ARRL RTTY Roundup
Call: P49X
Operator(s): W0YK
Station: P49Y/P40L
Class: Single Op HP
QTH: Aruba
Operating Time (hrs): 24
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
80: 298
40: 830
20: 991
15: 817
10: 0
------------
Total: 2936 State/Prov = 58 Countries = 66 Total Score = 364,064
Club: Northern California Contest Club
Comments:
This claimed score falls short of my log-checked score from 2007 that set a new
world SO HP record. So, if the record is broken again this year, it wonâ??t be
P49X. My QSO and multiplier totals were both disappointing.
It was clear from my 2007 RTTY Round-Up experience that achieving 3000
log-checked contacts is quite doable. This year, for the first time, I did
have the faint satisfaction of handing out serial number 3002, but that
corresponds to an actual duped QSO total of 2936 which will undoubtedly be
lowered further after log-checking. But, even with current solar conditions,
the ever-increasing number of Round-Up participants provides locations like
Aruba the opportunity to exceed 3000 contacts. The return of 10 meters and
hopefully larger participation in the future will significantly improve this
opportunity further. Who knows how far it can go, though? Just three years
ago, P43P broke the 2000 QSO barrier for the first time and already this year
at least two US/VE 3830 postings have over 2000 contacts.
I take full responsibility, of course, for failing to exploit the QSO
opportunity this year. I trailed my 2007 rate from the starting bell and
clawed my way toward the cross-over point in the 19Z hour Sunday when the QSO
totals of the two years coincided. My highest clock-hour rate was the second
hour at 186, down from my highs of 193 and 190 respectively in the first two
hours of 2007. On the plus side, though, the Sunday rates were outstanding
this year, keeping full pace with Saturday rates. RTTY Round-Up is truly a
24-hour rate-fest and quite a contrast to the November Sweepstakes from
Northern California with its Sunday doldrums!
Ten less multipliers showed up in this yearâ??s log. I missed Alaska and
Newfoundland, and of course the three elusive Northern Canadian provinces. I
did hear a few mults that I missed, e.g., CT9 and LU, but never heard Oceania
mults, not even ZL or VK. In my one hour early morning stint on 40 and 80 that
should net Oceania mults, I found none, but surprisingly had a few new European
mults call in. I called ZX2B for a few minutes to no avail, but fortunately he
called in to me later as did another PY. On the plus side, there were a few
more African mults that called in (TR, CN, ZS, etc.) and particularly pleasing
were the two VUâ??s that were amazingly strong, both on 40 meters. With my
ratio of 24 QSOs/mult and an average QSO rate of over 2/minute it doesnâ??t pay
to abandon one of my two run frequencies to search around for mults. Especially
considering that many mults donâ??t CQ, but instead answer running stations like
my own. One of the best ways to collect multipliers is having a run presence on
the bands. However, in the future, I plan to set-up a separate RTTY decoder on
the built-in second receiver in each radio to be able to search my run bands
for needed mults. Then, it is easy enough to interleave grabbing these missing
mults with running.
Speaking of run frequencies, when I started into my last operating session at
1330Z Sunday, I found the needed NS mult with VE9DX auto-CQing on 14108. Andy
was loud here and only getting a response to one of every ten CQs. I called
and called but he just CQâ??d back to me! However, he ultimately gave me
something just as valuable when he got bored and left the frequency. A couple
stations then called me for a contact and so the only gracious thing to do was
take over the frequency which I held for the next eight hours. Thanks, Andy!
(It was a great frequency, nicely cleared out with your early morning CQing and
a bit removed from the crowded alley down around â??85.) You never did come
back to work me there, but did find me Sunday evening on 40 and fortunately
VE9GJ called in on 15 and 20 during the day.
I didnâ??t feel â??in the grooveâ?? until mid-morning Sunday when the rates
began exceeding most of the Saturday rates. It then seemed possible that I
might close the gap with my prior yearâ??s cumulative QSO total. I even hoped
that I might exceed 3000 far enough to clear log-checking, but that was not to
be. Once 15 dropped off Sunday evening and I went to 40, I just couldnâ??t
sustain 130/hour rates. 40 was great, though, with European signals extremely
strong. Too bad there werenâ??t more of them operating. Although there seemed
to be an endless supply of IK3 stations.
My Saturday troubles were part psychological and part station. I was bummed at
not being able to get an initial clock-hour-rate exceeding 200. In fact, since
it was significantly lower than 2007, this portended the strong potential for a
lower QSO total overall. I ran until 1:30am local time, 80 minutes past my 2007
break time, yet had 80 less contacts in the log. Then, there were the station
problems. In the third hour, the â??Aâ?? side of the station, which was on 15
meters at the time, suddenly had an infinite SWR. Bummerâ??weâ??d had the
15-meter Yagi feedline open up during CQWW WPX CW last May, so I figured the
wind had returned that problem to me. Since it was about time to move from 15
to 40, I cleverly decided that was the thing to do since my rhythm was
interrupted anyway on that radio. Punch the 40 meter button on the ProII and
that side instantly is on 40. Find a clear frequency around 7050, drop my call
sign in and â?¦ Oops! Same problem. Oh crap! Iâ??ve got more than a rhythm
problem now. I need to be running 180/hour on 20 and 40 but apparently one
half of the SixPak or its cabling is broken. As a â??single-opâ??, I now must
stop operating entirely for a few minutes of down time to move the 40 meter
coax from the SixPak and put it directly on the Alpha. OK, get going again and
later move the â??Bâ?? side from 20 to 80. In the back of my mind, Iâ??m
already planning what, if anything, I can/should do on my official break to
deal with this equipment problem for the remainder of the contest.
