX Contest started at 12:00z (5am PDT) because the BARTG contest was my weekend priority I didn't begin until after 22:00z.

Running the DX contest on CW became my priority, with brief segments of BARTG activity in between until it was finally over at 12:00z on Sunday.

As you can see, I managed 139 QSOs on 40 & 20 meters, enough for a 6th place in the USA and 7th place for North America; although not enough to take any awards.


Nevertheless it was a LoT of fun.
I look forward to next year with a more focused effort.

Did you play in the BARTG and Russian DX contests?

Is WQ6X in YOUR Log?

WQ6X & N6KI team up as NX6T for 1st S-A 10-meter Contest.

Over the years, team NX6T has put together operations for an array of different radiosport events.

This year for the 1st time we decided to participate in the South American 10 meter (SA10) contest.  Considering that Sunspot Cycle 24 is well on its way out, the more 10 meter GiGs we can operate the better.  Next year may clearly find us in the SFI basement; we're already getting close to that point as it is. 


For a 24 hour (only) contest it was not cost/time effective to make a drive to the NX6T site in Fallbrook.  Instead, we perfected the remote access to NX6T.  Overall the internet latency was hardly noticeable.  Because the contest started at 12:00z 10-meters was not yet open in Southern California.
I started CQ'ing for the contest at 15:15z, making my 1st QSO at 15:44z.



As it turns out only WQ6X and N6KI were available to run this gig.  While Dennis slept, I fired up the contest on CW running NX6T remotely from a "secret location" in the bay area, with the objective to run mostly CW with a little SSB.  

Without full SSB control remotely, I had to limit voice
operation to searching and pouncing, allowing me to "talk" using pre-programmed N1MM  macro keys to play .WAV files.  As it turns out, the SSB to CW ratio was exactly equal;
39 QSOs in each mode.

Like the ARRL 10-meter contest, the SA-10 contest is a multi-mode affair (CW & SSB).

Essentially, stations worldwide can work each other, however we make MORE points working South American stations.



Equipment-wise we ran the usual Elecraft K3 radio into an ACOM 2000 amplifier. 
The antenna was a 3-element Stepp-IR running BI-Directional, allowing us to work
Japan as well as South America.



As contests go, this gig was a bit of a ho hummer.
Additionally, because this is a 24-hour contest, for us left coasters we get one shot at 10 meters - when its gone,
it's GONE; there is no redo on this one.

Being a single band contest, ten meters is either open or
it isn't.  At the Fallbrook location, once the band was open and stable (around 15:30z) it remained intact up to the time
I turned it over to N6KI to finish the event - 22:15z.

Despite Dennis' best efforts he could only manage 5 more QSOs for the contest; evidently, I worked all there was to work otherwise - go figure.  By 00:30z the band was gone and so was the contest for us.

Our 78 QSOs netted over 20k points, which while a pittance (by other contest standards) may be just enough for NX6T to take 1st place worldwide (outside of South America).



As you can see from the 3830 Scores website (CLICK HERE), our closest competitor (W3HAC from the PVRC) made only 29 QSOs for 3,300 points.  Theoretically, we should get a 1st place certificate as compensation for all the effort we expended operating this South American GiG.

 

Did YOU work the SA-10 contest?
Is NX6T in YOUR Log?

WQ6X runs NAQP RTTY Remotely from Laughlin

For the third weekend in a row I have run remote contest operations from NX6T in Fallbrook (aka "Nashville").  This last weekend found me going all out in the NAQP RTTY contest; a 12 hour event
(10am to 10pm PST) during which the rules allowed me to operate only 10 hours of the contest period.
Because the contest exchange is Name and QTH, the event has more of a personal feel to it.
Contact w/NE6I put me on one of the Southern California Contest Club (SCCC) contest teams
(Team #1).

In the past (the 2016 RTTY RU contest) to run full low power we set up STN#1
to run into a KPA500 amplifier allowing 100 or 150 watts full duty for RTTY.  Recently the KPA500 has been tripping out under marginal SWR issues.

