RTTY QTC

[KC8CAJ]

I'm sitting here going through some of the instructional videos from the N1MM website and this particular one I just watched was all about RTTY QTCs.  It seems like he asks someone if they have/want QTCs, they exchange 10 of them...and then all 10 contacts appear in the log.  So what are QTCs and is this a way to get free points??

73
Chris KC8CAJ

[N3QE]

I'm sitting here going through some of the instructional videos from the N1MM website and this particular one I just watched was all about RTTY QTCs.  It seems like he asks someone if they have/want QTCs, they exchange 10 of them...and then all 10 contacts appear in the log.  So what are QTCs and is this a way to get free points??

Presumably the WAE contest. (Not just RTTY but also CW and SSB.... in RTTY though everyone can work everyone, it doesn't have to be Europe to other.)

N1MM makes QTC's pretty straightforward in both CW and RTTY and at least helps with bookkeeping on phone. Still you gotta do it one step at a time, and accuracy is everything.

Tim.

[KC8CAJ]

So what are they?  Can I ask someone for QTC and they will give me 10 free contacts, even though I never worked the stations?  Maybe I'm missing something here.

[N3QE]

So what are they?  Can I ask someone for QTC and they will give me 10 free contacts, even though I never worked the stations?  Maybe I'm missing something here.

Well first you have to make the QSO.

But then you can ask for QTC. If they have any (even less than 10), log the traffic and you get credit.

If they don't have any, just move on.

QTC'ing is not completely trivial and requires at least some effort to do the asking and recording the traffic.

You probably are not going to ask the weak station for QTC. It's not just quantity, you have to accurately log the traffic.

It is possible in WAE RTTY to have more QTC's than QSO's if you are good at traffic handling, look at past WAE results to get the idea. It is never (even for the best traffic handlers) a 10:1 ratio, more typically 1:1 for a typical station, and less than 1:1 if you aren't good at traffic handling.

Tim.

[KS2G]

Let's start from Square One:

In the system of ham radio abbreviations, known as "Q Signals" or "Q Codes" (originated to speed the exchange of information in cw) QTC means: I have messages for you. And QTC? Means: Do you have messages for me?

In the WAE (Worked All Europe) contests, the "messages" (QTC's) are the log details of contacts you've made in the contest.

You can ask a station you work for QTC's - and he can send you the log info of up to ten of his previous QSOs -- which go into YOUR log as if they were contacts that you made.

Conversely, a station that works you can ask for QTCs, and you can send him the log info of up to ten of your previous QSO's that go into HIS log as if he made those contacts.

Each contact can be used as a QTC only once.

So, for example, if you make ten contacts, and the eleventh station that works you asks for QTC's, you can send him ten QTCs.

But if the next station you contact asks for QTCs ... you can only send him one (the station you just worked who received QTCs for your previous ten contacts).

It's quite a challenge to copy QTC info on phone or cw.

And although most contest logging programs automate the process in RTTY, it still takes quite a bit of concentration and coordination to exchange QTCs.

And exchanging QTCs takes time away from making contacts, and accumulating multipliers.

So it's part of the strategy challenge to decide whether it's worthwhile to do so.

To the best of my knowledge, the WAE contests are the only ones in which there is QTC activity.

73,
Mel - KS2G


 

[KB3LIX]

QTC's are applicable during the WAE (Worked all Europe)
contests ONLY.

No one else "does" QTC's