[RTTY] How I worked VK0EK from NA on 15M RTTY this morning

Wed Apr 6 10:36:40 EDT 2016

It's not just USA that is struggling with VK0EK. They have been printable here twice on 15 and once on 40, with huge pile-ups, and soon faded down in the noise.

RTTY seems to have been on just the 2 bands, if it's worked at all. I disagree with Mike NA5U who said 'it's their nickel'. Yes, they put a lot of money in, but with the wider support of the amateur radio community as well. Many of us feel that with 6 stations, they should run RTTY as much as CW and SSB. With the poor propagation that they have had recently, RTTY is a very effective mode. We should have some input to these guys on what is expected.

Since the K5P operation, one UK amateur radio supplier has told me that he will never sponsor another US-led dxpedition. 75K contacts, only 11% with Europe, and just 864 of those on RTTY. Not good enough!

John GW4SKA

-----Original Message-----
From: RTTY [mailto:rtty-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Don AA5AU
Sent: 05 April 2016 20:44
To: 'RTTY Reflector' <rtty at contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [RTTY] How I worked VK0EK from NA on 15M RTTY this morning

VK0EK has not been easy to work for many in the USA and it probably has to do with the 9000' volcano blocking the central US. Because the team elected not to set up a station on Spit Bay (or whatever it's called), the central part of the USA has a hard time working them on the higher bands.
I have them confirmed on several bands from a previous trip, but I need them on 10, 12, 80 and 160. Although I concede 80 & 160, I thought it should have been possible to work them on 10 or 12 but it has not. In fact, I have not heard them on 30 yet at all either and I haven't listened for them on 20 yet. I think I did hear them on 40 but not when they were operating 40 RTTY that first night.
I have one contact with them - 15 meter RTTY, on like the third morning they were there. I couldn't believe I was hearing them. After calling for an hour and watching them working all Europe I put out a spot saying they were "good but working EU" and a few minutes later they started asking for NA. I don't know if it was coincidence or if they saw the spot but I was able to make a contact right as they faded. I haven't heard them on 15 since (any mode).
So it's been tough. You just have to spend a lot of time listening for them and hoping for a path and then get lucky and make the contact. It's part luck and part skill.
73, Don AA5AU

      From: Al Kozakiewicz <akozak at hourglass.com>
 To: G3YYD <g3yyd at btinternet.com>; 'RTTY Reflector' <rtty at contesting.com>
 Sent: Tuesday, April 5, 2016 1:35 PM
 Subject: Re: [RTTY] How I worked VK0EK from NA on 15M RTTY this morning

Hearing them has been a nightmare from upstate NY with my little pistol antennas.  I managed to work them on 30m CW using lots of attenuation and a K9AY loop that's obviously not a 30M receive antenna in order to get enough SNR to copy them.  Used the amp to get that extra 3db @200 watts. I consider myself lucky.

FT4JA on the other hand was a piece of cake on 30M both RTTY and CW.

Both ATNOs for me.

Al
AB2ZY
________________________________________
From: RTTY <rtty-bounces at contesting.com> on behalf of G3YYD <g3yyd at btinternet.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 5, 2016 2:24 PM
To: 'RTTY Reflector'
Subject: Re: [RTTY] How I worked VK0EK from NA on 15M RTTY this morning

I managed to work them on RTTY 15m at 1154utc yesterday(4th April) 21094.10 QSX 21096.97

73 David G3YYD

-----Original Message-----
From: RTTY [mailto:rtty-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of John Barber
Sent: 05 April 2016 18:18
To: 'Larry Gauthier (K8UT)'; rtty at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [RTTY] How I worked VK0EK from NA on 15M RTTY this morning

That's very odd .. or maybe a typo? They have been running on 21097, not 21079, and working split down, not up, when I have seen them. Well done on making the QSO; I am still camping out!

John GW4SKA

-----Original Message-----
From: RTTY [mailto:rtty-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Larry Gauthier
(K8UT)
Sent: 05 April 2016 17:26
To: rtty at contesting.com
Subject: [RTTY] How I worked VK0EK from NA on 15M RTTY this morning

I don't want this to sound like a "brag tape," but with only 5 days left in this DXpedition there are probably lots of other RTTY ops out there who are getting as nervous as I was about working VK0EK.

Heard Island is an ATNO for me, which puts it in the category equally important for both DXCC Mixed and DXCC RTTY.  I managed a few Qs on CW and phone in the early days of their deployment, but as we all know the bands collapsed around them and working them from NA has become very difficult.
I've only seen RTTY spots on 40 meters - which is not gonna happen from MI, and on 15 meters - which looks limited to the times between 1200 and 1400 utc. RTTY operation has been split from 21.079 MHz working up. Several days ago a neighbor ham called (caught me in the shower!) to say he had just worked them on 15m RTTY. By the time I got down to the radio, they were gone. <frustration>

This morning I decided to "camp out" on 21.079 from 12:00utc with vfoB set for a modest 3KHz up and just wait for them. At 12:35 an undecipherable signal was heard in my radio speakers. By 12:38 2Tone was printing legible character sequences confirming the sender as VK0EK and revealing they were working NA and SA stations (a PY2, K4, W4). Three minutes later VK0EK's signal was solid enough (but certainly not 100% copy) that I threw my call out there, and they replied. Yippee! I listened for another 5 minutes as other NA/SA stations worked them, and then they faded into the propagational ether.

My station is no "big gun" by any measure: 2 element quad, 500 watt amplifier. But... go camping. At 12:00z pour yourself some coffee. Set the radio to 21.079. Split vfoB a few KHz up. Select the right antenna and turn the rotor. Adjust the amplifier. Be prepared, because when it happens it will be a very short opening. By the time the packet spots arrive it will be either too late or too crowded.

-larry (K8UT)

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