After a call to Elecraft, N6KI and W6JBR devised a solution to this problem by running the K3 at near-full power (92 watts) with a huge cooling fan pointing head-on at the transceiver.

Operating from Harrah's hotel in Laughlin, I encountered virtually no latency problems during this contest.  Nevertheless, because tuning  RTTY signals remotely is tricky at best I chose to run frequencies 95% of the time.

The use of macros in N1MM make operations run smoothly.  Using Ctrl-K from time to time is the equivalent of sending manually with a key paddle in CW contests.


As I experience consistently in RTTY contests stations call me way off frequency.
While I can hear them, FLDIGI cannot decode their data.  If I was sitting in front of my FT-1000mp,
I would simply turn on the RIT and tune the signal in; something virtually impossible (in a timely fashion) when running RTTY remotely.  Instead, I would press Ctrl-K and type "You're off frequency - please tune me in", then send "QRZ?".  Most of the time they would shift frequency and we would establish contact.

My question is: how can you tune me in well enough to copy my "CQ NAQP" call and yet be OFF frequency when it comes time to transmit?  Most likely these stations found me through a spotting network with an incorrect frequency cited in the spot entry.  Rather than blindly call a station found
in a spot, LISTEN FIRST to make sure you have an ACTUAL copy on their data transmission.

In all NAQP contests single operators are allowed to operate 10 hours max out of the 12 hour contest period.  The gamble is, which 2 hours do I sacrifice?  If I run the 1st 10 hours consecutively then end of contest is 04:00z (8pm local time) missing out on 80/40 meter opportunities ending the contest. 
If I wait until noon to start, I miss out on any 10/15 meter exclusive morning openings.  Then, if I get called away from the radio at any time during the remaining 10 hours I will have wasted part of that obligatory off time.




For this event my  choice was to begin on time, take an hour
off mid day and end the contest at the start of the last hour.  Because off times must be 30+ minutes I took 40 minutes for lunch, requiring that I cease operations at 04:40z (8:40 local time); more or less in line with my original strategy.



My only regret for this NAQP GiG was that I did not give
10 meters any attention Saturday morning; instead I ran frequencies on 15 meters for 2+ hours.  By the time I took a look 10 meters was already gone.  I ended the contest moving from 40 down to 80 to wrap things up.  I was amazed to find a nice 80 meter opening across the U.S. to the Eastern seaboard.



True to infamous 40 meter contest fame, this year's NAQP RTTY experienced the typical 40 meter intentional QRM I have come to expect during contests.  Only this time while running a frequency (7.070.70) at 02:10z I was barraged with howling and rumbling noises, followed by what sounded
like the whine of a dropping bomb, again and again.  Go Figure.  At least the bomb drop noises showed some originality.  As with ALL intentional QRMers they soon get bored and either give
up entirely or find someone else to bother.  An hour later I am STILL on that same frequency
with another 40 QSOs in the log.

As it is, because 7.070 is in the middle of the international phone band (for Regions 1 & 3), QRM
from ssb stations allowed to share the spectrum is to be expected.  Then again, at 02:30z 7.070 became the National Tuneup Frequency as many stations began testing (saying "helllllllooooo  helllllllooooo").   If they ended up near my frequency I could understand that. 
However when they are EXACTLY zero beat with me, that is NO accident.

Now, to voice one of my main RTTY contest beefs: NCDXF beacon QRM on 14.100.
What?  You didn't know there is a propagation beacon on 14.100 24/7?  They been there for over 20 years.  (Co-relatively, are you aware of the beacon segment occupying the ENTIRE 28.200 to 28.300 segment of 10 meters?)  NCDXF beacons provide 24 hour propagation assistance for free; the least we can do is give them "room" to operate.  It's one thing to be on a nearby frequency and splatter onto 14.100; it's another thing entirely to have your center frequency EXACTLY at 14.100.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the NCDXF beacons and the service that these beacons provide.
There is no reason why we can't operate a RTTY contest and avoid the 14.097 to 14.103 corridor.
In fact, I did just that running a frequency for over an hour on 14.107 and later on 14.092.


