KC9QQ
Ready for NAQP RTTY Contest

After the CQWW WPX RTTY contest I decided to modify my RTTY setup so that it could operate FSK instead of AFSK.  I wanted to do this because in the CQ WPX RTTY contest I had experienced several cases where the SSB filters (the only filters available during AFSK operation) didn’t provide the desired selectivity.  In a previous post (SignaLink™ USB Not Transmitting) I talked about the modifications made to my SignaLink™ for FSK operation.  I decided to tryout the modification in the NAQP RTTY contest on Saturday.

I didn’t have a lot of time to operate because I needed to take several hours off to attend our monthly astronomy club meeting.  However, I was able to spend enough time with the new setup to realize that being able to use the RTTY filters in the Icom 756 Pro III resulted in a substantial improvement over the SSB filters.

The RTTY filters were able to do a much better job providing error free copy of stations adjacent to other strong signals.  In a few instances, I used the Icom 756 Pro III’s  dual peaking filter to pull weak stations out of the noise.  I was impressed.  There were a couple of stations that I was only able to copy about 50% of their transmission, but after I activated the dual peaking RTTY filter I copied them error free.  I limited my use of the dual peaking filter because it did make it a little more difficult to tune in stations, but it was just a click away when I would run across a weak station that needed a little boost to be pulled out of the noise.

A Lesson Learned

I want to thank the station that took the time to tell me that I was off frequency.  I was about 50 contacts into the contest, but seemed to be having problems being heard on the first or second call.  Several stations had sent Agn? Agn? after I made my call.  After I called one very busy station at least four times he came back and told me that I was off frequency.  I looked at my radio and realized that I had left the RIT on!  I turned the RIT off and stations quit asking me to repeat my call and report!  Murphy is alive and well.  I didn’t plan on setting any records; I just wanted work a new mode, hand out a few contacts and have some fun.  All three objectives were accomplished.

Here is a summary of my results:

NAQP RTTY February 2014:  Low Power, All Band

Final Score:   10,200