[SCCC] Introductions

[Brandon Clark]

Hi,

Thanks to everyone for the responses - I definitely came to the right group! For me, contesting started out as a way to test emergency gear, and it still is somewhat. The turning point for me was when the ARRL January VHF contest results came out and I saw my call sign in QST (single operator portable). My score was really low, but it proved the saying that "half the battle is in showing up." When I saw how few people overall enter as SOP I realized I could be really strong in that category since portable and hilltop (including SOTA) are definitely my strong points. Now contesting is about 50-50 between testing gear and chasing multipliers, lol.

Anyway, I definitely will trying one or more digital modes during the next events. What would you guys recommend among the "traditional" (non-WSJT-X) modes? I used psk31 exclusively during field day this year, but I know that's a bit slow for a contest mode. I remember that the field day bulletins were also transmitted in MFSK16; would that be a good choice?

I'll also have to look into the JT8 mode. I'm on the WSJT reflector as well, and previously asked about feasibility of using meteor scatter to get more grids. The consensus was that 5 W and MSK144 via meteor trails probably wouldn't work well, even with my 13 element beams (not a shocker there). JT8 didn't come up in that discussion though, so I'll have to look into that more. Ultimately what I'm looking for with digital is something that can give my 5 watts more reach than SSB (I'm not a CW guy), but which isn't so exotic that other stations won't be able to figure out what mode I'm on.

73,

Brandon