[RTTY] NAQP RTTY - July

[iw1ayd]

Call: IW1AYD
Operator(s): IZ1TNL IW1AYD
Station: IW1AYD

Class: M/2 LP
QTH: Bra (CN)
Operating Time (hrs): 12

Summary:
  Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
    40:   81    32
    20:  283    50
-------------------
Total:  364    82  Total Score = 30,576

Great time. IZ1TNL was also happy  about her first experience, both of
contesting and contesting with her husband. I wouldn’t ask she what was more
heavy. Unfortunately the propagation wasn’t so good on 15m, 40m and 80m and
at last absent on 10m. As the 20m band, with  five elements at 30m high, was
pretty well workable and open until late we resolved to stay there still
barefoot. The RUN routine went quite flawless but not before almost 21 UTC.
Prior to this time we experienced a lot, really a lot, of EU calls due to the
DMC contest running  together with NAQP. A nightmare. After the first 15
minutes, since the NAQP start, we added a macro with “HI NAQP NAQP ONLY NA
SORRY DE IW1AYD NAQP CQ”. Having a “NAQP CALL CALL CQ” in the automated
CQ doesn’t solved the question so when any call was thrown in by out of the
NA call signs we fired the added macro and continued the NAQP CQing. So, we
interleaved the new macro with the RUN CQ as one EU call was popping up in
between every two NA calls. This happened quite half of the time for 2 to 3
hours. Sorry for that but we couldn’t afford a contest in a contest logging
practice. It was a good practice to keep ourselves calm and motivated to work
on our objectives. We hope not to have been too much rude with all those other
friends. A simple read of the events/contest calendar may have solved this
issue, but no way to make it simple. A more simple look at the NAQP instead of
TEST or even DMC string may have solved at all this issue, but again no way.
A handful of US operators went up with out of contest QSO style answers in
between ours RUN and this was quite interesting also, as it’s not so often
that a EU station went so cherished by any US stations. It was a pleasure for
us and clearly a more big pleasure for ours correspondent. So we stopped the
contesting style RUN to have some form of  fast QSO’s. Sorry to have been
late for somebody out there. But beading the happiness of somebody about a QSO
with a simple IW1 call is a pleasure. For example having a great time with a
dipole under the roof to make a QSO with EU isn’t a every day job, we all
need to remember this. Yes, 20m during the NAQP went very well, for sure.
We struggled on 15m and 80m calling running stations but there was nothing to
do at all. Lately at our local night and until the end of the NAQP tournament
we have had also something interesting to do on 40m. But not so much unluckily.
May be this season marked its hole about.
Having  to train another operator, IZ1TNL my wife, was a pleasant job in the
contest. Sometimes I was tempted to be a little bit rude remarking some points,
but she managed increasingly well the radio that all went  smoothly and we had a
good time practicing with all those needed tasks in a contest. Well the post
contest tasks are another history.
First radio used was a IC-7600, running quite hot but very well performing,
software was N1MM, plenty of macros, all worked pretty well. We have had a
really hot WX here, so it was a pleasure not to have the PA’s running nearby.
Instead of those the air conditioner have done a great job, but only for
ourselves, sorry.

            73 de IZ1TNL Simonetta and IW1AYD Salvo