WQ6X & N6GEO Work 2016 Field Day from Tuolumne County

Station #1 - manned by WQ6X

FD 2016 is only the 2nd time in 31 years that I have not joined the San Andreas Faultline Survivors for Field Day on Mt. Able (in Southern Kern county 55 mi. N/W of Los Angeles).  For 2016, client commitments before and after FD made a drive from the SF bay area (300+ miles each way) impractical  when you consider that I pretty much single-highhandedly put together a campsite and 20 meter CW station along with assisting in the near dozen antennas the group hangs from trees.

During Field Day weekend, N6GEO is usually in England on business for Livermore Lawrence lab.  Because this year was an N6GEO exception I simply loaded up the Honda Accord with the FT-1000mp and it's outboard accessories and made the drive to George's QTH in Brentwood (SF East Bay) where we loaded up his monster truck and made the 3 hour drive to his cabin in Twain Harte;
the same cabin we ran the CQP contest last October as W6E.

I almost brought a Coleman InstaTent to setup outdoors, but was too lazy to stuff it into the back seat of the Honda (Insta Tents are "insta" because the pole structure is built right in.  The trade off is that the unit is HUGE compared to the camping tent I usually pack with it.)
As it turns out, George became our "outdoor operator".

In recent years I have registered the
1x1 callsign "K6F" (Kilowatt Six Foxtrot)
for W6SW's GOTA station.

Having already registered that call in anticipation of my participation with the Faultline Survivors, K6F became the callsign utilized by N6GEO and WQ6X and the Faultline Survivors used KJ6UVQ for their GOTA station as
they did last year.



Because we arrived Thursday , technically we were not allowed to do any station setup or put up any "new" antennas until Friday morning.  However, because we essentially operated out of a "home QTH" (albeit a cabin vacation home) the rules did not prohibit us from adding extra radials to an already existing military-style vertical (front-ended by an SGC-250 external auto-tuner).
While were at it we gave the other antennas (a 6-BTV vertical, an OCD Dipole and a homebrew
3-element 6-meter yagi) a thorough inspection with an MFJ-259 antenna analyzer.

N6GEO running Station #2

Friday morning found us laying out guy lines for a 36' pneumatic mast with a TH-3 jr at the top.  We couldn't find the time to run rotor cables for the yagi, so we used the infamous "Armstrong method" to rotate the antenna.

Then again, most of the time the yagi was pointing north to northeast, favoring where the most signals come from.  Having two multi-band verticals available allowed us communication in other directions; including Hawaii (KH6) and Puerto Rico (KP4).
Attempts to convince our friends from "down under" to look for our callsign produced no DX QSOs.

I brought along the usual pair of Cobra dipoles I bring for every field day to make a multi-band 8JK array or the infamous WQ6 multi-band  8JK sloper.  Because the already-resident antennas were more than adequate, we chose not to go to the hassle of making 1 - 4 additional antenna line shoots.

TH-3 jr 12mh

Friday afternoon gave us plenty of time to organize the cabin for a dual station operation; me running the FT-1000mp on the BiG wooden dining room table and George first on the desk in the living room, quickly changed at the last minute to run his Elecraft K2 from an umbrella covered table on the outside patio.  The weather was perfect for outdoor operation.  I was almost envious of his outdoor setup until 8pm (local time) when the sun set and it got a little cold.

Power-wise we ran a Honda generator the entire operating period with a specially chosen AC-line RF filter to keep line noise out of the radios.  Because we ran bandpass filters on each band we were also able to pretty much keep out of each others radio except for the direct 2nd harmonic from 40 meter CW to 20 meter CW (or 80 CW to 40 CW) and an occasional SSB harmonic from 7.155mhz to 14.310, encountered when searching and pouncing on the upper end of 20 meters.

Military vertical EXUDING RF

One of my FD goals for 2016 was to include some form
of digital communications - in my case RTTY; because RTTY is FUN.  Additionally, like CW contacts, digital contacts are all worth 2 points; whether you run RTTY, PSK-31 or even JT-65.  Unfortunately, by the time FD came around I had not worked out a keying-relay cable
for the FT-1000mp.

Luckily, N6GEO is an accomplished RTTY & PSK operator.  George's trusty Elecraft K2 put 13 RTTY & PSK contacts in the K6F log along with a 7 SSB QSO presence on 50 Mhz, thanks to a homebrew 3 element 6-meter yagi.

George also gave us a brief presence on 160 meters; not bad considering the vertical was tuned for 80 meters with no 160 meter loading coil.  (It is amazing what antenna tuners can do.)

As you can see from the Summary Stats there was not much activity for us on 10 or 15 meters.  In fact, N6GEO made more sideband contacts on 6 meters than on 15.  In a way this is not surprising when you consider that the low-angle reflection possibilities were largely inhibited by shallow hills not far from the Twain Harte QTH.