Because I have been on the road for business the last 10 days, playing in the NAQP this last weekend was relaxing and fun, even tho I was inside all day on a sunny Saturday.
I had a nice view of the desert hills from my window while typing away.  In common with CW contests, running RTTY saves my voice (I had been teaching advanced therapy techniques all week).

Like last week's DX contest, I had no rotor control on the yagi's at NX6T, so essentially, the C-31 and 40-meter yagis were pointed 45-degrees (N-W), limiting who could hear me.  This becomes evident as I did not work a single
KH6 station and virtually none in S. America; altho
I was called by an AH2/W6 station - go figure.
As a result I was only able to work 47 out of the 58 multipliers, missing many of the Northwest states
and most of the crucial VE/VY sections.

Overall, I worked the high bands moving to
the lower bands as the contest progressed.
Mid afternoon, jumping between 15 & 20 meters allowed me fresh QSOs when I had worked all
a run frequency could provide.

Then, coming back to a band on a different frequency allowed other stations to encounter me "newly".


Did you play in the NAQP RTTY contest?

Is WQ6X in YOUR Log?

WQ6X runs ARRL DX Contest remotely from the Gold Strike casino hotel

This has been a busy February.  Last weekend my attempts at running the WPX RTTY contest remotely was a complete BUST due to horrible internet latency.
The last 1/2 hour of the event settled down enough for me to make 18 QSOs allowing me to submit a log with a WHOPPING 21 QSOs - at least I DiD submit a log,




Last week I had client work in Pasadena and am heading to Las Vegas to work with other clients this coming week.  In the middle of it all I managed to operate the ARRL Dx Cw contest from NX6T remotely; Friday evening from Southern California and the rest of the weekend from the Gold Strike casino hotel off I-15 en route to Las Vegas.

WQ6X's operating position

Friday evening, the issue of internet latency was quite a problem, limiting my success.

Saturday I drove to Jean Nevada hanging out at the Gold Strike hotel to participate in the ARRL DX contest and play a little Blackjack.

Because casino hotels want us to play in the casino not on the internet, they charge significantly for the online privilege.


As it turns out, a $12 investment in super-speed internet access all but eliminated the latency problem during contest operations.  Because the latency was so low I managed to run several frequencies until each one of them eventually QRM'd out.

STN#1 @ NX6T

Operationally I ran STN#1 (an Elecraft K3) barefoot into a C-31 yagi at 40' and a 40-meter yagi at 70' feet, with an 80-meter inverted Vee at its apex.  Unfortunately remote rotor operation was not possible so I dealt with fixed positioning of the yagi's.

Nevertheless, it was better than no operation at all.  As I have in the past, I used the LogMeIn Hamachi software and again for dinner enjoyed a hamachi (Yellowtail) sushi roll - go figure.


Staying up into the late night hours allowed me to sleep in, but probably caused me to miss 10/15 openings both mornings.  On both days, 10-meters seemed to "go long" early in the afternoon and close up early.
40 meters turned out to be THE band, allowing me to work 57 countries on that band alone.
Luckily, the bogus QRM I usually experience during 40 meter contest periods didn't materialize; all except the Russian "K" beacon on 7.030 mhz.  Why is it I only hear the 40-meter Russian beacons during contest weekends and never during the middle of the week?

Next to 40, 15 meters was my best operation.  Openings to Africa were certainly there on 15, altho so were the DX cluster fueled pileups, so no Africa in this year's log.

What was really strange is DX stations asking me for my NR (number).  While they send ME a number (their power level), the only NR I send is "599".  While I finally realized they wanted my QTH (state), beginning contesters may not understand this.  The correct request is: "SEC?"

