Weekend Conditions Put The Word TEST in Contest!

2013 CQ WPX RTTY Contest

 My schedule has been pretty busy over the last few weeks so there has been little time for radio. With that said, let me back up to the previous weekend for the CQ World Wide WPX RTTY Contest. 

I had to balance working the weekend, working on a home remodeling project and operating in the RTTY contest. As it turned out, the bands were less than favorable so it was easy for me to be distracted from the contest. I was hopeful NOT to have to work the weekend but as it ended up, I did. So I spent the weekend working on our arctic entry and wrapping up some last minute work related programming. I ended up working only a handful of RTTY contacts all weekend, 51 of which were on 20 meters, 26 of which were on 15 meters and 8 were on 10 meters. And of course, it was a breezy weekend here that weekend, wind gusts in the mid to upper 30's. That lead to more QRN, which made already tough bands even harder since signals were not very strong. My path to Europe was fair considering the conditions with my best DX worked being 5C5W. Most interesting callsign worked in the lower 48 goes to AG1RL. With the WPX weekend a bust for the most part, I was looking forward to this past weekend for the ARRL DX Contest.

ARRL DX 2012

I looked back at my previous scores and found I had focused on 20 meter single band efforts. Last year I remember heading outdoors and photographing the aurora during the contest weekend (see photo at right). Solar activity can sure effect any effort this far north. Even though it was not as pronounced as last year, I was once again effected this year, more specifically on Sunday. My goal was to break 1,000 QSO's and attempt to work more multipliers than in years past, focusing on the Canadian sections that always elude me. The most sections I have worked in this contest with my single band efforts is 58. With the weather forecast calling for little to no wind, my QRN was not predicted to be an issue. As the week progressed, the weekend was shaping up to be a good one. With good weather, no real solar wind to deal with and a few extra days off, things looked promising. 

ARRL DX 2013

My initial strategy was to do nothing but Search & Pounce (S&P) on Friday night. I wanted to search out sections (multipliers) and just take my time slowly moving the VFO up and down the band. When I'm tuning, I start at the bottom and work my way up. Once I get to the top of the band, often times I head all the way to the bottom and work my way back up. That's exactly what I did. My ceremonial QSO number one was with NQ4I at the bottom of the band. As I worked my way up, I found many a familiar callsign and a few personal friends. Propagation was coast to coast at this point as I was picking off states from both the right and left coast. I managed Scot, KA3DRR on the left and team K3LR on the right. Wait, I'm up here in Alaska looking down so, is it my right or their left? Regardless, I continued my quest to manage as many stations as I could before 15 meters closed for the evening. My strategy for Saturday was to find a QRG and call CQ as much as possible in hopes of adding lots of QSO's. I was going to do some S&P on Saturday but I was going to leave Sunday for the 50/50 balance of both running and hunting. My final QSO for Friday night was at 0244z. 

Magnetometer from HAARP

Saturday morning started out very slow. I encountered KL7RA and KL2R, both with respectable local signals, working stations I could not even hear. My first and only QSO early was with an Oregon station at 1752z and I could not muster up another QSO until 1927z! I wrote it off as yet another consequence of "low power, low tower", as I've done in the past. The HAARP Magnetometer showed a bit of activity but nothing that was band deadening. Since there had not been much on 15 early, I pointed my beam to Europe to see if I could hear anything on 10 meters when I first got on. And what do you know, I heard the all elusive "NF" section on 10 meters, several VE3's and K1ESE in Maine with a respectable signal! That had me second guessing wondering if I should have attempted a 10 meter rather than 15 meter single band! Nope, I decided on a strategy and I was sticking with it. It was not long before signals faded away on 10 and it was quiet again. Those hams were probably pointed to Europe and I was hearing them well in Alaska! Propagation, ya just never know.

Rates with previous year targets

Saturday was tough but not a bust. Signals really did not come up and the band did not get busy for me until around 2130z! I was dealing with my typical propagation paths and I only broke the 100 QSO per hour rate once on Saturday (see graph above). Considering my effort last year was an entirely different band, I still loaded my targets in Win-test to keep me motivated. Major differences were obviously the beginning and end of the contest. But again, things became lively and it was standing room only on 15 meters. And when the band becomes lively, I tighten down my CQ filter and dig myself in for the long haul. 

Some of my notes from Saturday included one of my biggest complaints on contest weekends. Yes, here I go! I'm getting increasingly tired of stations moving in and calling CQ contest without even waiting to see if the frequency was in use. This happened more to me this weekend than normal! Obviously is the use of QRL is like a stop sign on a lonely country road meaning there are times to use it and other times not? I had a handful of stations calling me and NP4G decided my frequency was going to be his. He plopped right on frequency and started calling "CQ test." Soon, the stations calling me and the stations calling him became chaotic. I was left to moving on. Now yes, I know contest weekends are going to be busy, you will hear the person next to you, and like a Nascar race, there will be some bumping into each other. But poor operating is what starts non-contesters complaining about contesters. And the biggest complaint I always read from those non-contesting types are contesters who just drop in on a frequency they (non-contesters) were occupying and the contester takes it over. This happened to me on both days, Saturday first with NP4G, followed by NE8P and PY4FQ. No QRL, just hit my frequency and call CQ! My final note for Saturday was, I think most of the snow birds were in Arizona and Florida! I worked lots of stations in those states. With our temperatures below zero, maybe it was an envious observation.