As George and I are both CW operators it is not surprising that 20-CW was the most productive band mode this year.  At W6SW, typically I am the 20-CW operator for the group, so I felt right at home at K6F.
We both made quite a presence on 80/40 CW.




My biggest beef during this year's FD was stations just JUMPing on frequencies to call CQ w/o listening first and/or asking "QRL?" before assuming that a frequency is available.  When you consider that Field Day encourages novice/beginner operators (as well as station visitors who
barely know what amateur radio is) control operators at each station should take extra
responsibility to insure that their operation is as QRM-free (to other stations) as possible.

Bananas & Negra Modelo
not JUST for breakfast anymore

Amazingly, the usual intentional 40-meter QRM I have come to expect in contests after 05:00z did not materialize this year; no belching, no VFO swishes, no stray RTTY.  Unfortunately the nightly South American SSB idiots on 7.018 were out in force which gave us a reason to operate on/around 7.033.  Then again, because of our foothill location we did not hear any of the Russian 'letter" beacons on 7.039.

While I am used to running Field Day for the entire 24 hours, this year I gave it up at 08:45z (1:45am).  K6F was back on the air at 15:00z (8am).   Because we had worked most of all stations we could hear, we managed only 50 QSOs between us for the last 3 hours of the contest. 

With an extra 1 or 2 operators we could have made an even greater presence of the higher bands as well as modes like RTTY and Packet.  George and I have the same feeling concerning our CQP operations; especially from Twain Harte.


Next year look for me to rejoin the W6SW team and drag N6GEO along.
There is a rumor that friends from VK and/or ZL land will be visiting California for next years event.

While I truly missed playing with the Fault Line survivors this year, their FD report indicates that they survived without me and we survived “roughing it” at the Twain Harte cabin.

Did YOU operate Field Day 2016?

Is K6F in YOUR log?

WQ6X takes 2nd place for So. Ca. in NAQP RTTY

Station #1 @ NX6T

This was a last minute remote operation at "NashVille" (@NX6T) from a "secret location" in the SF east bay. 


This past week with assistance from the techs at West Mountain Radio, I built a one transistor relay driver
enabling the FT-1000mp
RTTY-able.

Plug-N-Play be-4 final mod.

The goal was to operate RTTY from a location in the SF east bay.  Unfortunately, at the chosen operating location, signal levels were almost non-existent, making remote operation my only option for this weekend.



Luckily, with last minute assistance from W6JBR
and N6KI to debug internet problems, I managed to accomplish remote access to the Fallbrook station;
altho in the early contest hours internet latency was HORRIBLE.

WQ6X operating position

As a result, I took a gamble and used the 20:00z - 22:00z period as my "off time", waiting for the internet latency
to settle down (which it eventually did).   Luckily, the Giants .vs. Padres game was on TV while I ran
the contest.  (Unfortunately, the Giants lost.)

Taking the mandated 2 hour early off-time allowed me
to work the contest up to the 06:00z ending time, along with the remaining single-OP & multi-OP stations.



An upside to this remote operation was virtually no background noise to deal with, altho because of the K-Index of 3, I noticed a funny echo on a few signals; especially those coming in from Europe.

C-31XR Yagi

The station consisted of an externally fan-cooled Elecraft K3 (running 59 watts) into a C-31XR yagi for the high bands, 2-elements on 40 and an inverted "V" for 80 meters.

Because it is not easy to manually tune in some RTTY signals remotely (when no spotting-assistance is allowed),
rather than S&P, I chose to run frequencies having stations come to me.

Unfortunately, this created a new problem when stations would call considerably off frequency such that FLDIGI could not demodulate their text, no matter how LOUD
they were.  Because using RIT remotely (with poor internet latency) to tune stations in is not possible, I resolved this by allocating N1MM's F-11 key to send the message: "You are off frequency - tune me in", followed by F8 ("AGN? AGN?"), or F3 ("TU QRZ").

2-el on 40 + Stepp-IR

My thinking is that if you are copying me correctly when you receive the message you will make sure that your Xmit/Rcv frequencies are the same when you call me.  Most stations got the message and then called me on frequency.

Amazingly, I actually had one station COMPLAIN because I would not (meaning I COULD not) tune him in - CHILL OUT DEWD!  With poor internet latency, my trying to tune YOU in will actually slow things down for everyone else waiting to work me.  If you want a QSO, it is YOUR responsibility to BE ON FREQUENCY, not mine.
A big disappointment was when I couldn't complete a
20 meter QSO with an IK4 station because the internet froze and I could not send him an exchange via N1MM's function keys.  By the time I was back in normal operation, either the IK4 was gone or so were the signals from Europe.  If I seemed to "disappear" on you, the reason was probably poor internet latency, not because I was ignoring you.
 

