[RTTY] WAE and confusion!

[IronmanY2k]

Well, my third RTTY contest under the belt and the wounds are starting to heal already.  Conditions were constantly changing and I never could predict who I would work from which direction.  Perhaps I should have just used the vertical.

I got 3XY7C on all bands except 80m.  Even exchanged QTCs with him.  I spent all last week putting down radials in the hopes of getting lots of 4x multipliers.  Not much luck with only 13 contacts on 80m.  

I was working a station and he gave me a report of "599 PRY PRY"."   Must be a problem decoding because his signal is very strong and it seems to read perfectly.  "NR? NR? BK."  I get the same report agn.  After another try he sends me "046 046."  I got it that time.  This happens a few more times as the contest continues.  I start to figure that it is some RTTY code so I try to decipher it.  By the end of the contest I had most of the code broke:
1-Q, 2-W, 3-E, 4-R, 5-??, 6-Y, 7-U, 8-I, 9-T or O, 0-P.  

Well just this morning it hit me like a brick.  I have taken typing before and I could see my notes almost said "QWERTY."  Obviously the letters corresponds with the numbers above them.  Well, this little tid bit of information would have saved a lot of heartache during the test. hihi.  

Then, I was searching and pouncing when I came across a signal.  As I tuned it in they were sending my callsign out.  What?  You guessed it, I was copying someone sending QTCs.  I had to laugh at myself agn.  

I even had one station who kept calling me but I could not read his sig, it looked backwards so finally I press REV. sure enough he was there.  He said I was his first RTTY contact ever.  We talked for about a minute as I explained to him how to fix it.  I think I will send him my card for that one.  

Thanks to all for putting up with me on the bands.  I enjoy RTTY contesting more than any other mode.  I plan on getting on RTTY more in  between contest and learning more about it.

73, Jim
AD6WL


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