HAARP Riometer

I noticed that Sunday was going to be much harder than Saturday. This got me to thinking that I should have done a bit more S&P for multipliers on Saturday rather than wait until Sunday. Nothing I could do to fix that this late in the game. It was apparent that sunspot AR1675 decided to throw a wrench in the propagation for Sunday by the effects of an M-Class Solar Flare. As you can see from the HAARP Magnetometer graph above and the HAARP Riometer graph to the left, both show the effects of the solar flare. I was getting tired waiting for 15 meters to open so I headed down to 20 meters. I also was doing my usual social interaction on Twitter. 

JT65A QSO with Peter, 2E0SQL

On twitter, I was conversing with G4BAO and Peter, 2E0SQL. They were talking about JT65A and so I fired up the software and turned my antenna toward Europe. I had seen another 2E0 station calling CQ so I had mentioned it to Peter. The band turned out being pretty busy with JT65 signals so Peter mentioned he would call me on 14.077. I was pleasantly surprised to see Peter's CQ (see graph at the right). I quickly hooked up my digital interface as I was using my CW interface. I attempted to answer him but the software was not keying up my rig. It took me a minute to realize I still had Win-test running in the background and it was using the port that JT65-HF was trying to use therefore, it was unable to transmit. Once I closed out Win-test, I was able to answer Peter's CQ and another JT65A QSO was complete! 

I was Peter's first Alaska QSO on that mode so the morning started off pretty well I'd have to say. Like many a Twitter ham, I've been able to add several that I follow or who follow me, to my logbook. It's always fun when a plan comes together. After our QSO, I fell back to 15 meters, reestablished my CW interface connection and waited for the band to open so I could continue my contest quest.

With being DX in this contest, my antenna remained pointed to the lower 48 and Canada for most of the weekend. It's possible for a lower 48 station to work 100 entities or more on a single band in this contest. The most sections I can get is on a band is 63. With that in mind, it's about getting as many of those mults as possible but more importantly, getting as many QSO's as possible. So in my mind, this was less of a S&P mult hunting contest and more of a "Park & Bark" strategy. 

Win-test: Mults I missed are indicated in White

Sunday in a nutshell was extremely tough. Very much a low but I had a few highs mixed in with that mood. I had more instances of stations hitting my run frequency and not sending QRL and just CQ'n. The first was W5WMU but he realized that the frequency was in use afterwards and moved on (thank you!!) rather than deciding to partake in a CQ battle. W7TJ was another followed by JA8RWU and each of those had me move off onward up or down the band looking for a new home. I was hearing more DX than stateside stuff but toward the end, I had three much needed multipliers call in! The first was W3MLK for Delaware! Martin has helped me in several contests getting that much needed DE multiplier! VY2OX followed by N7NG (WY) which really gave me the boost that I needed to finish the contest. Thank you all!! And of course, thanks to everyone who called and worked me! I've accepted defeat when it comes to the Canadian sections as I've never been close to a clean sweep and they are normally the sections that I get skunked on. But, effort and strategy pays off and I will always continue to get beyond those 58 sections I've been stuck on since I began playing in this contest from up here. 

In conclusion, even though the band was tough this weekend, it was still fun to operate. The mini solar tsunami as I like to refer to it, did put a huge damper on my Sunday and I did leave a few of my eggs in one basket so to speak. In looking back, I should have done a bit more section hunting on Saturday, rather than leaving it to Sunday. But many friends encountered and I was able to make several contacts to stations in my home state of Ohio. This, as with all the contests, tested my patience, my CW ability, my equipment and my strategic ability. Once the logs are washed, it will also test my accuracy ability.  

My score breakout is listed below. I suffered a 3rd degree burn to my left index or forefinger a day before the contest. The band may not have been hot this weekend but I assure you, the piece of metal I had heated up and accidentally touched was! I made a few typing mistakes on callsigns because of it, as it's much harder to type with your finger tip bandaged up. Thanks to all for the contacts and as the sun slowly moves back towards Alaska, I begin to shift my focus from exiting contest season to entering camping season! If all goes right, as March approaches, I will get to enjoy the SSB flavor of this contest at another location, enjoying great company and great operators! 

