[3830] WWDigi WB0TEV SOAB LP
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Sun Sep 1 17:00:27 EDT 2019
World Wide Digi DX Contest - 2019
Call: WB0TEV
Operator(s): WB0TEV
Station: WB0TEV
Class: SOAB LP
QTH: NTX
Operating Time (hrs): 16:09
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160: 45 11
80: 83 13
40: 198 26
20: 216 29
15: 27 11
10: 1 1
-------------------
Total: 570 91 Total Score = 62,881
Club: DFW Contest Group
Comments:
This was my first foray into SO2R operations. Given the fixed time structure of
FT4/FT8 it was fairly easy to set up two linked computers using N1MM+/WSJT-X and
have one radio transmit during the "even" time slots and the second
transmit during the "odd" ones so as to abide by the rule that for
Single OPs: "Transmission may only be on one band at a time." I didn't
need any fancy YCCC SO2R box, just two computers linked with N1MM+ and choosing
Operator=Single OP and Transmitter=TWO.
The 2nd radio was hardwired to a full size 40m vertical (with a couple dozen
sloppy aluminum electric fence wire radial) via an external 40m bandpass filter.
Radio 2 just stayed on 40m the whole time. Given that 40m is the one band that
would stay open to somewhere at all hours, having my "extra" antenna
and feedline be on that band was fortuitous. Radio 1 (both are TS-590SG's) got
to use either the Mosley PRO67-B for 20/15/10, an inverted V for 80 and a shunt
feed tower for 160m.
The day before the contest I set up the 2nd TS590 which had been sitting in a
box (I'd bought it a while back as a spare when the first one had to go back for
repair) with its power supply and hooked it up to a laptop and dug up the
bandpass filter and got the feedline to the 40m vertical connected. It all
seemed to work FB!
In addition I connected an SDRplay RSPduo (2 channel SDR toy) up to the DRV
output on the first TS590SG via a two way power divider and made use of the
nifty feature the SG's (but not the earlier S models) have where the DRV output
of the TS590SG can be set to be a shared RX antenna output port. I used the
SDRuno program to watch 2 other bands for activity. So, for example I could see
if/when 15m/10m opened up and whether the activity on 80 was mainly in the FT4
or FT8 zones. Slick stuff.
I got a late start due to thunderstorms Saturday am, surprising for late August
in Texas. Only did a little over 16 hours, given the late start, time for a
family/friends dinner for my son's birthday and pooping out a little after 1 AM
(0600) local time Sunday AM. Glad this was only a 24 hour contest and not a 48
hour slog like the other WW contests.
I learned a lot of strategy, which I'm sure others have figured out as well, but
here's a few things that I took away, especially in regards to SO2R. Others may
have different ideas, YMMV.
* Start off on FT4 of course, its faster.
* After the rate falls, switch the even/odd time slots on the radios to see what
you've been missing during your transmit cycles.
* When the FT4 pools on the various bands get thin, move to the FT8 contest
spectra. Again, switch odd/even time slots between the two radios when the rate
drops.
* At this point in the sunspot cycle, I saw no activity in the 21.090 and up FT8
window, just the 21.080 FT4 band.
* 160m is enough of a challenge that nobody really did much in terms of FT4 on
Top Band. It was a fully FT8 show there.
* When doing Search and Pounce, work the guys calling CQ WW, or CQ TEST first
using the NA VHF format. Then switch to the "normal" (i.e. with SNR
reports) format to work the non-contest types. I lost 3 QSOs early on when I
failed to do that and they responded with only signal reports and never their
grids.
* When things get slow in the wee small hours, go to the normal xx.074 type FT8
watering holes for mults using normal non-contest FT8 protocol. Just after
0600Z when I was running out of steam I disconnected radio 2 from its 40m
vertical and for the 1st time put radio 1 on 40 via the Mosley PRO-67B (it has
two elements on 40m) so as to get the most ERP and then proceeded to work a ZL,
2 VK's and 5T5PA for 4 new grid field mults and some 3,4 and 5 point QSOs. I'd
gone to 14.074 just prior to that and should have gone there maybe 30 minutes
earlier as I heard and called an FK on New Caledonia which would have been a new
grid mult but prop died and I couldn't complete the QSO.
Propagation left a lot to be desired, but I was able to make QSOs on every band
160-10, although my one 10m QSO was LOS with W5JMW only about 25 miles down I-30
from me. As expected 20m and 40m were the money bands.
A look through the log shows a number of zero point QSOs. Some are dupes, three
I failed to get a grid exchange (or I failed to see it and load it manually).
I expect to lose one mult (and possibly a point) due to a ham in Cambridge, Mass
who I discovered after the fact apparently sent his grid as RR99, an uninhabited
piece of the Arctic up by the North pole. Aw, well I think I probably busted 2
or 3 QSO's for people when I discovered that in switching out of
"normal" exchange mode into contest mode I'd accidentally ticked the
EU VHF box instead of NA VHF. Took me a second to figure out where these goofy
looking exchanges I was sending were coming from.
The FT4 vs. FT8 breakdown by band might be of interest to some. Here are my
stats: Note no FT8 on 15m, No FT4 on either 160m or 10m.
Band Mode QSOs Pts Mlt Pt/Q
1.8 FT8 45 47 11 1.0
3.5 FT4 71 75 11 1.1
3.5 FT8 12 13 2 1.1
7 FT4 119 124 10 1.0
7 FT8 79 115 16 1.5
14 FT4 192 223 24 1.2
14 FT8 24 42 5 1.8
21 FT4 11 20 6 1.8
21 FT8 16 31 5 1.9
28 FT8 1 1 1 1.0
Total Both 571 692 92 1.2
Score : 62,881
Lots of 1 point QSOs, none greater than 5 points. Like I said, propagation
leaves much to be desired.
1 point: 507 QSOs. (89%)
2 Points: 18 QSOs
3 Points: 33 QSOs
4 Points: 5 QSOs
5 Points: 6 QSOs
Best wishes and many thanks to the World Wide Radio Operators foundation (WWROF)
and the Slovenian Contest Club (SCC) for launching this contest. I'm already
looking forward to next year. And of course, we all owe a great debt of
gratitude to K1JT, K9AN et.al. for developing the signal structure, DSP and
software that makes it all possible.
I hope to work some of you on SSB during my planned 45 county drive as WB0TEV/M
in the Texas QSO Party in a couple of weeks. Note the date has been moved from
where it used to always collide with the WW RTTY contest. K5PS and I plan on
operating WW RTTY from Belize as V31VP.
73, and thanks for the QSOs.
Victor WB0TEV
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