Hi all,
Having tried a PSK contest or two in the past, I would have to say that this
mode is NOT best suited to contesting.
As has been said, using CAPITAL letters takes longer to send (OK, not a lot,
but some!) and if you check out the bands, you will see loads of folk using
all caps, without realising the benefits of using lower case.
Also, there are lots of folk on PSK that do not contest, and so you often
end up with a potted history of their life, computer, club memberships and
so on.
How many times does that happen in a RTTY contest? Not very often!
PSK125 is VERY quick, and so quick that you end up needing to send a CQ
macro several times, just so that someone can tune in properly. Fo9r me,
that negates any advantage in the extra speed of the mode.
Also, the higher speed of PSK you use means more bandwidth, and consequently
more power is needed for the same level of signal at the far end.
If you haven't done so, take a look at 14.070, and watch what goes on there!
You will see lots of folk using excessive power, putting out very bad
signals, and if you have one of those displays that can watch umpteen QSO's
at the same time, see how many places one of those noisy signals crops up
across the band!
I am also one of those that favours low power PSK31, say around 5 to 10
watts, as that is all that is needed in most cases. Far too many folk can be
seen bragging about using 600+ watts, and all this does is to swamp the band
with noise.
As for high speed RTTY, well, 75 Baud is practical, and it works most of the
time. It would be great to have a 4 hour "sprint" type contest, and take it
from there. If there is support, and conditions work well enough for it,
then OK, but it would have to be 170Hz shift, not 850!
73 all
Phil GU0SUP
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