Contest         : ARRL International DX Contest
Callsign        : KL8DX
Mode            : CW
Category        : Single Operator (SO)
Overlay         : ---
Band(s)         : Single band (SB) 15 m
Class           : Low Power (LP)
Zone/State/...  : 100
Locator         : BP53LU
Operating time  : 13h01

 BAND   QSO S/P DUP  POINTS   AVG
----------------------------------
  160     0   0   0       0  0.00
   80     0   0   0       0  0.00
   40     0   0   0       0  0.00
   20     0   0   0       0  0.00
   15   568  53   7    1704  3.00
   10     0   0   0       0  0.00
----------------------------------
TOTAL   568  53   7    1704  3.00
==================================
       TOTAL SCORE : 90 312

Dupes are not included in QSO counts neither avg calculations

Living a Week in the BIG City While Murphy Visits My House

Downtown Anchorage

I spent last week in Anchorage for a work related trip. I must admit, it's fun to experience things like traffic lights, people, numerous places to grab a bit to eat, the mall and more!   This was the view last week from the 5th floor of the National Park Service Regional Office, where I spent most of last week. Off in the distance you can see Knik Arm and I must say, there is nothing bad about being close to salt water even during the winter months! The 5th Avenue Mall is on the left and I spent every evening walking the mall and doing some window shopping. The only time I can window shop in Denali is when the shops are open in Glitter Gulch, which is normally from late May or early June through early September. I very much enjoy my remote lifestyle but these trips south are always a trip back into reality. Living where we do, it's easy being oblivious to what's going on elsewhere, unless we log onto the internet or watch satellite TV. Fairbanks is my most favorite city here in Alaska but Anchorage is pretty neat as well.

Prior to my departure to Anchorage, Murphy decided to visit our QTH. As I spent a large part of the weekend getting ready for my trip south, it just so happened our furnace decided to fail. And of course, our temperatures were a bit on the chilly side last weekend as we hit lows of -37F on my Monday morning departure. We stuck around -33F all last weekend. So, having to leave my wife behind on Monday was a bit tough. Thankfully, I installed a back-up heat source about 4 years ago, so we relied on that to keep the house warm. And should that have failed, there was always the wood stove and I made sure a nice stockpile of wood was indoors just in case. In the end, a coworker was able to repair our oil fired force air furnace (the transformer went bad) and he also replaced the nozzle as it was time. It took a few days to get the parts down from Fairbanks but the furnace is once again operational and equally warming our igloo as of last Thursday evening. 

The bands have been a bit tough this past weekend but a welcomed surprise was a brief 10 meter opening on both days. I made a few Ten Ten contest QSO's and it seemed the normal path of propagation was Texas and some points on the West Coast. I also managed a nice QSO with Martin, W3MLK (15 meters SSB, a mode I don't operate very often) who was working the Delaware QSO Party. Martin is always looking for me during contest weekends so it was nice to be able to return the "Mult Favor" this past weekend.  Martin's neighbor Joe, W3SJT had a great signal into Alaska on 15 meters as well. Joe needed Alaska on 15, so it was a pleasure to add him to the logbook. After working them, I also had a nice chat with Frank, WA6KHK and fellow 8'lander Denny, WA8NSS. 

5th Avenue Mall and my Hotel in the background

So, from my adventures in the city of Anchorage, to browsing the floors of the 5th Avenue Mall, to playing a bit on 10 meters this weekend, this past week was eventful. I did manage my way into the AT&T store as I've been experiencing problems with my Samsung Infuse cellphone. Sadly, it won't be able to be repaired but I have found my next cell purchase! Hams and our electronic gadgets! I'm glad I hung onto my old Blackberry Curve as I'm using it now until I decide to take the plunge into a new phone. But some home improvement projects take the financial front seat and by the time I'm ready, the S4 might be available. When I look at what I pay a year for my cellular plan, the cellphone purchase is the cheap part. But I gotta have a smartphone! I mean really, I need to be able to Tweet, Facebook, browse the DXcluster, log contacts, decode PSK31 signals, and check the latest solar data! Not sure why I call it a phone as I spend most of my time texting, surfing, and using Apps than I do talking on the darn thing. And with my visit to the city being so close to Valentines Day, I now have that one covered. When you live 2 hours from the nearest store, it's hard to cover those romantic holidays. I must not forget such days as February 14th as that makes up for long contest weekends sequestered in the shack. And what happens the weekend before and the weekend after Valentines Day? You guessed it, contest weekends! I'll be looking forward to some RTTY and CW action and hopefully I'll see ya then, assuming my wife likes what I got her. I think she will... 

Propagation Goes Away But The Sun Slowly Returns

Very Brief View of the Sun

I saw something today I had not seen for many weeks and that was a brief encounter with the sun! We are in the shadow of Mount Healy (at the right side of this photo) so this time of year, any direct sunlight is short lived. But, in just a few more weeks, the sun will be high enough to shine down on us for at least half of the afternoon. Winters are long and dark here in Alaska, but seeing this does the body good! I snapped this photograph from our front deck looking south east. We are experiencing the coldest temperatures of 2013 as our low last night was around -32.6F. As of this writing, it has warmed up to -26.5F, but tonight was supposed to be the coldest of the weekend. 

This past Thursday night (Friday morning) I pointed the beam to Europe and was able to work about 45 stations prior to pulling the plug. It was great to catch David, A92GE again. I'm very appreciative of all those who yelled my way as I had a small pile-up going. Sadly, an early rise for work the following morning had me pull the plug long before the pile-up had dwindled down. I was hoping to do the same over the weekend but our solar wind increase put the kibosh to that idea. But on a positive note, I did manage to work Carl, 9X0PY for a new entity this weekend! 

