by Dick Stevens, N1RCT
Originally published in the Oct. '96 Digital Journal
Updated 1 Jan '97

RTTY by WF1B (Ray Ortgiesen) is our favorite RTTY contesting software. Ray is a bigtime programmer and wrote WF1B for his personal use, but word got out. He has continuosly improved it for several years now as he responded to fussy contesters. The big features for the new RTTY contester are:

* Pre-programmed for most contests
* Avoids most typing by use of smart mouse routines
* Keeps your log automatically
* Does the proper exchange automatically
* Identifies dupes instantly for rapid band searching
* Scores the particular contest properly
* Identifies multipliers automatically
* Keeps a running score total for progress reports
* Remembers your friends names
* Shows DXCC/WAS status for the contest
* Controls your radio VFO if you want
* Does all scoring and log pages for log submission
* Can be used for rag-chewing and DXing
* Help and tips through WF1B Internet reflector

Demo version: You can obtain a demo version from an existing owner, who must erase the registration number in the RTTY.INI file for it to work for your callsign. Or get it thru the internet. The demo version is full-featured and will allow you to make a limited number of contacts before saying goodbye. It will not have the instruction manual; but this article and the alt-H key should get you through a ride and a small contest trial.

Hopefully, your unit is in this list of supported TNC's: P38, PCI-4000/M, PCI-3000, K6STI/SB16, PK-232, PK-900, MFJ-1278, KAM, AMT-1, UTU, SCS PTC, and Terminal Units such as ST-6000. Just have it hooked up in the normal manner for you TNC. Rig Control for Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu is possible using another COM port .. but you will want to forego this for the moment.

You will need a IBM Compatible computer with at least 640K of memory, a mouse, and a color monitor will be nice. You will need to know what com port the TNC is on and also what baud rate and character string such as 9600,8,1,0.

The RTTY.INI file can be customized with a text editor such as the DOS EDIT.EXE program or your favorite.

Here is a typical RTTY.INI :
(LINES STARTING ";" ARE IGNORED)

[PROFILE] <=Fill in the profile info that will be used in your log submission

Name=Richard C. Stevens
Street=POB 1075
City=Wilton
State=ME
ZipCode=04294
CqZone=05
Club=MVARC
Callsign=N1RCT <=your call
;Registration=X12Y34Z5 <=This has a callsign encoded in it; it must be deleted for the demo to work

[TNC1]
ComPort=2     <=    (or whichever)

[COM4]                 <=define special com ports for rig or TNC only if needed
BaseAddr=$2E8 <=i.e., ones that are not standard DOS default
IrqNumber=5      <=this is my rig control port on an extra I/O card
HandShake=none
(the TNC is on COM2 using standard defaults so is not specified)
(all lines below here in RTTY.INI are covered in the "Getting Serious" section)

Start out by typing RTTY and then TRIAL when asked for a worksheet name; normally you would use something like WPX97 to identify the contest you are preparing for. You can have the setups and results for any number of contests in the directory, just be sure to use a unique name.

Next, the "Worksheet" info panel will appear; much of the info is already filled in per your RTTY.INI editing. Push the space bar and inspect the contests available. Lets pick the CQWW contest, a complicated exchange. Next, tab down to the "CLASS" and pick "Single Op, ALL Band". Tab to "Time" and pick the time that your computer clock is set to; most hams use UTC for simplicity. WF1B will convert your computer time to UTC time required for all logs automatically. A worksheet is shown below:

Next, tab to "Power". This is where you are selecting whether you are operating in High or Low power class. Lets put in 149 watts to signify low power class. The last setting:

TNC:         Pick your baby; the AEA CMD set runs AEA TNC's in the command mode rather than HOST mode.

Now you are ready to press ctrl-Enter and the main contesting screen will appear. Any problems will be diagnosed and error messages will appear. Check the time in the middle of the screen and confirm it is UTC.

Tune in a RTTY station and the print should start appearing. "No print" situations are probably due to the baud rate or COM port settings used. Use alt-Q to go back and try again.

Be careful from now on; you are riding a race horse and lots of buttons will cause auto transmission to start. Stop any accidents instantly by just hitting the ESC key. WF1B recognizes callsigns only when they are preceded by "DE" and meet some rough rules for syntax. The ctl-up and ctl-down arrow keys will re-cycle thru the last 10 callsigns recognized. If WF1B did not get the callsign, click on the first letter with the mouse; it will appear in the lower left box. If you make out the callsign but it is not isolated enough to click on, just tab to the lower left box and type it in. If the call is a dupe, an alarm will sound and a message appear.

In a contest, there is some sort of exchange; for the JARTS, it is an RST and your age! the RST is assumed to be 59 unless you correct it (and there are a few painfully honest people out there). Just click on the age and it is put in the right box. Clever and fast.

Pushing the END key or clicking Log will log the call, which now appears in the middle box, with the time, band, and other grunt work all done. See an error? Press alt-E to correct. Press alt-S and see your score. Press ctl-F5 and see your DXCC status for the contest; press alt-H and get a menu of all the commands available; but you will need the instruction manual to really understand some of them.

Transmitting is normally done by just pushing pushing the PF keys 1-10. They are already programmed with a basic set that is customized automatically for you and the contest. In addition, alt-K will let you type directly if need be. To see what they do, enter a callsign in the lower left box, TURN OFF THE RADIO, and press the keys PF1 - PF10 in turn. The screen will print out what would have been transmitted. Push ctl-F7 and see the actual macro; you can modify these at will using the keywords listed under alt-H. A piece of masking tape above the PF keys will hold a keyword. Macros can be made fancy or minimal depending on your preferences. The defaults are shown below:

From the DOS prompt, type RTTY, and type in a unique name. Select the proper contest, class, etc. Get it right as it will be autoloaded into your macros. When the contest starts, tune around and pick a station to call (ME!), capture the callsign with the arrow key, mouse, or typing. Press F3 and it sends "HIM DE YOU YOU". A simulated screen is shown below with the keys I pushed to make it happen (for the JARTS contest, actually, where the exchange is your age.)

When the CQer responds to you, enter the exchange info in the boxes and press F2 to send your info, simultaneously if you wish. When he says QSL, press the END key or click Log. If there is bad print, press F6 to get a repeat. That's it. You should be tuned to another station in a few seconds.

Feeling lucky? Try calling CQ with F1 or F8. When you get a call, capture the callsign and press F2 to give your exchange. Log what comes back and press the Page Down key to automatically log the call, say thanks, and call QRZ? DE ME for the next pigeon. That's it. Spend your time thinking about the best band to be on, best beam heading, where you will hang the plaque, and other things requiring actual thought. All too soon, you will reach the 50 call limit of the demo.

After the contest, type WRITELOG where the callsign goes. All the paper work is made into files ready for printing. Oh, you do have to sign and date the summary sheet. Mail in the paper or many contests let you email the files to them or mail a diskette.

Is that all there is to it? Well, no. RTTY by WF1B has many more features that will be revealed by study of the manual. And practice, practice, practice is always the name of any competitive game. Questions on usage are always welcome on the WF1B Internet reflector and good info is always appearing there and in Jim's Gazette. Additional articles are available here that will progress you up the scale of more complex operating practices for contests ..