How to get Yaesu FTDX101, N1MM+ contest logging software and CW Skimmer software working together

My solution:

Hardware:

1) FTDX101D

2) AIRSPY HF+ Discovery

3) PC

Connect the AIRSPY up to a USB port on the PC and connect the antenna to the main IF out port on the rear of the FTDX101D. This will give the AIRSPY access to the 9.005MHz IF of the main receiver in the FTDX101D.

Connect RS232 serial com port of FTDX101D to PC (com 1 in my case).

Software:

1) N1MM+

2) SDR Console

3) CW Skimmer

4) VAC (Virtual Audio Channel, your choice of software)

5) Omnirig

6) Serial Port Splitter (www.fabulatech.com)

In the serial port splitter software, set up a "shared port" for com 1 (allows multiple software apps to connect to the FTDX101D for rig control and status information.

In the Omnirig software setup radio 1 as FTDX101D and use com1.

Setup a VAC for use between SDR Console and the CW Skimmer (ensure windows 10 doesn't grab it).

In the SDR Console software add the external radio feature and use com1 to get rig control from FTDX101D. You also need to add the CW Skimmer menu and select the appropriate VAC audio channel (no need to send on CAT info from SDR Console with this implementation as CW Skimmer will get it via Omnirig). Configure external radio feature by entering 9.005MHz IF details.

In CW Skimmer setup the audio to use the previously created VAC. Also set the CAT (Omnirig) to use radio 1 and com 1. Also setup network to enable telnet server telnet and port to 7300 to send out spot info.

In N1MM+ setup rig control to com 1 and telnet to 127.0.0.1 port 7300

This will allows both ways rig control between N1MM+, SDR Console and CW Skimmer to/from the FTDX101D. Happy skimming!

Doug GM0ELP

Your first HF CW contest

 Here are some handy tips and hints to remember for your first CW contest:

Running (calling cq)

you:    cq your call test

other:    his call

you:    his call 599 exchange

other:    599 exchange

you: tu your call

S&P (search and pounce)

other:    cq his call test

you:    your call

other:    your call 599 exchange

you:    599 exchange

other: tu his call

What could be simpler? Well it would seem the a certain country can't manage it. In S&P they like to do the following:

other:    cq his call test

you:    your call

other:    your call 599 exchange

you:    cfm 599 exchange

other: tu his call

you: tu

The 'cfm' is implicit and unnecessary and wastes the other persons Qs/min rate. During QSB you are guaranteed to hear CFM 599 ......... and nothing else promting you to shout "just give me the exchange!". The final unnecessary "tu" however is the real kicker as this masks the next caller and causes the pile-up to stall, a real f**k you very much for the contact.

These extras are not in the default macros of any contest logger software, so this country operators actually go in and add them!

Some other strange habits, if you get their call wrong due to multiple callers in a pile-up, they are programmed to repeat their call twice, sometimes without even completing the exchange. What they don't realise is when you have called them (even with a slightly wrong callsign), the rest of the pile-up stalls and they are in the clear, the double repeat just hacks everyone off and stalls the pile-up unnecessarily.

Why so pedantic, you try doing many 24 hours straight contests over a period of 30+ years and having to deal with the same stupidity every year...it's about time they were told.

While I have your attention, never, never, never send a '?', just wait patiently for the operator to give their callsign. The reason they don't give their callsign is because they don't want you to call. Sending a '?' is just going to mask the other callers he does want to call and this will cause you to have to wait longer.

The height of stupidity is asking the running station for their call, please just listen for as long as it takes till you are sure you have it right BEFORE calling. Never, never, never expect a station to QRS for you, you have all the the time in the world to decode it BEFORE calling.

A lot of this guide is contrary to what you have been taught, this is because casual operating and dxing is NOT the same as contesting. Please reward contest operators for giving you a contact of a lifetime by being EFFICENT cfm? 

FTDX101D PC CW Keying with DTR

Situation:

Rig FTDX101d. Using N1MM+ to send stored messages (F1 etc) using DTR of the USB port (standard port) to send CW. Setting the radio to CW Setting -> Mode CW -> PC Keying -> DTR to receive the hardware CW keying.

Findings:
Surprisingly this direct method of sending CW from the PC doesn't seem to need PTT? With no transmit CAT command, nothing connected to the PTT input at the rear of the radio and without BK-IN engaged on the front of the radio, the messages from N1MM+ software are transmitted by the radio.

Looking into this a bit more...

In N1MM+, RTS of the USB port (standard port) is set to 'Always Off'. PTT is therefore not being sent to the FTDX101D from N1MM+ on pressing one of the message keys (F1 etc).

How can the radio know when to enagage and disengage PTT at the right times for the message when no PTT signal is sent?

This led me to experiment with the following BK-IN menu setting despite BK-IN being disengaged on the front of the radio:
Changing CW Setting -> CW BK-IN TYPE -> SEMI to FULL

Eureka! Yet more madness from Yaesu! Now when I sent the message from N1MM+, the radio is in Full break-in mode despite BK-IN being disengaged on the front of the radio!

In summary, when using CW Setting -> Mode CW -> PC Keying -> DTR, the FTDX101D uses BK-IN irrespective of the front panel control. Bonkers!