One of my beefs in this contest had to do with stations sending unnecessary information; most specifically "599".  Because there are no signal reports required in NAQP (a ridiculous piece of
data to send during a contest anyway) sending "599" once or twice is not only confusing, but when signals are low, by the time you get to sending the NEEDED information the signal drops out.
In MOST cases, stations that sent a signal report faded out afterwards requiring me
to request a repeat of their exchange once or twice.

QSO/hr per band

QRM is always something to be dealt with during radio contests, however in RTTY contests when it is EXACTLY on my frequency, I know it is no accident.  For this event, I chose specific operating frequencies (14087.87, 21086.86, 14094.94, 7086.86, 3586.86 & 7082.82) on the premise that if you start CQ'ing EXACTLY on my run frequency it MUST be intentional.

It also amazes me when a station calls me (along with other stations), only to then immediately call
CQ on my run frequency if I work another station first.  WTF is THAT all about?!

Sparse activity on 80 meters was a HUGE Bummer (only 10 QSOs),  along with no signals heard on
10 meters at the Fallbrook location; altho other Southern California stations listed 10 meter
QSOs in their 3830 score website submission.

Nevertheless it was a FUN contest allowing me to work a number of W6 friends. 
While I didn't make a GREAT showing in the contest, according to my 3830 Scores website submission, it would appear that I DiD make it to 2nd place (behind W6TK in
Santa Barbara) amongst all the Southern California submissions.

NAQP Ending screen

When you consider that the rest of the Southern California stations had the advantage of
working from their home QTH (with no internet latency problems to contend with), it is surprising
that I scored higher than they did.  Next year look for me to run NAQP RTTY using the FT-1000mp with the West Mountain Plug-N-Play unit adapted to key the radio.

Did YOU work the NAQP RTTY contest?

Is WQ6X in YOUR log?

WQ6X joins NX6T for 2016 All Asian Contest

For me, the All Asian DX contest is a mixture of enjoyment and frustration coupled into one weekend; be it the CW weekend, or the SSB weekend.


Because All Asian is situated between the WPX C.w. contest and Field Day, I never know what I am going to do for the event, almost until it happens.


A couple of years ago I operated All Asian (solo) and Field Day (w/team W6SW) from a campsite on Mt. Abel.  Last year I joined up with the nerds at NX6T (literally, one was N6ERD) where we took 1st place for North America, before driving to Mt. Abel and joining team-W6SW.





This year, client requirements prevented me from putting together a full station on the mountain.  Like last year for 2016 I not only joined the team @ NX6T, I again allowed Amtrak to escort me to Oceanside, instead of making a 10+ hour drive.  I am writing this blog entry on the return train to Oakland at 5:00 in the morning.

This year's All Asian contest is proof that we are nearing the BOTTOM of solar cycle 24 - bummer dewd.  Then again, the sooner we get it over with, the better.

For the 2016 All Asian contest, the bad news this year is that 10 meters never happened, even though I gave CQ's on Saturday and Sunday. I saw a couple of South American stations on the bandmap, but that was it.  15 meters presented us with barely 100 QSOs.

Throughout, the contest, 15 meters was open to Asia with STRONG signals yet the actual number of those signals was a fraction of last year.  I attribute this to poor participation, not so much poor propagation.

This situation mirrors a complaint I've had for years - not enough Asian stations play in their own contests.  It seems like I heard more stateside stations calling CQ test than Asian stations.  On 15 & 20, the few stations there were usually very loud; again suggesting the problem was participation not propagation.
Am I missing something?

On Saturday, West Virginia held a state QSO party.  Except for an AA8 station calling (after my CQ AA), I heard no other WV stations.  I was prepared to put some morning time into their QSO party, but as it turns out it was not necessary.

Between N6KI and myself, plus N6CY (attempting remote access) and N6ERD + N6EEG we managed just under 27 hours of actual OP time out of the 48.  This year due to a shortage of operators I ran the night shift alone both evenings and ran much of the day shift on Saturday and Sunday.

Equipment-wise we ran the usual bevy of Elecraft K3 radios into ACOM 2000-a amplifiers.  Unfortunately, an ACOM reported tube failure side-lined one of the amplifiers; replaced by a manually tuned (but fully equivalent) Ameritron AL-82a.


The antennas included a 3-el Stepp-IR with 160 & 80 meter inverted V's hanging from atop the mast, topped with a 2-element 40 meter yagi.

On a separate tower sits a numerous-element C-31 yagi.