HAARP Magnetometer 

I reference HAARP on a daily basis just to get an idea of what I may expect propagationally. When a solar wind struck the earths magnetic field this weekend, it sent shock waves through the ionosphere and the propagation headed south. Pretty obvious from the HAARP Magnetometer graph to the right that we received a pretty healthy solar slap from our sun. I have not heard much of anything on the bands this weekend and this is the very reason. It's great having these websites only a mouse click away. Saves me a cold stroll outdoors checking connections and antennas as I wonder why I'm not hearing a ham on a band!

HAARP Riometer

When it comes to propagation, absorption is our enemy. The HAARP Riometer graph to the left shows heavy absorption therefore, any radio waves overhead are not bouncing but being absorbed. As I've mentioned before, "Red = Dead" when it comes to this graph. And oddly enough, these events normally happen on contest weekends. I can't imagine this did any favors to anyone in a northern latitude operating the ARRL 160 Meter Contest this weekend. I don't have an antenna for that band so you won't find me in that contest. I would love to operate that band someday so, it's on my bucket list. 

Another highlight for me this past weekend was contacting Walt, LW3EX who gave me my final SKCC K3Y DX station contact. I had been missing only South America and Walt had his usual great signal into Alaska which allowed me to wrap up my Grand Sweep. Sadly, January has been an exceptionally busy month for me so I have not been able to operate much as K3Y/KL7. But, WL7WH and KL7IDA are doing a great job sending Alaska QSO's to those in need. 

As February fast approaches, I can't help but get excited about two fun contests that month. CQ WPX RTTY Contest is first and I think I've recovered enough from the last RTTY contest to diddle again. The following weekend will be the ARRL CW DX Contest. Another one of my all time favorites for sure. So, I'm hoping the sun settles down during the month of February as not to ruin either of those contest weekends. With any luck, my low power signal will make it out of the 49th and be heard around the globe! 

DXCC Application

ARRL LOTW

This morning I decided to go ahead and apply for my DXCC using those countries confirmed on LOTW. I've been considering my application for well over a year now but since my DXCC number seems to have been pretty static for the last several months, (not really chasing DX either) I decided to go ahead and submit. I submitted for my DXCC Mixed Award only at this point. I have DXCC with CW (Morse Code) and also Digital with most of my digital QSO's confirmed with RTTY (Radio Teletype). I previously applied for my Worked All States (WAS) awards in the same manner. Simply select and submit (and of course payment is a must). This will be my second DXCC award as I have one from my days of operating from Northern Ohio. I had 306 countries approved with that award but my effort from Alaska won't even be close to that.

My application consisted of the country (entity) list below; 

LoTW Application # 32571
Status Sent
Timestamp 2013-01-19 16:52:58
ARRL Member Look up
Diamond Club/Maxim no
Applying for Mixed
Call Sign KL8DX
Address Denali National Park AK 99755  USA
# LoTW QSO Credits Sent 177
Payment by Mail No
Fees:
Application Fee $10.00
LoTW Payment Credit Fee $21.24
Certificates Fee $14.00
Total $45.24

