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DX Contest Activity Announcements CQ World Wide DX CW Contest (November 29-30, 2008) Call Sign Entity Class Operators 38 November/December 2008 NCJ Bill Feidt, NG3K 5X1NH Uganda SO LP G3RWF AHØBT Mariana Is SOAB HP JE1CKA CT9L Madeira M/? DJ7JC, DF1AL, DK3QZ, DL1XW, DL2OBF, DL3HAH, D3LQQ, DL5XX, PAØR CU2A Azores SOAB OH2UA EY8MM Tajikistan SOSB (80) EY8MM FJ/WJ2O St Barthemely SOAB LP WJ2O FM Martinique M/? FM5LD, F5IRO H7/K9ZO Nicaragua ? K9ZO HP1RIS Panama SOSB (10) HP1RIS IH9M African Italy SOSB IK7JWY IR9Y Sicily M/S IT9ABY, IT9DQM, IT9HUV, IT9RBW J3/DL5AXX Grenada SOAB DL5AXX J49I Crete M/S IØUZF, IKØEFR, IKØYUT, IZØFWD J6 St Lucia SOAB K9VV KH6/NE1RD Hawaii SOAB LP NE1RD KP2B Virgin Is SOAB WP3A KP4EE Puerto Rico SOAB KP4EE LZ9W Bulgaria M/M LZ9W Contest Team OHØZ Aland Is SOSB (15) OH5DX P4ØW Aruba SOAB W2GD PJ2T Neth Antilles M/? WØCG, K8ND, W8WTS and others PJ4A Neth Antilles M/? K4BAI, KU8E, W4OC, K4RO PZ5TT Suriname SOAB VE3DZ T88CJ Palau SOAB HA7TM TO4X St Martin M/? K1XM, WA1S, KQ1F V26K Antigua SOAB LP AA3B VK9AA Cocos (Keeling) SOAB VK2IA YS4RR El Salvador SOAB LP K9GY Thanks to: AA3B, DK3QZ, DL5AXX, EY8MM, F5NQL, G3RWF, HA5PP, HP1RIS, IKØEFR, IK7JWY, IT9ABY, JE1CKA, K1XM, K4BAI, K9GY, K9VV, KP4EE, LZ2CJ, NE1RD, OH2UA, OH5DX, VE3DZ, VK2IA, WØCG, W2GD, WJ2O, WP3A See www.ng3k.com/Misc/cqc2008.html for further details ARRL 160 Meter Contest (December 5-6, 2008) Call Sign Entity Class Operators J3/DL5AXX Grenada SO DL5AXX P4ØTA Aruba SO HP K6TA VY2/N3DXX Canada SO N3DXX Thanks to: DL5AXX, K6TA, N3DXX See www.ng3k.com/Misc/arrl160_2008.html for further details CQ World Wide 160 Meter CW Contest (January 24-25, 2009) Call Sign Entity Class Operators HKØCW San Andres MO K5UO, WF5W XU7ACY Cambodia SO NO2R ZF1A Cayman Is MO ZF1DX, K2UFT Thanks to: K5UO, NO2R, W8BLA See www.ng3k.com/Misc/cq160c2009.html for further details To submit a DX contest operation, visit www.ng3k.com/contest/consub.html WriteLog for Windows with Rttyrite/WinRTTY/AFC One Package Handles All Your CW, SSB, and RTTY Contesting Needs NEW VERSION 10 for Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, Vista Operate 2 radios with one sound card on RTTY and SSB & Perfect CW transmission. Tired of obsolete DOS logging packages that force you to use special confi gurations and don’t use all of the power of your computer? WriteLog is the fi rst contest logging software designed to fully deliver the convenience and ease of use of Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, & Vista. WriteLog includes these battle-proven features: Work RTTY using any 16-bit (or better) sound card. No other hardware required! Opt. 2 sound cards and run 4 radios Full Radio Control Helpful Band Map Packet Interference Fast Ethernet Networking PLUS These NEW Features: RTTY mode AFC – also known as Autotune. Audio Compression – now you can save & play back your entire log after a contest, contact by contact from WAV fi les in your H.D., in CW, SSB, RTTY & PSK31 modes – Via WAV fi le compression. Super Check Partial Click and Go Mouse Support Perfect Log Submission Two Radio Support Supports All Major Contests in All Modes Only $30.00 Ver 9 users upgrade $30. CW Reader – print CW on screen like in a RTTY contest. We also added multi-channel CW reader capability. With a fast PC (350MHz Pentium or faster) WriteLog will decode CW at 6 different pitches on 2 radios simultaneously. Like having a backup operator looking over your shoulder. “I made the fi rst contest (non RTTY) with WriteLog, and it is FANTASTIC. It is such an improvement for me over CT...I really love it, and from now on anyone who operates from here will HAVE to use this program! I will twist their arms.” John, ON4UN http://www.writelog.com e-mail: k5dj@writelog.com Ron Stailey, K5DJ 504 Dove Haven Dr. Round Rock, TX 78664-5926 Tel/Fax (512) 255-5000
