CQ WW RTTY Contest with the new v. 1.5 RTTY Mode

Ken - NM9P

I just finished the CQWW RTTY Contest and enjoyed it a lot.

This is my first major effort at a RTTY Contest.
It is my first Major contest effort with the new T-11 Log Periodic at 38 ft..
All I can say is - WOW.  What a combination!

Running Flex-6500
Low Power  80-100 Watts
Running the T-11 on 20, 15 & 10
On 40 it was the 160 Meter OCF Dipole at 38 ft & Elevated Vertical at 8 ft. with 4 sets of radials.
On 80 I used the Dipole.

Software - N1MM+  and MMTTY.

Everything went together smoothly.
Click tuning was smooth and accurate, though I did have a frequency translation problem on some spots that read about 2 KHz high from the actual frequency.  Not sure if it was on my end or on the other spotter's end. 

It was a very simple matter to click on stations I wanted to work either on the screen or on the bandmap in N1MM+.  Many Times I used the [CTRL} UP/DN  to get to the next spot, or the [CTRL]+{ALT] UP/DN to get to the next multiplier.  Sometimes I need a little fine-tuning with the FlexControl Knob or the Left/Right arrows go get right on frequency.

The tuning marks on the slice flags are so accurate that I never used the tuning indicator on MMTTY after the first 10 minutes --- It was DEAD ON!  Thanks FRS for an excellent implementation of RTTY.

I had some trouble trying to adjust the Mark/Space frequencies - I like them lower than the standard because it is easier on my ears.  But I ran into an Operator Error (RTM) problem and didn't want to take the time to sort it out.  So I just went with the standard frequencies.

All told, I put in 22:43 hrs behind the keyboard this weekend, very little of it late-night or early morning (I would have gotten many more multipliers if I had, but Sunday Morning comes early!)

Here are my results...Not bad for a newbie RTTY effort!
Single Operator, Single Transmitter, Assisted, Low power.



Glad the bands were in OK Shape!

Ken - NM9P

Ken - NM9P

UPDATE:  As I am preparing for the CQWW DX SSB Contest, I just checked the CQ WW RTTY contest results - Raw Scores.  From the initial raw scores, it looks like I may have won the 9th Region in the Single Operator Assisted Low Power category  (1st out of 13 entries).  These are not final stats, but it looks good.  The Version 1.5 RTTY mode and T-11 LP ant made a great combo for my first serious RTTY effort!  Whoo Hoo!

It was also #23 of 117 in North America
and #66 of 372 World Wide. 
I am pleased.

Mark_WS7M

Congrats!  I have not contested for many years.  Back when I was 20 I did a 48 hour CW session and placed 3rd under our club station.  I slept for a week after that and heard code everywhere I went.  It was strange!

I'm just trying to get my station all up and running so just getting on the air is a challenge, not to mention contesting!

Tim - W4TME

Way to go, Ken!

km9r.mike

What was your fatigue level after the contest ? I have found the flex 6k series a pleasure to operate during contests and remarkably less fatiguing than other tip of the spear rigs. I understand that this is subjective in nature but was wondering if you noticed the same especially after achieving an above average score for your location and category.

Ken - NM9P

I am always tired, but this was probably the longest contest I have ever run.  Being that it was RTTY, I was able to turn the volume and monitor down so that it wasn't as much an assault on my ears as CW & SSB contests are, so it was more relaxed.  My voice and keyer fingers were also more relaxed.  It was a lot of fun.  I did it in about three shifts...with some sleep, and preaching at church on Sunday in the middle.

All in all, it was an enjoyable and satisfying contest.  Not quite as much fun as the SSB contest, but not as much work as the CW contest.  I will be back next year!

I was toying with trying a modified SO2R or SO2V setup for CQ WW SSB this year.  But I think I don't want to work that hard until I get this series under my belt with the new antenna.  One major leap at a time!

Ken - NM9P

km9r.mike

Thanks.

Ken - NM9P

Certificates have been released online....I'm very pleased.



Thanks for a great RTTY Rig!

I can't wait for the next RTTY contest!  I hope my sked allows me to compete.

Unfortunately my schedule wouldn't allow me to do much on the CQWW 160 CW this past weekend.  
I only made 85 contacts.  But at least I was able to test out the temporary inverted 'L' and redesigned receiving loop.

Ken - NM9P

Mark_WS7M

Awesome!  #1 9 call area!   Log period and Flex doing the job!!! Nicely done!