Similar to the recent WPX contest, All Asian brought us all kinds of bogus QRM to deal with; not the least of which was the nightly South American SSB QRM on 7.018.18  mhz.  This time a couple of those stations purposely zero-beat me; when I moved they followed me exactly - wassup with THAT?!

There seemed to be a lot of tuner-uppers. Many Japanese stations are notorious for tuning up on my frequency before I get the contact.


This weekend was largely carriers without QSOs; such is the world of shared frequency space.  Fortunately, there were again no Russian beacons on 7.039 to contend with.  There also seemed to be FEWER JA stations on 40 than heard in the previous WPX contest. 

Space weather wise while the A & K indexes seemed low, the upper band conditions seemed rather poor.  While much of the signal lack was due to poor participation, that didn't explain weak signals or hearing a UA9 station (working Europe) at 06:300z, when the band "officially died" in the San Diego area by 02:30z.

Compared to last year and years prior, I noticed that the average (mean) operator age had risen significantly.  During the last 5 hours of the contest, most under 62 Asian hams were either AT working or in the process of traveling to work.  Virtually every JA station worked during that period was 65 or older

QSO wise, for 2016 our QSO total nowhere neared our 1400+ QSO 1st place from last year making this year's event a bit of a disappointment.

Nevertheless we DiD make 4th place worldwide and 2nd place for North America - not bad for a last minute effort.







Did YOU play in the 2016 All Asian Cw contest?

How many Asian stations are in YOUR log?

WQ6X makes a notable appearance in WPX Cw 2016

When I join up with the crew at NX6T for WPX, Dennis N6KI always chooses that we use my WQ6X callsign because as he put it "there are too many NX6 calls on during WPX".  Really?  I've never heard one.  I think the REAL reason my callsign is chosen is that it relieves him of the massive QSL card duties - WQ6X receives hundreds of QSL cards every WPX contest.

For this  year's WPX contests I booked client business in Huntington Beach during the weekdays leading up to the contest event.  For the Cw GiG I arrived "NashVille" at 22:00z allowing me to get settled into the operator's apartment next door to the radio shack.  Unfortunately, we had a shortage of available operators so unusual for me, I opened the contest.

Equipment-wise we ran the usual bevy of Elecraft K3 radios into ACOM 2000-a amplifiers.  The antennas include a 3-el Stepp-IR with 160 & 80 meter inverted V's hanging from atop the mast, topped with a 2-element 40 meter yagi.  On a separate tower sits a numerous-element C-31 yagi.

In general, I rarely start a contest on time.  Because the original plan was to operate NX6T from a new remote location, N6KI did a spectacular job of preparing the NX6T site for my arrival.  Except for failing to test some of the Wintest CW macros beforehand, I was ready to go at 23:53z when I received a call from TF3DC (on 21.036 mhz)  in response to my T-E-S-T-ing calls.
We had a nice ragchew and he became the first QSO in WQ6X's WPX log.

Before the evening was long in play, N6KI suddenly showed up at NashVille declaring that the remote operation for NX6T was a bust, taking over the operator's chair after dinner (05:35z).

From that point on it was like old times - Dennis rousting me @ 2am for the graveyard shift - the real reason I'm needed in NashVille.


Space weather wise, propagation conditions were quite dismal.  Luckily, working domestic callsigns is a large part of the WPX contest.

Unlike weeks before, 2016 WPX Cw brought us all kinds of bogus QRM to deal with; not the least of which was the nightly South American SSB QRM on 7.018.18  mhz.


I also encountered the "Woodpecker" radar (base freq. around 6.935) and what sounded like a data "cranking machine" at 11:44z on 7.031.   Fortunately, there were no Russian beacons on 7.039.

Unfortunately, on 80 meters I experienced QRM from data bursts while I was calling CQ on 3.535.35 @ 12:38z and again at 12:56z.  Then, as mysteriously as it showed up, it was gone.  If I had thought about it in time, I could have enabled the K3's 2nd receiver in data mode and attempted to copy the RTTY (if it was in fact 170 hz or 850hz); of course a GooD QRMer would use some other RTTY mode so as to remain virtually undetectable.

Lacking operators made all the difference here.  Compared to last year (10 operators), our 3 guys managed to make nearly 2/3's of last year's QSOs and nearly 40% of the score; not bad considering the age of the three operators.

(The San Diego contest club has yet to recruit some young bloods to the CW crew.)

While it was a fun Weird Prefix Contest, the number of really weird callsigns was way down, compared to last year.  For us, the only calls which qualified under the heading of "weird" include: WA0WWW, XR0YS, HW1SA, WT0O, UX5UO, PX4X, 4T4T, WU6X/XE1, DP65SC, CW4MAX & OM0M.


Did you work the WPX contest?
How many weird prefixes did YOU work?

Is WQ6X in YOUR log?

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?