Well I finally had a chance to test my RTTY setup. I decided making a few contacts in the CQ WW WPX RTTY contest would be a good test of my RTTY hardware and software. For Hardware I’m using a Tigertronic’s SignaLink USB interfaced to my ICOM 756 Pro III.  For software I am using N1MM with MTTY and 2Tone setup in the Digital Interface.

It took a little time to determine the best arrangement of all the N1MM windows on my monitor because the MTTY and 2Tone take up quite a bit of screen space. After I had the N1MM working with MTTY and 2Tone I downloaded a key file for the CQ WW WPX RTTY contest.

I also sent out a request for pointers to fellow hams in the Society of Midwest Contesters.  Several experienced RTTY operators sent this rookie some key pointers.  I’ve summarized some of them below:

1. Watch your ALC level
   Do not allow the ALC to activate because it can distort your RTTY signal; making it hard for others to copy.
2. De-rate your output power
   RTTY has a 100% duty cycle when you are transmitting.  This can stress transceiver and amplifier output stages.  It is probably not a problem to operate a full power if you are doing Search and Pounce, but if you are going to try running a frequency it is best to reduce your power a bit unless you are certain your transceiver and amplifier can handle 100% duty cycle. It is advanced that you check your transceiver and amplifier manuals for their recommendations.  In my case my setup should be able to handle the 100% duty cycle, but I chose to operate at 50% power just keep the stress low on everything in case I made some sort of rookier mistake.
3. Keep Your Macros Short
   Don’t over do the length of macros in a contest.  You can send your call twice when calling a station and send his call followed by the report twice and your call again for the exchange.  You can always re-send the information if it is missed the first time.  The default N1MM RTTY macros for the CQ WW WPX contest are reasonably short but can be tweaked a reduce them a little more.
4. Listen for a While Before You Jump Into the Contest
   This was valuable input because when I first start tuning station during the contest it was a very confusing.  After I had spent a half hour listening to other stations operating I had a good feel for properly tuning in stations and had a better feel for the flow of the exchanges.
5. Never Run Compression and don’t over drive the audio
   Make sure that audio compression is turned OFF.  Having it on will make it hard to make contacts.  Also make sure your microphone gain is set just high enough to provide a clean audio signal.  Keep the audio low enough that the ALC is NEVER triggered.
6. Add a space or CR at the start and end of your macros.
   This helps to insure that your signal will be properly synchronized to the receiving end.
7. Make Sure Your Not Operating Upside Down
   One of the most common transmit problems is transmitting inversely or up-side-down. RTTY is polarity sensitive. Transmitting inverted means you are sending a Mark when you should be sending a Space and vice versa. This can happen if you are using AFSK or FSK. With AFSK, it could mean you are using the wrong sideband. LSB is standard but USB can be used if you have the polarity correct. Yet, most stations who send inverted are using the wrong sideband. If you are set up to transmit in LSB, sending RTTY while in USB will result in your transmit being inverted.The above information was from AA5AU’s excellent article on operating RTTY which can be found here: http://www.aa5au.com/GettingStartedOnRtty.pdf
   
   

I would like to thank all of my fellow Society of Midwest Contesters for their helpful advice for this new RTTY operator.

After following through on the above advice I finally got on the air and made my first RTTY contacts last night during the CQ WW WPX contest.  I was only on about two hours and did not set any records for rate, but I did make over 30 contacts.  I plan to get on again to day and see if I can improve my skill.  I’ll let everyone know how I ended up.

73,

Fred, KC9QQ

Well I decided to run my KX3 in the QRP class of the SSB portion of the North
American QSO Party.  This was the first time I had ever done SSB contesting at QRP power levels.  During the 2 day warm spell we had last week, I was able to repair and re-install my 80 meter doublet which had come down during the last snow storm.

The next step was to get the KX3 ready for a SSB contest.  To setup the KX3 for the contest I had to figure out how to interface my Heil Pro head set to the KX3.  I use a headset and foot switch during SSB contests so that I can keep my hands  free to type on the keyboard.  Connecting the Heil head turned out to be straight forward because the 1/8″ headphone and mike connectors will plug directly into the KX3 mike and headphone inputs.  However,  a KX3 menu setting had to be changed to disable the mike PTT button because the 1/8″ mono phone plug on the Heil head set will enable the PTT since the KX3 mike jack is a 1/8″ female stereo jack.  Elecraft provides a menu setting to disable the PTT function for this reason.

The next thing I had to do was interface my foot switch to the KX3.  I determined that the foot switch can be connected to the KX3 through the ACC2 connector.  The only problem I had interfacing the foot switch was connecting the 1/4″ male mono phono plug from the foot switch to the 1/8″ ACC2 female jack.  Elecraft sells a nice cable for the ACC2 input which plugs into the KX3 and provides RCA female connector (to key an amplifier) and a 1/8″ female mono phone input which can be used to access the PTT function.  Once I had the Elecraft cable all I had to do was make a 1/4″ F phono to 1/8″ M phono adapter.  I happened to find an adapter cable in my Junk box so I was in business.  The only other thing I had to do was a simple menu change to tell the KX3 that the PTT should activate when the ACC2 center pin is pulled low.

I found that operating QRP in a SSB contest is a bit more of a challenge than running 100W, but I was still able to work nearly all of the stations I called.  Sometimes I had to wait in line behind the high power stations but I usually did not have to call more than two to three times.  In most cases I was answered on my first call.  The main exceptions were the rarer states such as WY and DE.  I even managed to work Alaska and Hawaii during the contest.

Here is a summary of my QRP part time Search and Pounce effort:

SCORE 15,895

This weekend is the first of the three winter NCJ North American QSO Party events.  The three are:

• CW 1800Z Jan 11 to 0600Z Jan 12, 2014
• SSB  1800Z Jan 18 to 0600Z Jan 19, 2014
• RTTY 1800Z Feb 22 to 0600Z Feb 23, 2014

I plan to put in a part-time effort this weekend using my new KX3 and operating QRP.  I’m anxious to see how well the KX3 performs in crowded band conditions.

I Hope to hear many of you on the bands this weekend.

73,

Fred, KC9QQ

It was nice to spend a little time on 10M this weekend.   I couldn’t put a lot of time in because I had a Christmas Party and other distractions but at least I was able to make some contacts and work one ATNO, All Time New One (Monaco).  It was also an opportunity to practice my CW.  I am noticing some improvement, but I’m still not as skilled as many of the other contesters.  I still have not tried to RUN stations because I don’t yet have the confidence  that I can copy call signs coming back at me at 30 to 35 words per minute..  Therefore my contesting activity is primarily Search and Pounce.