QSL JA1CQK - JAPAN - 30M CW (CW) [DXCC-30,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL VE6YR - CANADA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL UA3TCJ - EUROPEAN RUSSIA - 40M CW (CW) [DXCC-40,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL OH3UU - FINLAND - 40M CW (CW) [DXCC-40,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL 4U1ITU - ITU HQ - 30M CW (CW) [DXCC-30,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL I2DMI - ITALY - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL EY8MM - TAJIKISTAN - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL ZP6CW - PARAGUAY - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL ZL6QH - NEW ZEALAND - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL SM6CNN - SWEDEN - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL D4B - CAPE VERDE - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL 5W0DL - SAMOA - 40M CW (CW) [DXCC-40,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL 9Y4/AJ9C - TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL DF0CG - FED REP OF GERMANY - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL KL7DX - ALASKA - 40M CW (CW) [DXCC-40,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL XE2K - MEXICO - 20M PHONE (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL PJ2T - BONAIRE,CURACAO (NETH ANTILLES) (DELETED) - 20M PHONE (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL HC8N - GALAPAGOS ISLANDS - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL WP2Z - US VIRGIN ISLANDS - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL 8P5A - BARBADOS - 20M PHONE (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL VP5/N0VD - TURKS & CAICOS ISL - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL GB5HQ - ENGLAND - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL PS2T - BRAZIL - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL TF3YH - ICELAND - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL K7C - KURE ISLAND - 40M CW (CW) [DXCC-40,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL RU0SN - ASIATIC RUSSIA - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL KH6FI - HAWAII - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL LY9A - LITHUANIA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL ZF1A - CAYMAN ISLANDS - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL VK1AA/4 - AUSTRALIA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL SN2B - POLAND - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL OX3DB - GREENLAND - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL 9A8A - CROATIA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL EU1PA - BELARUS - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL JW/G7VJR - SVALBARD - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL 4O6T - MONTENEGRO - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL J39BS - GRENADA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL YV5AAX - VENEZUELA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL ZS2EZ - REP OF SOUTH AFRICA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL OZ5NJ - DENMARK - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL BX5AA - TAIWAN - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL LV5V - ARGENTINA - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL KP4ED - PUERTO RICO - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL OQ5A - BELGIUM - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL HL3AMO - REPUBLIC OF KOREA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL HI3T - DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL H40MY - TEMOTU PROVINCE - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL VR2C - HONG KONG - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL HQ2A - HONDURAS - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL F6HRP - FRANCE - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL HA7TM - HUNGARY - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL V73RY - MARSHALL ISLANDS - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL PD0LGG - NETHERLANDS - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL N8S - SWAINS ISLAND - 40M CW (CW) [DXCC-40,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL MI0LLL - NORTHERN IRELAND - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL SV1DPI - GREECE - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL FG5FI - GUADELOUPE - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL OH0Z - ALAND ISLAND - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL YO8WW - ROMANIA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL HB9BZA - SWITZERLAND - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL YT2U - SERBIA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL OK3C - CZECH REPUBLIC - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL LZ8A - BULGARIA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL EC2AFI - SPAIN - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL BA4RF - CHINA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL VP6DX - DUCIE ISLAND - 15M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-15,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL YL5T - LATVIA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL LA6CF - NORWAY - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL GM7V - SCOTLAND - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL MD0CCE - ISLE OF MAN - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL OE2S - AUSTRIA - 20M PHONE (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL OM5TX - SLOVAK REPUBLIC - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL GW3JXN - WALES - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL LX1EA - LUXEMBOURG - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL TK5IH - CORSICA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL UT7UW - UKRAINE - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL SV9GPV - CRETE - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL CE1VCZ - CHILE - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL GU0SUP - GUERNSEY - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL HZ1PS - SAUDI ARABIA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL KG6DX - GUAM - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL CT1IZW - PORTUGAL - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL S52QM - SLOVENIA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL 9K2HN - KUWAIT - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL IS0GQX - SARDINIA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL EI6IZ - IRELAND - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL P40L - ARUBA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL H7/K9GY - NICARAGUA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL TX5C - CLIPPERTON ISLAND - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL WB2KSK - UNITED STATES - 20M DATA (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL HK3O - COLOMBIA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL ZC4LI - U K BASES ON CYPRUS - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL VP2MRM - MONTSERRAT - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL VP9/IK2RZP - BERMUDA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL T32YA - EASTERN KIRIBATI - 30M CW (CW) [DXCC-30,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL 4U1UN - UNITED NATIONS HQ - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL KG4SS - GUANTANAMO BAY - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL CQ3T - MADEIRA ISLANDS - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL 4X0V - ISRAEL - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL V26B - ANTIGUA & BARBUDA - 15M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-15,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL CN3A - MOROCCO - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL 9V1YC - SINGAPORE - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL JT1CD - MONGOLIA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL CW7T - URUGUAY - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL TG9/IV3IYH - GUATEMALA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL OA4SS - PERU - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL 3X5A - GUINEA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL UN7GCE - KAZAKHSTAN - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL VK9DWX - WILLIS ISLAND - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL 9M6XRO - EAST MALAYSIA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL V8FEO - BRUNEI - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL R1FJT - FRANZ JOSEF LAND - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL DV1JM - PHILIPPINES - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL V31TB - BELIZE - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL EA8OM - CANARY ISLANDS - 15M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-15,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL 9H1SP - MALTA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL VK9GMW - MELLISH REEF - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL CU2JT - AZORES - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL C6DX - BAHAMAS - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL A92GE - BAHRAIN - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL ZK2V - NIUE - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL H44MY - SOLOMON ISLANDS - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL PY0FF - FERNANDO DE NORONHA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL FY5KE - FRENCH GUIANA - 15M PHONE (PHONE) [DXCC-15,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL J5UAP - GUINEA-BISSAU - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL ER5DX - MOLDOVA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL P33W - CYPRUS - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL E21YDP - THAILAND - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL FM5CD - MARTINIQUE - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL K4M - MIDWAY ISLAND - 80M CW (CW) [DXCC-80,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL HC2SA - ECUADOR - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL 4L8A - GEORGIA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL EA6IB - BALEARIC ISLAND - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL HB0CC - LIECHTENSTEIN - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL 9L5A - SIERRA LEONE - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL VP2E - ANGUILLA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL K5D - DESECHEO ISLAND - 30M CW (CW) [DXCC-30,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL J6/N7UN - SAINT LUCIA - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL DP1POL - ANTARCTICA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL TX5SPA - AUSTRAL ISLAND - 40M CW (CW) [DXCC-40,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL TX5SPM - MARQUESAS ISLAND - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL CE0Y/SM6CUK - EASTER ISLAND - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL FO8RZ - FRENCH POLYNESIA - 30M CW (CW) [DXCC-30,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL ES5RW - ESTONIA - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL ZK3YA - TOKELAU ISLANDS - 40M CW (CW) [DXCC-40,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL E51XIW - SOUTH COOK ISLANDS - 80M CW (CW) [DXCC-80,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL T77C - SAN MARINO - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL FW5RE - WALLIS & FUTUNA ISLAND - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL TI2JCY - COSTA RICA - 15M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-15,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL VP8NO - FALKLAND ISLANDS - 10M CW (CW) [DXCC-10,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL OJ0B - MARKET REEF - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL ZL8X - KERMADEC ISLAND - 10M CW (CW) [DXCC-10,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL A65BR - UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - 40M JT65 (DATA) [DXCC-40,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL AH0BT - MARIANA ISLANDS - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL PJ2T - CURACAO - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL T31A - CENTRAL KIRIBATI - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL E77DX - BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL V48M - SAINT KITTS & NEVIS - 15M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-15,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL CP1FF - BOLIVIA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL YJ0ABP - VANUATU - 17M CW (CW) [DXCC-17,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL 6V7Q - SENEGAL - 10M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-10,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL V55A - NAMIBIA - 10M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-10,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL ZD8F - ASCENSION ISLAND - 15M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-15,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL VP8ORK - SOUTH ORKNEY ISLANDS - 20M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL YB0ECT - INDONESIA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL Z37M - MACEDONIA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL PJ4LS - BONAIRE - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL YS1GR - EL SALVADOR - 10M CW (CW) [DXCC-10,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL C37N - ANDORRA - 10M SSB (PHONE) [DXCC-10,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-PH]
QSL E51MAN - NORTH COOK ISLANDS - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL KH8/K6SRZ - AMERICAN SAMOA - 40M CW (CW) [DXCC-40,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL VP6T - PITCAIRN ISLAND - 15M CW (CW) [DXCC-15,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL 6Y1X - JAMAICA - 15M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-15,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL 3D2ZW - FIJI ISLANDS - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL CO2VE - CUBA - 20M RTTY (DATA) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-M,DXCC-RTTY]
QSL 5N6/YL2SW - NIGERIA - 20M CW (CW) [DXCC-20,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]
QSL EL2A - LIBERIA - 15M CW (CW) [DXCC-15,DXCC-CHAL,DXCC-CW,DXCC-M]

