CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest
Call: KK9A
Operator(s): KK9A
Station: KK9A
Class: SOAB LP
QTH: North Carolina
Operating Time (hrs): 30
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
80: 156
40: 493
20: 472
15: 661
10: 493
------------
Total: 2275 Prefixes = 779 Total Score = 5,414,829
Club:
Comments:
The 30 hour format plus double low band points makes it a very strategic
contest. I have a pretty good 40m antenna system and I added temporary 80m
antennas hoping to really maximize my double point contacts. Unfortunately I
really struggled with rates on these bands, especially on 80m, and I wound up
with 171 less low band contacts than the previous year. Luckily, I did make 245
more contacts on the higher bands. The new 10m beam may have helped and I really
pushed hard to keep two stations on the air at all times. Running SO2R RTTY
finally felt comfortable. I had many good morning hours running Europe
simultaneously on 10m and 15m which really helped my score. I am still using
MTTY software, but I also had a copy of 2-tone on third computer and there were
times that 2-tone decoded better. I was reluctant to make this software change
before a major contest but I will be installing 2-tone on all of my computers
before my next RTTY contest. I have yet to figure out how to best manage the 30
hours of operating time over the 48 hour weekend. I ran out of time long before
the contest ended and spent Sunday afternoon removing my temporary antennas.
There is plenty of activity for 36 hours like the other WPX modes and it is
disappointing to have to quit early. WPX RTTY also has no unassisted category
so I ran the spotting network but did not find it to be that useful. When
running on two bands I had no easy way to chase spots and when I did attempt it
often the spotted stations were not there and I was wasting time. My multiplier
count was nearly identical to last year. My overall score is slightly higher
than last year and it should be a new US record. This is a fun contest, even if
you are not a RTTY guru! Don - AA5AU has a fantastic webpage which I find very
useful for configuring my system and for trying new things. Without this
information I may have never tried RTTY. I would like to thank the contest
director Ed - W0YK for running this event and for all of his technical
assistance. I also wish to thank my QSL manager Tim - WD9DZV for all of his
help in putting my logs on LoTW and answering the many cards that come through
the mail and bureau.
Thanks for the QSOs!
John KK9A �" W4AAA
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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