While there were a surprising number of openings to South America because I was not able to point the antennas in that direction to work many of those stations, relying on back of beam access to South America and Oceania.  Then again, a north pointing C-31 yagi made working UA0 easy and afforded a late afternoon opening  into Northern Europe on 15 meters.

Overall, I managed about 18 hours of actual operating time making 364 QSOs in over 70 countries for a score of just slightly over 172k points.  While I won't win any awards for this one it was a LoT of fun to work so many countries from a casino hotel room.

That evening the one 6-deck Blackjack table in the casino gave me a run for my money.

Next weekend is the NAQP RTTY contest which I will probably run remotely,
so look for WQ6X ("Ron in CA") during that event.

Did you play in this weekend's ARRL DX contest?

Is WQ6X in YOUR Log?

WQ6X joins NX6T remotely for 2016 CQ 160 meter contest

The RCFORB radio control software

It's been several years since I last participated in the CQP 160 meter contest.  It doesn't make sense for me to make the 10 hour drive to Fallbrook to operate what is essentially  a night-time only contest, even though two nights are involved.  In order to participate, the OPs at NX6T enabled my remote access to STN #1 during the dinner hour and the post-midnight to sunrise periods.  While I was able to make this work, the internet latency (especially during the dinner hour) was HORRIBLE.

No antenna tuner needed here

The 160-m Inverted Vee @70'

Equipment wise we ran a bevy of Elecraft K3's into an ACOM 2000 amplifier out to a 160 meter inverted vee 70' high at the apex.  Remote facilities included Logmein-Hamachi, RCFORB & the VNC Viewer.

For the 2016 contest, the noise at the NX6T was an intrusive factor; largely S-8 on Friday evening.
While there are DNR noise filters in the Elecraft K-3 they are not easy to manipulate by way of the RCFORB remote radio software so I suffered through.
Then again, because this contest had no 40 meter operation, I was spared the usual belches, VFO sweeps Russian beacons and phantom RTTY signals I usually have to slog through during the 10:00z to 12:00z time frame on 40 meters during most CW contests.

STN#1 during the dinner hour

The idea was for me to takeover STN#1 at 10:00z (2am).  As I was about to settle into a 2 hour nap at midnite the call came in and I was soon running a frequency (1.807 mhz).  While the noise levels were high, running a frequency (as opposed to S&P'ing) worked out very well.

As sunrise made it's way I had made over 200 QSOs including a handful of countries thanks to a greyline-style opening to Asia Saturday morning just before the band faded into oblivion.


For Saturday evening, because the band opened "late" and the fact that we had worked a majority of stateside stations the pace started out slow.  When I took over at 04:00z for the dinner hour the internet latency was at its worst, altho eventually settled down affording a nice frequency run on 1.848 (mhz).
After the operator change-back I took to the world of sleep.
Because my cellphone was on the charger while I slept I didn't hear the 20+ attempts by N6KI to roust me from my slumber.  Eventually I rolled out of bed, fired up a middle-of-the-night Kona  coffee and hit the couch.  While the internet latency had settled down, there were not a lot of stations to work,
so at N6KI's recommendation I S&P'd for the 1st hour until I could find nothing left.
By 12:00z I was calling CQ on 1.802.76. 

Sunday morning the signal strength of W6's & W7's nearly burned out the cheap headphones I was using.  In retrospect I shoulda brought in my Heil headset from the trunk of my car, but I was too lazy to make the trip.  (I own the Heil PRO headset with the phase-switch on the left ear).
Sunday morning did not produce the desired repeat of Saturday morning's greyline, so by 14:30z
I shutdown the remote connection and went back to bed - effectively ending the contest for us.

Despite the frustrating internet latency problems, overall, this was a fun CQ 160 contest; all of which could be run via a laptop on the living room coffee table.  I recently upgraded my Toshiba laptop to a solid state disk drive, keeping Windows 7 rather than upgrade to Windoze 10.
As I have experienced recently, remote radio operations seem to run more smoothly with this configuration.  Looking at the contest results from the 3830 Scores website it looks as tho we took 23rd place worldwide and quite likely 1st place for California.

