Running from XV the spectrum would look like a DC scope trace with
ripple at the top. Pulling signals out is difficult. As noted, it is
often easier to pick out signals at the edge of the pile.
Watching a pan adapter for FT4 and VK0 you could often see the number of
pips was almost the same when they called a station as when they said
"TU FT4JA UP". That's sad. You would think people would realize that
it only slows down things and could potentially make the difference as
to whether the get a QSO or not.
73, Larry W6NWS
On 4/10/2016 2:32 PM, Jeff AC0C wrote:
Alex,
Unless you know you have a monster signal at the DX location, you may
want to try at the edges of the pileup, especially if you notice the
guy moving around quite a lot in the pileup.
The pileup on the DX end can sound like a undifferentiated smear of
signals with virtually no decent decodes. That naturally pushes the
ops toward the end of the pile where he can pick out some signals.
Also, in some of the DXpeditions the RTTY ops are not very fluent with
the mode and there is even more of a tendency to work the edges.
73/jeff/ac0c
www.ac0c.com
alpha-charlie-zero-charlie
-----Original Message----- From: Alex, VE3NEA
Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2016 1:19 PM
To: rtty@contesting.com
Subject: [RTTY] RTTY DX'ing tutorial (was: VK0EK RTTY Update)
I started chasing DX using RTTY three months ago, after 35 years of
DX'ing CW only. Trying to learn the new mode, I searched the
Internet for RTTY tutorials, and I found quite a few, but all of them
either explained how to set up MMTTY, the software that I
do not use, or how to operate in the contests. The only presentation
on RTTY DX'ing I could find just told me that I needed two
macros, my callsign and "599 TU" - something that I had already
figured out myself. How to crack the pileups, how to find the DX
listening frequency, how to choose the right time to send your call -
none of this was covered in the publications that I could
find. I know that many of the subscribers to this list are experienced
RTTY DX'ers, even though it is a contesting list, some
are even on the Honor Roll - perhaps you guys could share your RTTY
DX'ing techniques with those of us who are just making their
first steps in this area.
Having no RTTY-specific skills, I tried to use my CW techniques to
crack the RTTY pileups, and this worked, to some extent, but
I quickly discovered that there are some important differences between
the two modes that needed to be addressed. For examnple,
in CW I use QSK to know when the DX station starts transmitting, so I
can abort my own transmission and listen. Since there is
no QSK in RTTY, those who send their call 4 or 5 times, have no idea
if the DX has already answered someone or is still
listening for a new call. They just keep calling, often on top of the
station being worked. My solution to that is to ensure
that my own messages are shorter than anything the DX might send.
Since the DX usually sends something like <call> 599 <call>, I
figured I should send my own call no more than 2 times, then I will
catch at least the end of the DX transmission and know in
what stage the current QSO is.
There is another difference between CW and RTTY. When I find the DX
listening frequency in CW, I tune my TX about 100 Hz higher
or lower, since I know several others will be calling precisely on
that frequency and will interfere with each other. This often
works in CW, but not in RTTY: the RTTY decoders do not pick up the
signals that are 100 Hz off, so I have to either call on that
exact frequency or tune a few hundred Hz away, hoping that the DX will
do the same.
One technique that rarely worked for me in CW but worked much better
in RTTY is tailgating. If the DX operates simplex, quite
often several stations start calling him on the same frequency,
resulting in no copy at all. I wait until they finish calling,
then, without any pause, send my call once. On more than one occasion
I added a new one to the log using this trick.
What works for you, and what doesn't? What extra hardware or software
does one need to be competitive in the RTTY pileups?
Please share your experience.
73 Alex VE3NEA
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