#cqww RTTY 2016 - Just for fun

Operating remote from the livingroom

Event: CQWW RTTY contest
Section: LOW power
Logger: N1MM+ 
Station: Icom IC-706MK2G at 40W
Antenna: Coppertape multiband vertical at 9m agl

Participated just for the fun of it last weekend. I'm not able to spend a full contest time anymore. Just a couple of hours in the morning and evening and slipping into the shack for some minutes at daylight. Besides that RTTY is not my favorite mode. It's loud, noisy, broadband and not sensitive enough, a leftover digital mode from decades ago. At least that's my opinion. But hey, it's a chance to work some nice DX on all bands when propagation is there. My goal was to work 100 stations and best DX and as many countries as possible. I think I managed that well.

Best DX:

40m: P49X (Aruba), NR4M (USA), KP2/WE5DX (Virgin Isl.), ZZ2T (Brazil), VC3S (Canada), HK3TU (Colombia)

20m: UN6LN (Kazakhstan), RG9A (As.Russia), 4Z4AK (Israel), KG4SS (Guantanamo Bay), C37NL (Andorra), W4AAW (USA), P49X (Aruba), VC3S (Canada), NP2X (Virgin Isl.), FG5LA (Guadeloupe), WP3C (Puerto Rico)

15m: JR4OZR (Japan), YV1YLY (Venezuela), FG5LA (Guadeloupe), ZZ2T (Brazil)

Considering the time I had and was on the radio it's not a bad effort. It shows the vertical is doing a good job. And since the propagation is not that good lately I think this coppertape experimental vertical is doing better as the alu tape one I used for years.

Butternut HF6V without radials

After the contest I had a chat with PB7Z Bernard who is a avid contester from the province of Drenthe and about 50km south from my QTH. I met him again on air (20m) and think what he is doing with a 7m long vertical is really amazing. Although he uses a 81m windom on the low bands Bernard claims 856 QSOs and a score of 764180 points. If you like to see his results and log you can view it here:

http://www.pb7z.com/2016-CQ-WW-RTTY-PB7Z/

Bernard is using the HF6V vertical without radials on very wet ground. But still, since it is in a forest and the antenne is placed low it is still amazing.