CQ World-Wide WPX RTTY is a contest sponsored by CQ Magazine. It is directed by W0YK, a ham I spotted frequently while chasing a recent DXpedition.
- Start Time: 2017-02-11 00:00 UTC
- Duration: 48 hours
- Bands: 80-10m, excluding WARC
- Exchange: RST + Serial
- Scoring: QSO points x QSO count
Station Improvement Required
As I plan to participate was a Single-Operator, Low-Power Rookie station, I expect to be outdone with my meager dipole. With some minor changes, I hope to lessen a bit of the losses perceived in the current system by raising the antenna and installing a ground screen beneath it. If time and the chosen area permit it, I would like to add a reflector wire in the hope that some horizontal gain may be achieved.
My station computer is not contest-ready. I plan to try linpsk against fldigi and see which will work for my station.
As a single operator station, my participation is limited to 30 of the contest’s 48 hours. This should permit me to sleep whenever conditions become unfavorable! While it may be possible to make NVIS contacts when DX propagation is poor, I don’t expect to hear many new Hawaii stations after the first 12 hours.
If I understand the rules correctly (and maybe I don’t), my station will operate from Oceania as its continent. As such, I plan to maintain the bit of east-west directivity provided by the dipole’s orientation. This should provide me with a better chance to reach stations in Asia and the Americas – which should be worth more than Oceanic stations.
This will be my third attempt at contest play of the year, and so far, my results have been horrible. Here’s hoping for a score better than 1!