CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB - 2020
Call: N0VD
Operator(s): N0VD
Station: N0VD
Class: SO(A)AB HP
QTH: AZ
Operating Time (hrs): 10:34
Remote Operation
Summary:
Band QSOs Zones Countries
------------------------------
160:
80:
40: 35 20 25
20: 126 21 39
15: 59 20 42
10: 20 4 5
------------------------------
Total: 240 65 111 Total Score = 105,600
Club: Arizona Outlaws Contest Club
Comments:
2020 has been a crazy year – nothing earth shattering there, right? I was
originally scheduled to be part of the D4C Team, but due to COVID travel
restrictions, the team ultimately decided to cancel this year’s operation. On
top of that, I found myself back in Colorado to take care of some personal
business during the contest weekend. All was not lost, however. Over the past
year I had been converting my station in Arizona to be 100% IP remotable. This
included rotors, amp, power, switchboxes and, of course, the radio. I learned a
lot working though this upgrade including an issue that has been raised with
Flex for over a year in regards to roughly a half second delay in the audio
chain. This is not a network problem, but what appears to be a
hardware/software issue for Windows based machines. This rendered the Maestro
(it runs an embedded version of Windows under the hood) and SmartSDR on the
computer (when using PC audio) completely useless. The timing with a 1/2 second
audio delay in a contest just doesn’t work. Thanks to a great how-to by K0PC
on leveraging DAX instead of the PC audio output when using SmartSDR on a PC, I
was able to get the delay down to a manageable level (essentially the network
latency) and was able to get the mechanics of being remote under control. In
fact, I even had a nice run of JAs during the last 45 minutes of the contest.
This was primarily a test of the remote functionality and a learning experience
in the very part time effort I put in. My next project is to add an Arduino
controlled footswitch as this was my biggest challenge because my only options
were either VOX (don’t like) or MOX which required the mouse focus on two
different programs. Once I worked through the issues, I have to admit it was
pretty fun being able to run my station remotely. Thanks to everyone that heard
me despite the challenges. Looking forward to the next one, wherever I may be.
73
Kelly - N0VD
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