It’s been a while since I’ve entered an RTTY contest. I started with RTTY contesting in 2013 and ramped down in 2016. Along the way, I did pick up the CQ DX RTTY Award number 68, which you can find at the bottom of this post. I also worked the old-fashioned radio-teletype with real machines in the early 1980s but didn’t get involved with contesting.
Winkeyer FSK
The impetuous was trying out the Winkeyer FSK option. K0PIR provides directions on building the needed cable and the necessary settings. His directions for the IC-7610 matched what I needed for the IC-9100. It worked great during the contest.
N1MM+ Logger — MMTTY, 2tone, and Gritty
I used the N1MM Logger+ RTTY Quickstart Guide extensively on the RTTY Contesting website. I highly recommend their detailed instructions on getting everything set up. While I had used the same setup in my earlier contesting, I needed the details to refresh my memory.
I had used MMTTY and 2tone previously, but Gritty was new. I liked how Gritty graphically helped me tune to each station. My earlier efforts were with an Elecraft K3 and panadapter. It was a lot easier to use than my current setup. However, this was just a casual effort with no real intention of expanding my efforts.
QRP Contesting
I like to find the smaller contest categories, mainly because it’s no fun finishing 500th. With the smaller categories, you can be last but still rank in the top 50 or 100!
Running 5 watts means you do a lot of searching and pouncing, followed by listening to others work the station, followed by CQs. Even so, it wasn’t too bad. And, I did recall that working stations was much easier on Sunday when they were eager to get anyone in the log, even the weak signals.
I tweaked the IC-9100 power level and monitored it closely with an inline wattmeter. My antenna is a Cushcraft MA6V vertical running 20, 15, and 10 meters. That works since I sleep at night rather than listen to noise on 40 and 80 meters.
Contest Results = Effort Expended
Again, this was a casual entry. On Saturday afternoon and into the evening, I focused on 10 meters and moved to 15 and then 20 as the sun went down. I picked up 48 QSOs. On Sunday, I had some writing tasks to attend to in the morning and got to the radio at 11 AM, taking time off for lunch and a walk, ending my efforts at 3 PM. That got me to 100 QSOs.
Here’s the breakdown.
14 MHz 36 QSOs 14 states 2 DXCC
21 MHz 33 QSOs 9 states 1 DXCC
28 MHz 31 QSOs 9 states 4 DXCC
Points came in at 3,900. It’s alright for a casual effort.
I can see areas for improvement both in operating and the software setup. But I’m not all that interested. It was good to get on and remind myself of the fun that’s possible with RTTY contesting.
