ZS2EZ RTTY OPERATIONS
Ever since starting HF operation in 2005, RTTY has been a mode dear to me. It did not take me long to establish that RTTY was far more suited to DXing than PSK31 - although I still enjoy the occasional foray into ragchewing on PSK31, the quickfire DXing in RTTY has always appealed to me.
Having made a few RTTY contacts via the AO-40 satellite, running RTTY on HF was always high on my agenda when finally getting going on HF in 2005. Digital mode operation has been a major interest in Amateur Radio for me ever since beginning experimentation with WSJT on 50MHz back in 2001, and has become my primary method of operation since. I am equipped for most digital modes currently available, but RTTY comprises around 80% of my overall operation.
My RTTY DXCC totals have climbed nicely over the past few years. According to documentation on the ARRL website, the highest DXCC listing for a South African station on RTTY is Chris Burger ZS6EZ with 189. I have my DXCC with 161 verified (all via LoTW), and plan to do a major card submission during 2010. I currently have 170 LoTW confirmations, and 235 mixed confirmations. Current RTTY DXCC worked total is 241.
I have used a variety of software for RTTY, but have finally settled on WinWarbler, part of the brilliant DXLab Suite by Dave Bernstein AA6YQ. I use DXKeeper for my logging, and WinWarbler works beautifully in conjunction with DXKeeper, SpotCollector and Commander. WinWarbler makes use of the MMTTY engine (by far the best engine available for RTTY, and also used in N1MM Logger, RCKRTTY and Writelog contesting software).
Many of my RTTY QSOs have been made during RTTY Contests - see my RTTY Contesting page for more on my contest activities!
Recently my DXing emphasis has shifted to the WARC bands, and I regularly call CQ on 18.104, 24.925 and 10.143 MHz in RTTY. Skeds on any band are always welcome!
For the morbid curiosity of those interested in such things, my band breakdown of DXCC entities worked/confirmed on RTTY is displayed below:
BAND |
WKD |
CFM |
80 |
12 |
10 |
40 |
81 |
74 |
30 |
75 |
71 |
20 |
208 |
196 |
17 |
108 |
97 |
15 |
162 |
153 |
12 |
71 |
57 |
10 |
47 |
40 |