From K3Y to NAQP & One Week Antenna

ARS KL8DX

This turned out being a short weekend for me but some radio fun was had anyways. Once again, we have been experiencing winds from one weather system after another coming up from the Gulf of Alaska. If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you will know the wind is our biggest challenge next to our deep bitter cold temperatures. South wind gusts just down the road from us peaked on January 10th, at over 80 mph. I'm thankful for our QTH being shadowed somewhat from Mount Healy. This keeps the wind gusts we experience here a bit more manageable. We will see 65 to 70 mph wind gusts here but it's not the 90+ that is experienced at Antler Creek and the area we call the "Windy Bridge" a few miles to our south. Needless to say, the weekend weather once again effected my operating. We only had gusts in the mid 50 mph range, so I did not crank down the beam. Thankfully the Mosley once again showed me why I personally feel it's the best built beam I've ever owned. 

My operating this short weekend was going to focus on the North America QSO Party (NAQP) CW contest and the Straight Key Century Club's Weekend Sprintathon.  I had also signed up to operate as K3Y/KL7 for SKCC's annual January celebration in which they (club members) operate with the callsign K3Y for the month of January. SKCC is what really got me started with my love of using the straight key. My first CW contacts 25 years ago were with a straight key but I did not grow back into using a straight key until about 6 years or so ago. I have four straight keys at my finger tips and they out number my iambic keys of which, I have three. 

My operating in the NAQP was short lived and I was on and off the air as I've been working on a home project and a few other things. My effort is outlined 
to the right. Not really anything to write home about but the Alaska Contest Group was out so not many should have missed Alaska, which was a state in this contest and NOT DX by the way!

My minimal NAQP effort

My main challenge was dealing with the gusting winds and the QRN (Interference) that it was creating. With several wind related systems over the last few weeks, it's pretty obvious that some power lines have been effected and are arching. The noise was enough to effect my effort in hearing weaker stations. It also made it a bit tough to manage with strong stations along side as I had to use my Noise Blanker. So it lead to many repeats asked for and just made the weekend contesting experience much less enjoyable. Probably not a bad thing as I had several other things going on this weekend. Either way, I did make a handful of QSO's and encountered many a friend. I was asked to QSY to the other bands and most were successful. You can tell by the numbers reflected above on where I spent the majority of my time.

Recognize that Spectrum Scope Signature?

I enjoyed chasing SKCC WES stations as well, both during and after the NAQP. I also signed up to operate four hours as K3Y/KL7. The first few hours went well but the solar wind increased and knocked the bands someplace else. With only being able to hear strong stations which had the usual flutter associated with them, my noise made it nearly impossible to work or hear any stations at all. The last two hours of my scheduled effort was pretty uneventful. I had high hopes of working at least 100 stations but I only ended up working a 3rd of that by the time it was all said and done. Once again, the effects of living in a northern latitude made radio'n nearly impossible. But like the NAQP, I'm glad of the contacts I was able to make and hopefully I was able to send a multiplier to a few folks. 