RTTY Contesting Just two years ago, Don, AA5AU, began writing this column. While Don was eager to get started, he was also reluctant because his available time was mostly consumed with rebuilding his home and antennas after the devastation Hurricane Katrina wrought. Still, he took on the NCJ task with gusto and has been sharing his perspective on RTTY contesting ever since. This sharing is an extension of the tremendous contribution he’s made to RTTY contesting through the tutorials and other resources on the Web sites (eg, www.rttycontesting.com). As Hurricane Gustav approached Louisiana in late August, however, Don and his wife once again found themselves evacuated. Needless to say, Don needs to take some time away from this column as he assesses the situation with his property and gets permission to return and deal with whatever he fi nds. It is my pleasure to guest op his column for this issue. I’m sure you’ll join me in hoping that Don will be back with us soon. As I write this, the CQ World Wide RTTY Contest; it will be history by the time this issue of NCJ reaches subscribers in late October. As it is for the CW and phone modes, CQ WW is one of the biggies in RTTY contesting along with the ARRL RTTY Round-Up in January and the CQ WW WPX RTTY in February. Active participation in these and other RTTY operating events continues to grow phenomenally and the trend is expected to continue. Don described this growth in an earlier column, attributing part of it to CW and phone contesters who have added RTTY to their contesting enjoyment. My own personal experience has been exactly that. Beginning with the 2004 ARRL RTTY Round-Up, club competition was added. Our contest club, the Northern California Contest Club (NCCC), decided to pursue this as a goal. Problem was that few club members operated RTTY, let alone contested seriously in that mode. The club has a number of top-tier CW and phone contesters, however. In late 2003, a core group of RTTY ops — N6DE, AC6JT, K6UFO and W6ZZZ — put on a meeting program to explain the mode and to inspire other club members to get on for the Round-Up. Like several others, I had never operated RTTY and had an unfounded cynical view of the mode. I remarked that since the RTTY contest software identifi ed valid call signs and could easily send the exchange with little or no operator intervention, the operator could go drink beer. With a bit of a frown, the RTTYers informed me that there was more to it than that, and most people really enjoy it once they actually try it. “Okay,” I said, “for the good of NCCC, I’ll get on RTTY Round-Up.” As it turned out, I won the Pacifi c Division SOHP plaque that year and, as the club’s RTTY contingent predicted, I had a blast. I was hooked, despite the fact that CW contesting is still my favorite. Moreover, thanks to the additional members recruited (kicking and screaming, mostly!), the NCCC won the fi rst club competition gavel in the ARRL RTTY Round-Up. It also took a couple days for ghosts of those RTTY tones to dissipate within my head. I’ve since learned to turn the audio gain way down during RTTY contests so they no longer imprint themselves on my brain. It wasn’t immediately obvious why I liked RTTY so much, particularly since I had the initial negative bias about operators’ not actually decoding the signal in their heads. For starters, RTTY is like CW in that you don’t have to speak, so that was appealing. Next, the differences between RTTY and CW provided diversity that increased the interest and satisfaction of each contest session for both modes. The biggest advantage for me was utilizing RTTY contesting to improve my overall contesting skills. The very aspect that I cynically belittled — operators not decoding the signal — turned out to be the enabling factor for building other areas of operating skill. Instead of bemoaning that RTTY is not as challenging because the brain is not “copying” the code, I soon realized that