[SFDXA] CW in Ham Radio

Sat Feb 4 13:51:13 EST 2012

Bill
Good point!  45.45 baud RTTY would work out to almost 57 WPM, only PSK63 
edges that out, but it is not as popular as PSK31.  On the other hand, 
JT65  (the "watching grass grow mode")   gets a staggering 13 characters 
per minute (in free text mode) or about 2.6 WPM!
Kai

Bill wrote:
> BTW I didn't mention it before but RTTY is just plain faster than the 
> other digital modes. Faster on and off as in CW and SSB. Just the main 
> reason it is used for contests and DXing competition.
>
>
>
> On 2/4/2012 12:57 PM, Kai Siwiak wrote:
>   
>> Hi Sebastian,
>> That K3 is a lovely rig - got a chance to use one thru the night on CW
>> during ARRL Field Day.
>>
>> I'm sure that quite a few folks will answer you about RTTY on this
>> reflector. There are two kinds of RTTY ops: the "traditionalist" who
>> emulate the style and old terminology of wireline RTTY, and guys like my
>> where RTTY is just another sound card digital mode.
>> RTTY is "traditional", but  I use  RTTY with rig set to upper SSB (same
>> as I use for PSK31 and JT65), barebones MMTTY software, and no
>> contesting except to snag a "new one".  The traditionalist have their
>> stations honed for serious contest work, but that's not my interest.
>>
>> A RTTY link is just a few dB below a CW path link, and about 12 dB
>> better than SSB.
>> With software like MMTTY and the loggers that use it as the RTTY engine
>> it is possible to just click on the signal in the display for instant
>> tuning.  I guess that is how the DXexpedition ops do it.  I use RTTY
>> because DXpeditions use RTTY and it is the only path to "digital DXCC".
>> That is how I earned the WAS Triple Play Award (although, any digi modes
>> count there). RTTY is not so bad for DXpeditions, however, listening to
>> the pileups I conclude that comparatively few hams know how to operate
>> DX-RTTY.  It is possible to get DX using QRP RTTY; N4II and I did it 5
>> times using just 5 watts from K4FK.
>>
>> While I am not a RTTY geek by any stretch of the imagination, I can say
>> that using RTTY can increase your DXCC count. That is the reason to use
>> RTTY.
>>
>> Cheers and 73,
>> Kai, KE4PT
>>
>> Sebastian, W4AS wrote:
>>     
>>> Time to brag about my K3, it can do the same (decode RTTY/PSK31 without a computer attached).  And you can even send RTTY/PSK31 with just the internal keyer, although I've never tried that.
>>>
>>> Having made very few RTTY QSOs over the years, I'm really puzzled as to why it's so popular - someone please tell me what I've been missing.
>>>
>>> To me, it appears to be the most inefficient mode for DXing and contesting.  Having listened to the HK0NA pileups on RTTY, the DX station has to exactly tune in to a caller, and may have to wait for the caller to repeat if the caller just stopped his transmission.  If another station obliterates that caller, then the DX station has to start all over again.  And of course there's no break-in or error correction.
>>>
>>> Compared to CW or voice, when a DX station can hear a partial call, and just say for example, "the N8 again".
>>>
>>> Not knocking the mode, I'd just like to find a RTTY geek who can tell me why I should use it more often
>>>
>>> 73 de Sebastian, W4AS
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Feb 4, 2012, at 11:54 AM, Pete Rimmel N8PR wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>       
>>>> Kai,
>>>>
>>>> My Icom 7600 does not need a computer to do RTTY or PSK31 It will send and
>>>> receive both with a mini keyboard attached, not much larger than a paddle.
>>>>
>>>> PeteR
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Kai Siwiak
>>>> Sent: Saturday, February 04, 2012 9:48 AM
>>>> To: Bill
>>>> Cc: aSFDXA
>>>> Subject: Re: [SFDXA] CW in Ham Radio
>>>>
>>>> Hi Bill,
>>>> That's a great article with good reliance on reliable numbers, but it
>>>> misses a critically key point about technical performance. That is, CW
>>>> outperforms SSB by around  17 dB --  a power ratio of 50!  This means CW
>>>> can potentially talk 5 to 6 times as far as SSB.  Out of the three modes
>>>> that DXpeditions favor (CW, RTTY, SSB) it provides the best range. It is
>>>> around 3-7 dB better than RTTY.
>>>>
>>>> It is also the ONLY digital mode that can be done with just a radio and
>>>> with no additional computer.
>>>>
>>>> CW is not going away too soon!
>>>>
>>>> 73
>>>> Kai, KE4PT
>>>>
>>>>         
>>> ______________________________________________________________
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>>>       
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> South Florida DX Assoc. Reflector
>> SFDXA WebSite: http://qsl.net/k4fk
>> SFDXA Repeater 147.33+ 103.5 Tone
>> DX Net Wed 7:33 PM Repeater
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>>     
> ______________________________________________________________
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