You're probably wondering about my apparent miss use of "Week" in my subject line. Actually, I meant to use "Week" rather than "Weak" but either one would probably work. Just a bit over a week ago I pulled a new antenna from our chilly travel trailer that I had purchased last year. The antenna was one I purchased for portable use while camping. It was a purchased G5RV Jr from W8AMZ. My 80 meter wire antenna began to give me problems after a few years of arctic abuse so I threw this antenna up to use temporarily. I also threw up a second portable antenna, a Par EndFedz 17 meter wire. It took just two storms blowing at over 50 mph to end the life of the G5RV. The end fed is still hanging strong. The G5RV lost an element when the wire broke near the apex! Yes, I can fix it and I plan to. I'm not here to bash this antenna but like a few others I purchased that were made commercially or by someone else, it failed to stand up to one of our typical weather events. It heard pretty well and tuned easily, so it will be worth fixing after "beefing" up a bit. I will be honest, I did not expect it to fail so quickly, especially being brand new and used for the very first time. I'm thinking of a few more Par EndFedz when I can afford them. So far, I'm pretty impressed with em. I gifted a Par EndFedz to my close and personal friend KL1SF, and he has reported it being a successful antenna as well.

So that's my short weekend in a nutshell. I hate to brag (and I actually don't care for this weather) but our temperatures peaked at 44 degrees above zero this weekend! As I write this, it's still 38 degrees above zero! These wind events from the south (Chinook) bring the warm air with them and our temperatures can increase dramatically in just a matter of hours. Much of our snow is melting and areas around the state have experienced flooding from rain and roads have been ice in many of areas south of here. Crazy to think locations in the lower 48 are colder than Alaska in January! 

January is lining up to be a pretty busy month so my operating will occur during small windows of opportunity. That's the beauty of this great hobby, it's always here when I have time, patiently awaiting my return. 

      

2013 ARRL RTTY Roundup Overview

Spectrum Scope after RTTY Contest Sleep Deprivation %-)

This past weekend was the annual ARRL RTTY Roundup Contest. This is a 30 hour long contest (operators can operate no more than 24 hours) and in my opinion, the perfect length. Locally, that started the contest at 9 AM Alaska time on Saturday and ended up at 3 PM Alaska time on Sunday. It's one of those "Everyone Can Work Everyone" kinda contests, which is awesome as well. And, the other neat part about this contest is, multipliers only get worked credit once, regardless of band. So now we fall into even more strategy especially if a multi-band assault is on hand. When I did a bit of research on my previous year efforts, I realized I had not officially submitted a score for this contest since 2009. I did however make several contacts in 2010, a handful in 2011 and none in 2012. 

KL8DX RTTY - Keyboarding On The Move

One of the things I wanted to do differently this year was in setting up N1MM a bit differently. I was going to take the plunge and utilize the "Logthenpop" macro. I waited to just hours before the contest to take this plunge (yeah, I know) and I watched THIS great video by Larry, K8UT. Now mind you, I'm in contests to have fun as I don't have a station that is truly competitive. For that, I need many more antennas and much more height, and a little extra horsepower would not hurt either. I send my callsign after every QSO and my run macro has the callsign of the station I'm going back to listed twice. The exchange or my report is sent 2-3 times, depending on band conditions. Often times (IMHO) it wastes less time sending an exchange one more time rather than a full exchange a second time. I adjust this on band conditions. I also send "TU" and maybe a 73 before calling CQ once again. But anyhow, I wanted to be able to stack callsigns using the "Logthenpop" macro. More on that experience in a bit. 

KL8DX N1MM Macros from the ARRL RTTY Contest

I squeeze my run and S&P macros in the first twelve F-key assignments. Macros are always a controversial subject and I'm not going to hit that bees nest. I made several mistakes getting used to the Enter Sends Message (ESM) mode with N1MM. I've been an F-key abuser for years but now I need to retrain myself to use the Enter key and trust the software. As I found out, Enter does in fact send the message but at times, not the message I wanted it to send! I set up the program but what I failed to realize was that if I started to stack calls, what was the best way to clear a call from the stack and move on to an awaiting callsign? This is what caused me to send KT6D and K7TQ (sorry, as it's a perfect example of operator error on my part) a macro (my F8 which is shown above cleared out) that sent something to the effect, "Alaska is DX in this contest but if you want it, my state is Alaska." I had this macro because some people don't read the contest rules prior to the start of a contest. Alaska is not considered a state in this contest but a DX country! And for that very reason, our report includes a serial number and not "AK" for Alaska. I was getting asked enough that I created a macro to address that very question. 

