CQ WW RTTY 2011

 I've only done RTTY contests for a little over a year but it is fast becoming My favorite contest mode. The Yaesu FT-950 makes it a joy to operate. I can decrease the received bandwidth down to 250 hz with the factory settings although 400hz is all I  ever decrease BW to before errors increase. I also have roofing filter,slope tuning and other filtering choices-- all factory! No options needed.  I'm still using My homemade interface and still haven't taken the time to get FSK working so I used AFSK which works well once the TX audio level is set.
 I was a little late starting Friday night and was hoping for good conditions since this would be My longest operating time since Saturday and Sunday looked to be busy with other obligations. My original goal was to have 80-100 contacts in the log Friday night with an addtional 100 over the next two days. Not a huge goal but a doable one for Me. This should help Me achieve about 50K points at the end.
  Conditions Friday were deceiving-- RX signals were load and strong but I was just not being heard! 10m and 15m were both open but I felt like a QRP station. I spent many many valuable minutes with stations CQing in My face or hearing everyone but Me! I did have some luck and stayed with it adding mostly domestic stations with a few DX thrown in! I did have contacts from 10m thru 75m but at the end of the night I had only managed about 50 contacts. Very poor, but when it takes 10-15 tries before being heard, time ticks away. Busy day Saturday so off to bed.
  Saturday and Sunday I managed to get back on between a Ham Fest, furniture deliveries, animal care ,church and other activities. Appears Saturday night was the time to be on and the short time I operated, conditions were great adding lots of European  stations including Morocco on 20m which I needed for DXCC and He is a LOTW member-Yes!!
 Sunday turned into another good DX day adding Scotland,northern Ireland,England and Wales-- again LOTW members! Checking the ARRL LOTW site showed seven new DXCC's confirmed! Great! Final score was a little less than My goal but it was a very fun time anyway!!
    Band   QSO's     PTS   CTY   ZN  SEC

     3.5       6            6          1      1       5
      7        40          63       11      6      20
     14       39          65       12     11    16
     21      54         109      21      8      11
    28       18          50      12      8       1
total       157         293    57     34      53

   Score: 42,192
73---Tim

PS-- MY setup is a Yaesu FT-950 at about 50w ( power down because of RTTY duty cycle!)
       Butternut HF6V ground mounted vertical and a 260' dipole

Random Thoughts.

Above is a nice halloween picture at Disney World compliments of AllEarsNet Disney Blog ( maybe They took it from someone else's blog-don't know) . My family likes halloween and Disney puts on a very good Halloween Party from what I hear! Maybe some Year a family vacation will be in order! :))
  The bands seemed to be hopping this weekend with 10 & 15m open both days. I did take the time to answer a CQ from CO6LC - Oreluis from Cuba on 15m .He was booming in here and gave the standard 5 by 9 signal report. I also heard CO6LE from Cuba on 10m but didn't have time to attempt the pile up. Heard many stations from all over North and South America,Cook Islands, Montenegro and many more. Signals were loud but I just didn't have enough time to play!
  During a SSB contest last spring I contacted VP5H and they happened to record the entire contest to a digital recorder and posted the audio files to the W0AA website. The Guys operating VP5H also happen to be MWA members like Myself so My Audio file is on the site. Really neat to hear what I sound like to the other end. I saved the file to My PC so I can listen to it in the future.
  A local 10m net will be starting soon and the band is full of DX-- love this hobby!!
 73--Tim

WAS

 From a  post from several weeks ago I mentioned I had applied for a Basic WAS certificate from the ARRL. I received this in the mail Tuesday and will display it in the shack. I guess I consider Myself a paper chaser in that its fun receiving a surprise in the mail but I'm not competitive to the point of foolishness! No thirty-six  hours during a contest for Me- so I'll never be a contender.
  This is the basic version so its for both SSB and RTTY with the last state of Wyoming snagged in the July RTTY contest. Still amazes Me it was Wyoming as the last state. Needed this one since last year- sat at fourty-nine for some time.
  I have only fourty-nine confirmed with LOTW for DXCC but have a total of eighty DXCC's including the unconfirmed. I'm hoping this contest season will give many more countries/entities!
 That's all for now--hope everyone had a safe,fun,enjoyable Labor Day!
       73--Tim

TGIF--Weekend!!

I decided to post this picture because its been WAY too hot and humid this summer for this guy and this is such a cool picture.Not My coop but it gave us inspiration when We built ours later on. Chickens are good-no predator abductions!
 Glad for the long weekend and weather should be pleasant. Added several vacation days so I now have an extra long weekend. Grass is already mowed and some remodeling projects are awaiting Me.
  Work has been very busy and I been worried about some future weekend cuts getting in the way of some contesting. I hope to devote some time to the upcoming CQ WW RTTY contest September 24-25th and so far it appears open for Me. Time will tell!
 My Nephew texted Me last night and said He answered His first CQ and had a very nice QSO with a Colorado ham.I'm glad He appears to not have mike fright! He is doing well with his new HF privledges.
 All for now-- have a safe ,enjoyable Labor Day Weekend. I'll lift a cold one in salute of the workers.
   73---Tim