Then â?¦. the room goes dark and my first thought is, great, a power failure
and thereâ??s no back-up generator. But, wait, Iâ??m still working stations
even though it is too dark to see the keyboard keys. Oh, OK, just a simple
matter of the room light. Could be a fuse, could be the light bulb. But,
thereâ??s no other light source in the room at the time, so another unscheduled
interruption of prime time in necessary to get find some light. So, I once
again left both run frequencies to find a lamp, and by the way, take a quick
bathroom break since my rising anxiety was not conducive to holding my bladder.
My already lower QSO rate kept dropping as these events unfolded and I took my
first break significantly behind last yearâ??s QSO total. Needless to say, I
was not in the same euphoric state-of-mind at this time compared to prior
years. OK, well decades of Sweepstakes experience served me well, because I
know how to suck it up and tough out Sunday. I vowed to extract every possible
QSO from the bands during the remainder of the contest period.
Sunday was a much better day. During my break, I rewired the station during to
get around the problem on the â??Aâ?? side, and did some cursory
troubleshooting. I thought I was beginning to zero in on the problem, when all
of a sudden it disappeared entirely, never to return again during the contest.
While I was still skittish about the â??Aâ?? side, it still felt good to have
everything working. Then, the rate instantly went to 150/hour from the first
CQ in the morning and didnâ??t drop off until 15 died and I moved to 40 for the
last two hours. I still had 13 minutes of off-time to take at the end because
my two breaks had already been used. I wanted this anyway because the last two
hours have been the slowest historically. As soon as my on-time hit 24:00
hours, I stopped transmitting.
So, the best part of contests is operating, not the results. ARRL RTTY
Round-Up is a ton of fun to operate, especially as P49X. You folks gave me a
heck of a workout and provided enough QSO arrival rate to challenge my skills
to capitalize on it. Thanks too for seeking me out on other bands even after
you already had the P4 multiplier. I usually announce my other run frequency
if we havenâ??t worked there and a number of you went there within the minute.
There were also a large portion of you who got the sweep of all four bands.
Finally, there were a few DX stations gave me serial #1 on Saturday and #2 and
#3 on Sunday, obviously casual ops chasing P4 on RTTY. All this adds up to a
fun time for me. Again, thanks to everyone.
73,
Ed â?? P49X (W0YK)
80M 40M 20M 15M 10M Total %
NA 222 545 777 718 0 2262 77.0
EU 72 268 197 84 0 621 21.2
OC 1 0 1 5 0 7 0.2
AF 0 1 4 2 0 7 0.2
AS 1 12 7 2 0 22 0.7
SA 2 4 5 6 0 17 0.6
QSO/Sta+Prov+Dx by hour and band
Hour 80M 40M 20M 15M 10M Total Cumm OffTime
D1-1800Z - - 73/27 97/27 - 170/54 170/54
D1-1900Z - - 86/15 100/4 - 186/19 356/73
D1-2000Z - 2/2 86/4 71/5 - 159/11 515/84
D1-2100Z - 61/3 82/5 - - 143/8 658/92
D1-2200Z - 59/4 69/1 - - 128/5 786/97
D1-2300Z 19/0 65/2 20/0 - - 104/2 890/99
D2-0000Z 31/0 76/3 --+-- --+-- --+-- 107/3 997/102
D2-0100Z 35/0 80/2 - - - 115/2 1112/104
D2-0200Z 36/0 69/1 - - - 105/1 1217/105
D2-0300Z 39/2 65/2 - - - 104/4 1321/109
D2-0400Z 47/0 61/1 - - - 108/1 1429/110
D2-0500Z 47/0 59/0 - - - 106/0 1535/110
D2-0600Z 17/0 34/1 - - - 51/1 1586/111 29
D2-0700Z - - - - - 0/0 1586/111 60
D2-0800Z 17/0 34/2 --+-- --+-- --+-- 51/2 1637/113 25
D2-0900Z 10/0 23/0 - - - 33/0 1670/113 33
D2-1000Z - - - - - 0/0 1670/113 60
D2-1100Z - - - - - 0/0 1670/113 60
D2-1200Z - - - - - 0/0 1670/113 60
D2-1300Z - - 37/0 40/1 - 77/1 1747/114 20
D2-1400Z - - 66/0 68/1 - 134/1 1881/115
D2-1500Z - - 83/0 78/0 - 161/0 2042/115
D2-1600Z --+-- --+-- 76/0 80/1 --+-- 156/1 2198/116
D2-1700Z - - 56/0 62/1 - 118/1 2316/117
D2-1800Z - - 57/1 70/1 - 127/2 2443/119
D2-1900Z - - 56/0 70/0 - 126/0 2569/119
D2-2000Z - - 50/1 60/2 - 110/3 2679/122
D2-2100Z - 24/0 45/0 21/0 - 90/0 2769/122
D2-2200Z - 57/1 24/0 - - 81/1 2850/123
D2-2300Z - 61/1 25/0 - - 86/1 2936/124
Total: 298/2 830/25 991/54 817/43 0/0
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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