[RTTY] 160 RTTY

[Floyd Sense]

Tom - I haven't been following this thread, but being a long-time 160 meter 
and RTTY person I feel compelled to respond.  There are several issues that 
should be addressed prior to pushing forward for an RTTY contest on 160.  An 
important one is what is considered the digital "portion" of the band.  Last 
time I looked, there were differences between the regions and that has 
caused some problems in the past.  Perhaps a more important problem is the 
proliferation of the use of AFSK among RTTY operators who have no idea what 
they're doing.  Recently I've been looking at RTTY signals on 20 meters 
using Digipan for its display capabilities.  Many of the RTTY signals I've 
seen are simply DREADFUL, with multiple sidebands probably caused by 
overdriving the audio input on the transceiver.  Others have hum problems, 
probably caused by improperly grounded interface lines.  Some of these 
signals are incredibly broad.

For those not very experienced in 160 meter operation, here's why these 
things can be a big problem.  Unlike the other bands, you'll hear all the 
other USA stations that are on ALL THE TIME during the hours of darkness. 
It won't take many over-driven signals to muck up the band for everyone.

K8AC


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Thomas Giella KN4LF" <kn4lf at tampabay.rr.com>
To: "a RTTY Reflector" <rtty at contesting.com>; "a TARA RTTY eGroup" 
<RTTY-TARA at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 30, 2004 9:38 PM
Subject: [RTTY] 160 RTTY


> Larry W0ETC Said:
> Last PM after checking email I decided to listen around 1808 for RTTY 
> signals.  Much to my surprise N2WK was calling CQ.  I answered and we had
> a brief QSO.  Wayne was an honest S7 which was two S units above the noise 
> here and the print was around 95% clean.  I did not have the
> amplifier turned on but he seemed to print me OK.  Turns out Wayne was on 
> 160 for the same reason as me and that was because of messages on this
> reflector about 160 RTTY.  If we really want to shake up 160, someone 
> needs to organize a 160 RTTY contest!
>
<<snip>>