[CQ-Contest] World Wide Digi DX Contest Results

[john at kk9a.com]

If Ft4 is faster than RTTY why did all of the RU winners make so few  
FTx(so called digital) QSOs?

BTW I thought RTTY was a digital mode.

John KK9A  (W4AAA in 2020 Roundup - 100% RTTY QSOs)



Stanley Zawrotny k4sbz wrote:

Ed,

I am both a RTTY contester and a digital contester. I operated in the  
ARRL RTTY Contest using FT4. I found that FT4 was faster than RTTY  
using S&P because I didn’t have to wait as long at the pileups. I did  
try RTTY S&P and got bored watching the screen while the station gave  
his report to a contact, the contact replied and finally the station  
sent a TU QRZ. Then I had a chance to.....wait for it....MOUSE CLICK  
on the macro that sends my callsign. If he replied to someone else, I  
had to.....yep......WATCH THE SCREEN while he finished that QSO. Then  
I would jump up and press F4 again to send my call.

Oh, you don’t do S&P, you run. That means that you MOUSE CLICK (or  
press a function key) to send CQ, MOUSE CLICK on a call, MOUSE CLICK  
on the Exchange macro, watch the screen, execute the TU QRZ macro and  
watch the screen to see who is next. Or do you use call stacking to  
make that step more automatic?  Since you are running, the calls all  
come to you. You don’t have to SEARCH for them or time your call to  
them to try to beat out the other guys. Tell me, Ed, how much fun it  
that?

When I use FT8/FT4, I use a combination of running and S&P. I  
constantly watch the decoding panel, looking for someone who is saying  
73 so I can call him before he needs to send a CQ. That beats out the  
guys who only call someone who is calling CQ. I watch for others who  
are giving their exchange to see if I need their multiplier and call  
them when they send their 73.

WSJT-X has a check box so that you can only see stations calling CQ.  
Anyone that uses it is a fool. Whether you are contesting or DXing,  
there is much more to be gained by watching exchanges being made and  
taking advantage of the information revealed.

No, I don’t sit blankly watching the screen. I actively go after my  
Qs, running only when there are no new gems for me to work.

Anyone who makes comments about how boring digital is has not learned  
how to skillfully operate in that mode.

BTW, FT8/FT4 were designed using RTTY contesting as a template.  
Hearing such comments for a RTTY contester amazes me.

Stan, K4SBZ