this actually liberated my brain to focus on other things, such as effi cient searching, pileup management, exception management (fi lls, slow exchanges, etc), SO2R and possibly even SO3R. For example, before I’d operated RTTY, I found it very diffi cult to realize any advantage from SO2R during sprints. I was so consumed with one radio in the Sprint that I’d never achieved any success with two. With RTTY, however, I had freed up brain cycles to apply to the problem of Ed Muns, WØYK operating two radios in Sprint without decreasing my score. Once I developed some techniques in the RTTY sprints, I then had the foundation to ease them into my CW Sprint operating. I’m now a reformed RTTY contester, greatly enjoying the mode, coming from the other extreme of thinking it was somehow invalid. At Contest University in Dayton last May I asked the audience how many still thought RTTY contesting was silly and were only there because there was nothing else going on at that hour. A number of diehard anti-RTTYers raised their hands, so it’s clear that conversion will never be 100 percent. Still, I urge all skeptics out there to look for the silver lining in this odd contesting mode. You may surprise yourself and fi nd some appeal. It’s been really gratifying — though shocking at fi rst — when presumably non-RTTY contester call signs such as K5ZD, N6TR, N2NL, N2IC, K7JA and N6TV show up in my logs. On the other side, RTTY contesting has benefited greatly by experienced contesters engaging in this mode. Not only is participation rapidly increasing, but competitiveness and expertise is growing as well. Early RTTY contests were more like relaxed QSO parties with rag chewers getting together on the air for the weekend. Exchanges were drawn out with little pressure on effi ciency or speed. Today’s RTTY contests have evolved to the same quick clip found in CW contests. The NA RTTY Sprint just eliminated the special “legal dupe” rule for RTTY, wherein participants could work the same station multiple times for credit on each band if at least three QSOs with other stations intervened. The original purpose of allowing these multiple dupes, of course, was to provide a decent rate despite low participation. This handicap really isn’t needed anymore, however, as the number of RTTY Sprint participants is approaching SSB Sprint numbers. Now the NA Sprint rules are identical for all three modes. If you’re still sitting out RTTY contests, you could be missing out on a lot of fun as well as the opportunity to improve your overall contesting expertise and enjoyment. Give it a spin! NCJ November/December 2008 39
Page 1 and 2: ■ Contest University 2008 at Dayt
Page 3 and 4: “I was struck by how clean, natur
Page 5 and 6: Editorial Our “Better Halves” T
Page 7 and 8: the presenters are entertaining —
Page 9 and 10: adio no longer budges when you’re
Page 11 and 12: The Birth of the Louisiana Contest
Page 13 and 14: Solving the Long Rotator Cable Prob
Page 15 and 16: connecters to the chassis. Replacem
Page 17 and 18: their sunrise enhancement using the
Page 19 and 20: Simplifying the Four-Square The fou
Page 21 and 22: optimum phase angles for the curren
Page 23 and 24: Tips for Tuning a Full-Size 160 Met
Page 25 and 26: Figure 5 — The sidebands show abo
Page 27 and 28: Figure 10 — The VSWR = 1.03 at 18
Page 29 and 30: NCJ November/December 2008 27
Page 31 and 32: NCJ Profi le: Bob Naumann, W5OV Tis
Page 33 and 34: Workshop Chronicles As Plato and ot
Page 35 and 36: mostly runs stations at these times
Page 37 and 38: Contesting 101 Welcome back to Cont
Page 39: Contesting on a Budget That Very Fi
Page 43 and 44: Results: 2008 West Coast Regional R
Page 45 and 46: Results: July 2008 North American Q
Page 47 and 48: Call Sign Score QSOs Mults QTH Team
Page 49 and 50: Shortwave Listeners (SWL-ers) have
Page 51: MORE DEALS THAN YOU CAN SHAKE A STI

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