FT8 – Tipping Point for Ham Radio?

Change is the only Constant

New modes and systems will appear but SSB/CW will still be relevant.

Just more tools in your tool box.

G3SEA/KH6

 

I don't see "anger, belittling and outrage". It's disdain.

When the majority of hams don't see the difference between RTTY and FT8, then, yes, we've reached a "tipping point".

 

"Disdain: the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one's consideration or respect; contempt."

And what's the point of 'proudly' displaying that? Is food being taken out of your children's mouth by FT8 users?

It's a hobby for heaven's sakes. This is supposed to be fun, and bring people together. If it's not doing it for you, move on, live and let live.

 

Change is the mother of anxiety! All hams please let's unite rather than become divided over FT8. If you are not into using it then just don't do it. Amateur radio has always been since the early days of spark gap about exploring new modes of operation. 73 & Enjoy Ham Radio!!!

 

Neither does parking oneself on a frequency, cranking-up an amplifier and calling "CQ DX" or "CQ CONTEST" or "CQ DAILY NET" into a mic. If vacuum tubes and rotary phones blow your skirts up, fine. But it is 2018, not 1918.

 

I have only been a licensed Amateur Radio operator since 2017.However I have been a SWL since 1990 while also trying to get a Novice license back then in the early 90's.I can't help but wonder about the people that are screaming about FT8 not being ham radio . There weren't that many modes back in the 90's but then the sunspots were active and you could work Papua New Guinea on 5 watts using a paperclip.Conditions aren't always bad but FT 8 is a complement to the radio hobby not a hindrance. When phone bands are empty there are FT8 contacts galore a few kilohertz down.There is RTTY PSK31 and other modes also. I don't understand why people get so mad about a mode of operation. It DOES require a radio and an antenna so it isn't just computer stuff being done .I'm happy to make ANY contact regardless of mode. Whether that's Oman on FT8 or St Helena Island on phone or Andorra on RTTY , that's a contact I couldn't get with my computer or cell phone. I'm glad there are all sorts of modes. My chances of a contact are just that much better.

 

I remember when SSB started getting popular in the late 50’s, early 60’s. It was “let’s zero beat that hetrodyne (AM carrier) and it’ll go away”. And eventually, they did, as everyone switched, except for a few diehards.

Any new mode will find its early acceptors, may get popular ( or not) and will probably be supplanted by something else new in the future. In that respect, FT 8 is probably (long term) no different than any other new mode. Its big attraction right now is the ability to hear signals 20 dB below the noise, which keeps people interested in radio whereas otherwise they’d become bored listening to an otherwise dead band.

 

Dead? It's not dead. Listen to all that noise!

 

I have tried it. does not do any thing for me, it is like setting back in the dentist chair staring at the ceiling while listening to the drill.
boring and painful. Don't worry it will not last.

 

That's not the point. The point is making the most of it while it lasts.

 

Agree that your first sentence is true today. My point exactly. You may have misunderstood my post. It is NOT about the merits of FT8 or other modes. It is about what I, and apparently quite a few others, miss in ham radio today.

 

Double post, sorry.

 

Yeah, we know you miss your good 'ol days. Y'all are like a damn broken record and never let anyone forget it! Those days are gone and they aren't coming back. I, for one, am glad of it. I prefer to buy a radio than build one. I like having options like FT8 when annoying contesters are all over the bands. I like having FT8 available when phone is full of BORING nets and BORING operators moaning about their usual aches and pains and how much they miss the old days. These are our good old days. Please stop pissing all over them.

 

Since I'm not 'unidimensional', like some of you, I put FT8 aside for the weekend. I'm pretending to be a skilled ham, by participating in the CQWW CW contest. No only that, for only the second time in my ham 'career', I'm using the DX Cluster actively. So instead of 'search and pounce', I 'upgraded' to 'point and click'. Wow...I cannot believe I was that unskilled before. Just using another tool in the tool box, folks.

The DX Cluster enables a very limited CW user like me to work some very nice DX. It still takes a while to be certain of the call, as some of the other skilled users spot the wrong callsign sometimes, but it beats spinning the dial blindly.

The DX Cluster is a tipping point for me.

One more award (DXCC CW) for my HP.