Cathy,
I have done RTTY contesting and have only ever run into a problem like
this when my TX signal was reversed.
You might want to check this out, if there is a way to monitor you signal.
You could do it at 5 watts or even into a dummy load.
You are running a Kenwood, and so do I. I forget if it was the fault of
the rig or the TNC, but I think it was the rig.
I had to reverse my signal. I chose to do this in the hardware. I use
a Multi-mode Data Controller.
However, you can also do it in the radio. Access Menu Option #45 and
change the FSK Keying Polarity to OFF (Reversed).
I'm not saying that this is definitely the problem, but it sure sounds
like it to me.
73
Paul N. Gayet AA1SU
ARRL Vermont Section Manager
AA1SU@xxxxxxxx
FISTS #4028
On 7/17/2016 8:22 PM, Catherine James wrote:
I tried to work a few contacts in the NA RTTY contest on Saturday. This
contest limits everyone to 100 watts, so no big guns around.
20 meters was full of signals and they generally decoded well. I could hear
stations running other stations, and see both signals.
But when I tried to reply at 50 watts, I didn't make a signal contact. If I did
search & pounce, I would either be ignored in favor of someone else, or get
AGN? AGN? and they'd still fail to copy when I repeated. If I called CQ, pretty
soon another station would move in on top of me, not perfectly aligned, thinking
the band was clear. MMTTY is clearly working properly since everything decodes,
and the transmit peaks are where they should be.
How are so many ops doing so well at 100 watts or less when I can't seem to
make a single contact at 50? I don't want to destroy my finals by running at a
full 100 watts on a 100% duty cycle mode. My antennas are pretty good,
considering they are not beams. I tried two different antennas, and neither
the high nor the low dipole worked.
What tricks have others found to making RTTY contacts? I've done a lot of
PSK31, JT65, even FeldHell, but have never really dabbled in RTTY until now.
73,
Cathy
N5WVR
