2015 May Survey Results

May 2015 RTTY Contesting Survey Results

Conducted by Ed Muns W0YK, Larry Gauthier K8UT & Don Hill, AA5AU

(This page is still under construction)

Here are the results of the 2015 RTTY Contesting Survey. Thanks to the 1310 RTTY contesters who took part in this year’s survey. This is the largest number of participants ever for this survey. Other RTTY contesting surveys were conducted in February 2007, October 2007 and February 2010. Also thanks to QRZ.COM, the ARRL, arifidenza.it, and qrznow.com for advertising the survey.

Responses by Continent

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Responses by CQ Zone

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Do you travel to a different QTH to operate RTTY Contests?

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1. What percentage of your contesting is spent on the various modes? (NOTE: Your responses should total 100%)

  • CW
  • SSB
  • RTTY
  • Other

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2. Which best describes you when it comes to RTTY contesting? (Choose one of the following answers)

  • Extreme RTTY Contester – Does seeming inhuman things to maximize score (SO2R, operate maximum time, etc.)
  • Serious RTTY Contester – Operates most of the entire contest and strives to maximize score
  • Casual RTTY Contester – Uses RTTY contest activity for QSLs, awards, club events or just the pleasure of operating
  • No answer

2015 results are compared against the results of the 2010 survey.

15survey-quest02

3. Which RTTY contests do you try to operate each year? (select all that apply)

  • ARRL RTTY Roundup
  • CQ WPX RTTY
  • CQ WW RTTY
  • NAQP RTTY
  • NA Sprint RTTY
  • BARTG/BARTG Sprint
  • BARTG75 Sprint
  • WAE RTTY
  • JARTS
  • SARTG VOLTA
  • 10M RTTY
  • I try to work all RTTY contests during the year

4. What radio or radios do you use for RTTY contesting? Select all that apply. Place “other” model numbers in the comment field when required. (Check any that apply)

  • Elecraft K3
  • Flex
  • Icom IC-756 I/II/III
  • Icom IC-7600/7700/7800
  • Kenwood TS-850/950
  • Kenwood TS-590/990/2000
  • Yaesu FT-1000D/MP/MK5
  • Yaesu FT-2000/5000/9000
  • Other radios (include mfgr and model)

5. Which of the following best describes your antenna farm? (Choose one of the following answers)

  • A small garden (a multiband vertical or a wire or two)
  • A larger garden (a tribander and maybe wires for 40 and/or 80)
  • A small farm (monobanders on 10-40, full-size element(s) on 80 and 160)
  • A larger farm (multiple (multiple towers with more than one antenna per band)
  • A large ranch with more antennas than I can recite from memory
  • No answer

15survey-quest05

6. What RTTY Contest logging program to you mainly use? (Choose one of the following answers)

  • N1MM Logger Classic
  • N1MM Logger Plus
  • WriteLog
  • MMTTY Stand-alone
  • Win-Test
  • MixW
  • Other
  • No Answer

2015 results are compared against the results of the 2010 survey.

15survey-quest6

7. What operating system do you use for RTTY contesting? (Check any that apply)

  • Windows XP
  • Windows Vista
  • Windows 7
  • Windows 8.x
  • Other: Windows? Mac? Linux? (Text box to enter other operating system)

8. What PC-radio interface do you use? (Choose one of the following answers)

  • I use standard audio cables and/or homebrew cables
  • I use a MicroHam interface
  • I use a West Mountain Radio RigBlaster interface
  • I use a Tigertronics SignalLink interface
  • I use a Navigator interface
  • I use an MFJ interface
  • I use a Buxcomm Rascal interface
  • I use another interface
  • No answer

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9. What do you use as your main RTTY decoder? (Choose one of the following answers)

  • Sound card with MMTTY (stand-alone or with another program)
  • Sound card with 2Tone
  • Sound card decoder other than MMTTY or 2Tone
  • HAL DXP-38
  • Other HAL (P-38, ST-5000, ST-6000, ST-8000)
  • PK-232
  • KAM/KAM XL/KAM Plus
  • SCS PTC-II
  • Other external decoder
  • No answer

2015 results are compared against the results of the 2010 survey.

15survey-quest9

9a. If you use MMTTY, what MMTTY profiles do you use? (Please choose only one of the following)

  • Only the default Standard Profile
  • I sometimes try Flutter, Flutter FIR or Multi-Path
  • I sometimes use a custom profile like AA6YQ FIR512
  • What is a profile?

2015 results are compared against the results of the 2010 survey.

15survey-quest9a

10. Do you use more than one decoder on the same signal? (i.e. Use multiple RTTY windows on the same radio/VFO)

  • Yes
  • No
  • No answer

2015 results are compared against the results of the 2010 survey.

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10a. If you use more than one decoder, what other decoder or decoders do you use?