The view from NX6T's Fallbrook location

In the last 2 months I have been fortunate to join NX6T's Fallbrook operations remotely from a number of different locations on my part.

While the internet enables many amazing things in the 21st century I want to warn radio operators not to become overly reliant on an infrastructure that can be disrupted at any moment.
I still love sitting in front of a radio with knobs; tuning stations via a software screen is marginally effective, and, in the case of RTTY very tricky at best.

N6KI's formula for winning contests

For me, next up operation-wise is February's ARRL Dx CW contest, which will most likely include 160 meter operations.


DiD YOU join in this year's CQ 160 contest?

Is NX6T in YOUR log?

WQ6X runs NAQP SSB Solo portable

Being a part of NX6T's CW NAQP 2nd place last weekend was quite a thrill.
While I would have liked to join them for the NAQP SSB GiG, business demands made it impossible to make the trek to Fallbrook.  Even taking the train would have been too complicated for a contest that only lasts
12 hours, of which I probably would have had 4 hours of OP time available to me.

Instead, I decided to put together another infamous WQ6X ad-hoc operation; this time from the 3rd floor of a hotel.  Because my hotel room window there faced more or less east, I thought it would provide a decent possibility of working the contest.


While the solar flux index (SFI) was only 104, all the solar storms seemed to be behind us, as evidenced by an A-index of 6 and a K-Index of 0.


Unfortunately what sounds good in theory doesn't always turn out in the real world.

I tried three different antenna configurations before settling in on something that would actually work.

I ended up running the radio into a cobra dipole hung from the window curtain rods, with their wires hanging out the window.


The 1000mp's antenna tuner had little trouble tuning the radio on 80 thru 10 meters.
Unfortunately, signal levels were way down, altho I was able to work just about anyone I could hear.
To wrap 15 meters, I enjoyed a groundwave QSO on 15 meters with KG6LRI who was just learning the details of playing in the NAQP.

After a lunch break, I came back to discover 10-meters gone (it barely opened up) with 15-meters right behind it. Moving down to 20 meters I managed a whopping 16 QSOs before the band quickly disappeared.  No problem I figured, I'll just move down to 40 and then 80 - WRONG!

At 00:00z switching to 40-meters found an S-9 to +10 noise level, virtually obscuring any signals
that might have been there.  80 meters brought an S-7 noise level with the same problem.

Because of the noise, I was only able to manage 1 QSO on 40 meters (a W6 station) before getting real and realizing that NAQP was over for the  weekend.  Checking back throughout the evening found the S-9+ noise level continuing, until well after midnight.

Notice the S-7+ noise level on the S-Meter

 In essence, the highlight of this portable operation was being able to test the FT-1000mp features under adverse conditions.

I spent considerable time with the operators manual tweaking many of the numerous menu settings that are behind the scenes of the FT-1000mp transceiver.



This weekend also gave a thorough test to the recent addition of a solid-state disk drive to the laptop I use for running contests.  There is no doubt that faster disk I/O makes contest running (especially remote contest operations) perform more effectively.
The next operating goal for the Yaesu FT-1000mp will be CQ WPX RTTY contest next month.

Because of my dismal QSO total I almost did not submit a log but then remembered my own advice from an earlier BLOG entry I wrote this year on the subject of always submitting a log.
It isn't so important how MANY QSOs I make, but just showing up that really makes the difference.

The NX6T crew managed over 1200 QSOs altho complained of poor condx on 20 meters, a slow to open 40 meters and high noise on 80 & 160.  At least they heard signals on those bands.


While I was bummed by the small number of QSOs made, I nevertheless enjoyed what operating time I was able to manage.

Until N6GEO manages a new setup or at least a functional setup remotely from Twain Harte, I am going to have to come up with other ideas for bay area operations.

DiD YOU play in the NAQP SSB?

How did it turn out?

Is WQ6X one of the RARE QSOs in YOUR Log?