This fact is important to me for contesting as if BK-IN is used, it has an associated CW BK-IN DELAY after the message has completed. This means I will not hear the first CW element of fast return callers. Why Yaesu has done this instead of allowing the PC to control PTT through RTS like the K3 I'll never know. Oh well back to using a Winkey with fully controllable PTT and CW KEY. Buyer beware!

Regards

Doug GM0ELP

Data modes invading cluster CW mode

 

What is happening here? Using the dxspider command "accept/spots on hf/cw" to filter my local cluster, I am getting all sorts of nonsense spots returned with JT65/FT8/FT4 in the comments??? Please can data ops respect the cluster and spot correctly? This is not acceptable and ops doing this should be banned by the cluster sysop.

RSGB IOTA Contest 2020 HFCC

As predicted this contest was a disaster.

NOT DUE to the COVID19 pandemic, but due to the HFCC putting no effort into creating rules which would have allowed curtailed operations to continue.

I listened in and the only saviour to many bored operators were stations that decided to take matters into their own hands and operate /P from the island that they happened to be on anyway (summer holidays...remember those...when you were young...going off with the kids....a distant memory for those in HFCC it would seem).

I just hope that most of these /P operators knew about the ludicrous "home station only " rule imposed by the "Chief Medical Officer" of the RSGB HFCC. I can imagine that some operators would only find out that they had travelled to an island and spent many hours setting up and operating a /P station providing entertainment for RSGB members only to find out later that they have been disqualified.

The only way this contest can now be judged is for all the points distributed by these cheating /P stations to be removed from the logs of home stations that wrongly decided to try to work them.

RSGB Contest Committee IOTA contest 2020

Does anyone else think the RSGB Contest Committee have got it wrong for the IOTA contest in 2020. Apparently the best they can do is suggest "single operator only" and "working from your home station" only?

Hello?

Most working people with kids will be on holiday on July 25/26 and will be away from their home stations.

I recon this ruling makes sense if you are retired and live down south where you have to travel extensively to reach an island. You need to plan and book ahead to get comfy accommodation and you are used to winning your category through year round planning and letting a large group of people take the strain of setting up the station and antennas for you. You only need to operate for a couple hours before your buddy comes to release you as your bladder probably can't go longer than that anyway. A large scale event with a nice sociable side to meet your buddies.

It completely makes NO sense if you are still working and stuck with taking holidays when the kids are off. You live up north and you are right next to an island. You don't need to plan ahead as you just drive over and operate from the car, completely on your own and setting up light weight portable antennas that will never let you win anything. You operate for 12 straight hours in a herculean effort to work your way up the rankings.

You'll notice I haven't mentioned COVID19. This is because when trying to discuss this issue with the contest committee I feel their situation is predominately tending towards the latter 'retired' category (above) and as such are ruling to suit themselves rather than putting some real effort into making IOTA 2020 the best it can be, despite COVID19. It is all too easy for them to put on their politician hat and a grave face and say things like "we had to make a decision in plenty time" Why? Single ops living next to an island don't need plenty time? or "We don't want to encourage travel" Eh, that's not up to you, I'd rather listen to the CMO! or "It's only a game, whilst people are dying" How long are you going to keep this up 1, 2 , 3 years? or until a cure is found? At least make a decision which is sustainable for everyone (and not just the retired) like "single op only" and "no island hopping". Their decision is final and not up for discussion.

It's really very disappointing to me personally that after more than a decade of competing in a COVID19 compatible format i.e. Single OP totally self-sufficient DXPedition, that the contest committee fails to recognise this category by blanket ruling "home station" only. ***Even if I weren't to travel to an island, I'm still technically excluded as I'm on holiday with the kids and not at my "home station"**** ridiculous! All the /m /a /p stations excluded in one stupid spoiler rule. However this will suit a lot of slipper wearing, pipe smoking, coffin dodging retirees and help them still win their category (get their moneys worth out that STEPPIR someone  else installed for them). Arguably the premier RSGB contest event of the year almost completely spoiled by self-indulgence, scaremongering and nanny state behaviour.

I feel that the RSGB Contest Committee fails to realise that Radio is one of the few things left that is safe to do during these hard times and that we should be doing more to promote it to the bumper crop of new hams that have entered the hobby because of COVID19. Instead they have erred on the safe, easy side and spoiled what could have been a more interesting contest result where the large groups are banned by putting in place a simple "single op" rule.

I have a mind to take part from EU123 together with all the other tourist crawling over the islands. Imagine the pile ups on the bands for EU123! Then I won't enter the contest or submit a log as a two fingered salute to RSGB Contest Committee.

Very, very disappointed that people who have got this country through COVID19 by continuing to work 'at risk' are being excluded from things like the Hope contests and now IOTA....nuts! Bring on retirement!

Yaesu FTDX101 Spectrum Scope Mode : Cursor

After having played with other transceivers, I am disappointed in the implementation of CURSOR mode. I don't like having to push the spectrum scope along, as if you find a signal, you always have to back tune to find it. I would much prefer an auto scroll mode where (when the limit of the span has been reached) the scope jumps ahead by half the span leaving the tuning marker mid-screen. I know about the other modes and use FIX in CW and CENTER in DATA and feel CURSOR is most suitable in SSB. The implementation of CURSOR could do with a re-think though.