  • Sound card with MMTTY (stand-alone or with another program)
  • Sound card with 2Tone
  • Sound card decoder other than MMTTY or 2Tone
  • HAL DXP-38
  • Other HAL (P-38, ST-5000, ST-6000, ST-8000)
  • PK-232
  • KAM/KAM XL/KAM Plus
  • SCS PTC-II
  • Other external decoder

11. Based on your contesting experience, rank the following decoders. Assign “1” to the best, “2” to second best, “3” etc. Leave “No Answer” for those decoders with which you are unfamiliar. If you consider two decoders to be equally good you can assign them the same value.

  • PK232
  • DXP38
  • KAM
  • RITTY
  • MixW
  • MMTTY
  • 2Tone
  • MMVARI
  • FLdigi
  • GRITTY

12. What receive IF bandwidth do you normally use for RTTY Contesting? (Choose one of the following answers)

  • 200-300 Hz
  • 300-500 Hz
  • 500-1000 Hz
  • > 1000 Hz
  • No answer

2015 results are compared against the results of the 2010 survey.

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13. What power levels do you usually run in RTTY contests? (Check any that apply)

  • 1000-15000 watts
  • 500-999 watts
  • 200-499 watts
  • 100-199 watts
  • 10-99 watts
  • less than 10 watts

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14. Do you use AFSK or FSK RTTY transmission? (Choose one of the following answers)

  • AFSK
  • FSK
  • No Answer

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15. Do you minimize your TX bandwidth to only what is necessary for effective communication without excessive QRM to nearby stations?

  • Yes, I use a K3 with FSK (with firmware version MCU 4.66 or later)
  • Yes, I use MMTTY AFSK with the 512-tap or greater filter
  • Yes, I use 2Tone AFSK or DOOK
  • No, I don’t do anything special to constrain my TX bandwidth
  • I think contest scores should be penalized for excessively wide signals
  • Huh? I don’t understand the question
  • Yes. I do something else to minimize my TX bandwidth.

16. Do you use Unshift on Space (USOS)? Leave this response blank “No Answer” if you do not use USOS at all. (Choose one of the following answers)

  • Yes. On both receive and transmit
  • Yes. Only on receive
  • Yes. Only on transmit
  • I don’t know what USOS is
  • No answer

17. Do you use spaces or dashes between numbers in the RTTY contest exchanges? (Choose one of the following answers)

  • I use spaces like 599 001 001
  • I use dashes like 599-001-001
  • I use a combination of spaces and dashes like 599 001-001
  • No answer

2015 results are compared against the results of the 2010 survey.

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18. Do you use Automatic Frequency Control (AFC)? (Choose on of the following answers)

  • Yes. But, only when I’m running
  • Yes. All the time. I transmit AFSK and make sure that NET is ON
  • Yes. All the time. I transmit FSK
  • No. I prefer to use my VFO and RIT when needed
  • I don’t know what AFSK is
  • I use another AFC method
  • No answer

19. Do you use callsign stacking when running? (Choose on of the following answers)

  • Yes
  • No
  • I don’t know what callsign stacking is
  • No answer

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20. When operating as single op in RTTY contests, do you operate SO1R or SO2R? (Choose on of the following answers)

  • SO1R (single operator, one radio)
  • SO2R (single operator, two radios on a single computer)
  • SO2R (single operator, two radios on two computers)
  • SO3R (single operator, three or more radios)
  • No answer

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21. Have you ever tried SO2V? (Single Op, 2 VFOs where the second VFO is using its own decoder on a Sub-receiver) (Choose on of the following answers)

  • No. My radio doesn’t have a sub-receiver
  • No. My radio has a sub-receiver but I haven’t tried SO2V
  • Yes. I use the sub-receiver for S&P while running on the main Receiver
  • Yes. I use the sub-receiver on each of two or more radios, i.e., SO2V and SO2R simultaneously
  • No answer

2015 results are compared against the results of the 2010 survey.

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22. Should RTTY contests have more entry categories? (Check any that apply)

  • SO1R distinct from SO2R
  • Small antenna distinct from large antenna farms
  • Beginner distinct from expert operator
  • State-of-the-art equipment distinct from older generation equipment
  • poor valley location distinct from hilltop location
  • No additional entry categories are needed
  • This category is needed:

15survey-quest22

23. How do you feel about bandplans?

  • I adhere to my IARU Region’s band plan
  • I avoid any frequency or sub-band that has made a public claim, e.g., a net, another mode like PSK, NCDXF Beacons, WinLink, Packet, ARRL transmissions, etc
  • I avoid some of the more well-known frequencies for which there are public claims
  • I make sure a frequency is not in use and, ignoring public claims then feel free to use it if there are no better choices
  • I hate band plans and go out of my way to operate on frequencies that someone else has laid claim to
  • Contests are good for amateur radio because they use lots of our band spectrum, regardless of bandplans

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