[3830] ARRL June VHF K5PI(@W5KFT) Single Op-All Modes HP

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                    ARRL June VHF Contest - 2022

Call: K5PI
Operator(s): K5PI
Station: W5KFT

Class: Single Op-All Modes HP
QTH: TX
Operating Time (hrs): 25.5

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
    6: 1141   254
    2:    1     1
  222:           
  432:           
  903:           
  1.2:           
  2.3:           
  3.4:           
  5.7:           
  10G:           
  24G:           
-------------------
Total: 1142   255  Total Score = 291,210

Club: Central Texas DX and Contest Club

Comments:

I'm by no means a serious VHFer, but I do like 6M.  And I like the old Henry
3006 floor standing amp at W5KFT.  So this spring, I replaced the 6M rotator,
switch box and cable, and refurbished the two main 6M antennas, Cushcraft 6
element on 34' booms.  The top is rotatable at 36', and the lower one at 18' is
fixed NE.  With thanks to W5MJ for the help, it felt I was ready for June VHF.

Last year, most of my 400-odd QSOs were digital.  It seemed that the entire
contest was going that way.  Even when signals good good last year, many folks
stayed on FT8.  Would it be that way this year?  

When Saturday afternoon was dull and mostly digital, I wasn't surprised. But 6M
opened up nicely as the sun went down in Texas, so I grabbed the paddles and
found lots of folks to work.  Maybe analog will come back this year after all .
. .

Once 6M heated up on Sunday morning, it was an analog rate fest almost to the
end.  I did a little FT8, mostly to hunt mults.  I tried to lure people over to
FT4 and had a bit of success.  I saw the rate at 118 at one point Sunday evening
when an FT4 group seemed finally to be self-sustaining.

But the real story was analog.  I did six solid hours of SSB and had some
awesome runs, often several callers deep.  Don't know how you real sideband guys
do it - that wore me out!  

The other story was Euope.  I worked 10 European countries, 19 Qs in all.  None
were very difficult at all, and most were analog.  I'm sure it's no big thrill
for many of you, but with just 36 countries confirmed, I was tickled. 

If you're interested in some comments on FT8, keep reading.  Otherwise, see you
in the next one!

Robert K5PI

FT8 is almost as divisive as politics these days.  I'm maybe a rare one in the
middle -- I use it and have goosed my DXCC totals with it.  It's been great for
my little backyard vertical.  But it ain't that exciting.  And as a contest
mode?
- It's great with weak signals but not good with fast fades and doesn't seem to
handle watery signals.  I just couldn't seem to complete a Q on Saturday
afternoon.
- Boy, was it a pain to a pain to work the not-in-the-contest guys.  (Some were
mults so . . . )  I finally decided it was quickest to flip out of contest mode
(F2, uncheck, OK, double click signal report message).  Sometimes I overwrote a
contest message with a signal report.  Either way, ugh.  An other reason to use
FT4 -- almost all were in contest mode.
- I wasn't really comfortable with the "three overs" script, because
the S&P caller doesn't get a 73.  It's the "RR73" or
"73" that tells WSJT to log, and if none is sent, you can't be sure
whether he logged you or gave up.  I worked a couple XEs who did something
smart.  Those QSOs wen't like this:
  CQ XE1AAA DL60
  XE1AAA K5PI EM00
  K5PI XE1AAA RR73 (he skips the redundant "K5PI XE1AAA R DL60" --
I've got his grid from the CQ)
  XE1AAA K5PI 73 (I sent this manually in a number of cases.  Both folks get 73,
so no doubt.


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