[RTTY] 2006 BARTG - K0RC SOAB Low Power

[Robert Chudek]

          BARTGSRTTY Score Summary Sheet

      Start Date : 2006-03-09

   CallSign Used : K0RC
     Operator(s) : K0RC
Contest Category : Single Op All Band - SOAB

            Band : ALL
           Power : LOW
            Mode : RTTY
Default Exchange : 001
      Gridsquare : EN35NI

            Name : Robert Chudek
         Address : 32129 Lofton Avenue
  City/State/Zip : Chisago City  MN  55013-9524
         Country : USA

    ARRL Section : MN
       Club/Team : Minnesota Wireless Assn
         Software: N1MM Logger V6.2.15

        Band    QSOs    Pts  Cty   Sec   Nam
         3.5      71     71    2   16    0
           7     130    130    4   15    3
          14     177    177   33   13    3
          21       8      8    6    3    0
       Total     386    386   45   47    6

   Operating time: 18 hours

           Score : 213,072

             Rig : Kenwood TS-950SDX @ 150 Watts + Kenwood SM-230 bandscope + N1MM Logger w/ MMTTY + Dell laptop w/ Win XP Pro

        Antennas : HyGain TH-11DX @ 22m, 1e 40m dipole @ 20m, wire slopers for 80m and 40m

         Soapbox : I had prepared an Excel spreadsheet to help create my operating schedule. That tool was quickly rendered useless because there was no propagation on 10 and 15 meters. You can download a copy of this tool at: http://tinyurl/ncmbk Only basic spreadsheet skills are needed.

The 10 and 15 meter bands never opened up in the Upper Midwest. Twenty meter propagation went into the tank on Saturday effecting both the BARTG and Russian CW contests. Sunday was a little better but overall the bands were very poor. Saturday at 1745z a fluke opening into Asia allowed me to work 9M2VNC, a total surprise. The path shut down as quickly as it opened.

Because 10 and 15 meters never opened, the stations on 20 meters were packed tight. I ran the entire weekend using the 250 Hz IF filters in the receiver. I worked 17 stations on 80-40-20 but these were all NA contacts.

It appears a new generation of RTTY contesters have arrived on the scene and are increasing the efficiency of the contest exchanges. Personally, I am learning new software after a 5-year hiatus from amateur radio. I had some difficulty getting the UTC time stamp working properly, but I triumphed in the end.

I look forward to future BARTG contests when propagation provides rare DX and full 5-band activity. Overall, the BARTG contest is my favorite RTTY event.