Anyhow, I experimented on the fly with call stacking and for the most part, it was successful. I have more reading to do before the next contest to see how I need to handle changes to my call stack as I previously mentioned. The other issue I discovered is that call stacking is a great feature but you need callsigns to stack! Not that I'm anything special, but I can normally get a few people calling me at the same time when I'm running stations. The issue with RTTY is, when everyone calls, they call at the same time and unless they purposefully call off frequency a bit, you end up with a jumbled mass of letters and numbers that don't mean squat! At the very best, you might get a partial callsign. So, the problem I had, when I decided to wait an extra few seconds in an attempt to decode another station to "stack", others would get impatient and start calling and I'm back to square one. But, when I was able to decode more than one callsign, I found this hugely efficient at keeping rate. I'm sold on it's use, I just need to perfect it.

CBS Stats for ARS KL8DX

There were many highlights during this contest and I'm pretty happy with my result. I'm not sure how the other Alaskan stations did outside of our local contesting group here. I know my Alaska low power effort beat the  previous Alaska low power effort held by AL7BB from 2002. I also know that this year, Rich, KL7RA beat AL7BB's high power effort, which he held from way back in 1999. My effort is far from plaque worthy but some of that new ARRL redesigned wallpaper would make a nice addition to my shack! I know there were several Alaskan stations operating so I just will have to wait and find out. I'll let you know in about 12 months, hopefully less. 

What really helped my score was the good conditions into Europe on 20 meters during Sunday morning. Our beagle had me up a few hours earlier than expected (I had the alarm set for 0500 local but I ended up at 0300 local) and that worked to my advantage for those juicy European multipliers! I snagged my first EU contact at 1201z and I worked Europe steady until shortly after 1700z. No rate to speak of, just some good steady contacts that inflated my log by 100 QSO's and 15k points or so. Well worth dragging my butt out of bed early and that's all part of the strategy. Taking advantage of propagation and the bands when they yield the best potential for contacts to certain parts of the world. 

Just a few notes from this contest. It was great getting the RTTY heavy hitters in the log, Don, AA5AU and Phil, GU0SUP! Anyone who has been researching anything about RTTY has seen these callsigns before! I had several people sending my callsign before they sent theirs, when I was running stations. This takes up lots of time and I had one station send his callsign at least 5 times before stopping. I had a zero station work me twice on 15 meters and then tell me I was a dupe when I called him on 20. For the record, I work dupes! He now lost one QSO (not that it will or will not break the bank). I had one station even send, with his callsign, his grid square and state when calling me after my CQ. But you know what, in the end, I appreciate every QSO so I really don't care how you call me, just call me. It would be nice if a few would streamline their macros though. I'm saying this after I had such a macro challenged weekend, which I'm sorry to the handful of stations I sent extra bandwidth to. Oh, and one pet peeve I will admit to, are those stations who call me when I'm running and then ask me for my callsign before sending me their information! Excuse me, but why call me if you don't know who I am? It's almost as if they joined the pile-up and were hoping to find out who I was before they were called but managed me on the first call. 

Conditions were above average and other than some horrible QSB, the bands ended strong. 15 & 20 meters reminded me of stadium bathrooms during the halftime show. Standing room only and everyone was to close for comfort. I could not image running AFSK with such crowded bands! 20 meters alone was full from just above the PSK31 frequencies to 14.140!! 15 meters, just as bad! 10 meters never produced the many Central & South American contacts that it's known for up here. But, I managed a few for sure. And oddly enough, I managed a few last minute state multipliers on 10 that I could find anywhere else!

KL8DX's Score Summary for ARRL RTTY RU 2013

In the end I was still missing North Dakota for my Worked All States in this contest. Of course, I always get skunked on the Canadian Provinces. A clean sweep is just out of my reach with my station. After medication and therapy, I've come to terms with that. "Small tower, low power leaves my contesting fate in the hands of a higher power."

Our weather has been unseasonably warm due to wind so I experienced yet again more QRN which made the weak (599 :0) signals harder to copy at times. 

I had fun chatting on Twitter (as I will normally due during slower portions of contests without breaking any self spotting contest rules, etc) with many friends and several of those went from my timeline to my contest log, by chance.  Also, congratulations to Sean, VA5LF for his potential VE5 SO/HP new record! 

I also enjoy (and do not promote) listening to music while I'm working a RTTY contest! I love music and have a pretty broad playlist. My play list from this past weekend consisted of the following bands (this from a guy who is still stuck in the 80's);

• Daughtry
• Fireflight
• Halestorm
• Nickelback
• Sick Puppies
• Theory Of A Deadman
• Skillet

KL8DX's Tweet After Surviving Another Year

So the ARRL RTTY Roundup ushers in a new year and the current contest season is about half over. I'm excited to see what 2013 brings and I myself, am suffering from acute cabin fever. I'm looking forward to camping and the return of the midnight sun! I want to wish all of those reading here a very healthy and DX filled new year! I hope DX falls easily into your logbooks and you achieve all you want to achieve this year. Like I mentioned before, I think this will be a year of change for me and my family. We welcomed a new grand daughter in 2012 as our grandson turned 1. Thanks for reading and for those following, I appreciate it. I'm just a small station living the BIG dream in Alaska, which I enjoy sharing with friends and family. You won't find an Alaskan reality TV show with me in it but you will find me on the bands enjoying one of the greatest hobbies in the world!