[SECC] Fwd: [3830] RTTY Roundup AA4LR SO RTTY LP

Wed Jan 6 09:01:56 EST 2021

                   ARRL RTTY Roundup - 2021

Call: AA4LR
Operator(s): AA4LR
Station: AA4LR

Class: SO RTTY LP
QTH: Georgia
Operating Time (hrs): 22.9

Summary:
Band  RTTY Qs  Dig Qs
-----------------------
  80:   151        
  40:   385        
  20:   235        
  15:    81        
  10:     4        
-----------------------
Total:   856       0  State/Prov = 54  Countries = 32  Total Score = 73,616

Club: South East Contest Club

Comments:

Antennas:
Cushcraft A3S/A743 at 15m high (40, 20, 15, 10m)
80/40/20m trap dipole at 12m high (80, 40, 20m)
Shunt-fed 15m tall tower (80m)
Half-size K9AY receiving loops NE, SE, SW, NW (80, 40m)

Equipment:
Elecraft K3/100 w/ KAT3 running 100 watts
2009 PDC Acer laptop
N1MM w/ MMTTY

Comments:

Turned into a nearly full-time effort. This was my second-best effort in the RTTY Round-Up, exceeded only by my 2016 showing, where I had just one 900 Qs. I entered the RTTY-only category because, well, I love RTTY and I operate enough casual FT8 the rest of the year. 

This fall, I did a number of station repairs -- I took down and rebuilt the Cushcraft A3S/A743, put up the trap dipole and the K9AY loops. I'm very pleased with the way it plays together. I also lowered the station desk from 31” to 29.5" off the floor. Much more comfortable.

The trap dipole is a nice addition to my modest station. It could possibly be a second radio antenna. For this contest I hooked it up to the second antenna port on the K3. On 80, 40 and 20m, I could punch the ANT button on the K3 and give a quick listen on the other antenna. I used this a lot. I spent a lot of time on 40m with the Cushcraft pointed NW/SE, and the trap dipole NE/SW. While most stations were audible on either antennas, there were quite a few that just disappeared on the other antenna. Did this trick on 20m, too. On 80m, I could use the shunt or the dipole.

I wasn't going to list the K9AY loops until I actually USED them in the contest -- mostly to copy Europeans on 80 and 40m. They really helped to pop those DX signals out of the noise - printing was much more clear. Now I'm sure they work.

Conditions appeared to be OK - about what is suspected for sunspot minimum. I never heard any Europeans on 15m at all. Those I heard on 20m early Sunday morning could not hear ME, probably because the A3S is just too low to have a decent low angle of radiation. Maybe if it was at 120 feet instead of 50. The contacts on 10m I manufactured. I never heard anyone on 10m at all, despite tuning several times. Around 1900z on Sunday I just started calling CQ on 10m, and managed to make three contacts - two in NC and one in VA. This told me that 10m was actually open for Es, but there was no one on the band. A few more CQs late in the hour and I netted one more contact in NJ. That was it. I think a lot of openings like this go missed because we don't have the hams just hanging out on the bands like we did 20 or 30 years ago. 

20, 40 and 80 played nicely. I was a little frustrated about 0000z when 40m got really noisy and I was having trouble making contacts. (about 90 minutes after sunset) I went to 80m and that worked there for a while. After 0500z, things got much more quiet. I really enjoyed working the bands this late. As I'm rarely awake after midnight, I forget how wonderful 40m and 80m can be at this hour. Good signals, not too much QRM or QRN. And in the 0600z hour, the Europeans started to wake up on 40m. In retrospect, I probably should have stayed on another 30 minutes or so, but I pulled the plug at 0700z and got some sleep.

I got back on about 1315z, but it was several minutes before I completed a contact -- stations on 20m just couldn't hear me. I went to 40m and had a better time of it. Sunday morning was slow. I had two virtual worship services to attend via Zoom teleconferencing (my wife is the Minister...), so I had some time off that morning, operating between services.

Had some good runs on 15, 20, 40 and 80m. Always fun for a low-power station. But much of the contest was driven S & P. 

Worked 49 states. Only missed ND. Never heard one on the air all weekend.

I encountered a few guys who were seemed distracted - either alternating CQs between bands, or paying attention to the second (or third) radio. Several cases where they would call CQ, then there would be dead air for a while and you wonder where the heck they went, and then they would call CQ a few times. In some cases, you'd have to call these folks several times before they came back to you. I'm not sure I like this practice as it clutters up the band and wastes people's time. Don't call CQ on a second band if you can't respond, please. 

All in all, A good effort. 2021 is starting off a good contest year.

Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at arrl.net
Web: http://boringhamradiopart.blogspot.com
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
            -- Wilbur Wright, 1901

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