FT8 TEST on air "DXpedition Mode" on 6 and 7 March !

On-the-Air Test of New FT8 “DXpedition Mode” Set for Early March


A second beta version of WSJT-X version 1.9.0 has been released, the WSJT development group announced this week.

The “release candidate,” as it’s called, is designated as version 1.9.0-rc2.

An initial beta release has already been field-tested by a small group of users. The WSJT development group said a primary purpose of the second beta release is to allow further field testing of the new FT8 “DXpedition Mode,” designed to enable DXpeditions to make FT8 contacts at very high rates, and it is inviting the Amateur Radio community to participate in a public test run of FT8 DXpedition Mode on the evening of March 6 (North American time).

“The goal is to simulate a rare DXpedition pileup by having many stations (‘Hounds’) calling and trying to work a designated pseudo-DXpedition station (‘Fox’),” the announcement said. All test participants must use WSJT-X version 1.9.0-rc2.

Test times and frequencies are:

- March 6, 23:00 UTC on 14.080 MHz;
- March 7, 00:00 UTC on 10.141 MHz;
- March 7, 01:00 UTC on 7.080 MHz,
- March 7, 02:00 UTC on 3.585 MHz.

Frequencies are not the conventional FT8 operating frequencies and are subject to change, subject to conditions. Last-minute changes will be posted.

more instruction and guide here :

http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/FT8_DXpedition_Mode.pdf


info qui:

http://www.arrl.org/news/on-the-air-test-of-new-ft8-dxpedition-mode-set-for-early-march

73 de IW2BSF - Rudy

 

"... Foxes can transmit up to five signals simultaneously, thereby allowing QSO rates up to about 500 per hour in ideal conditions.

WHOA !!!

The end of the insurmountable DX "pile-up". Anticipating use in the first competition (FD?)

73, John, WØPV

 

Great mode. Not sure, though, about how much of the band FT8 threatens to eat up. There is more to ham life than logbook-filling.

I always think it might be a good idea for new mode coders to properly consult the community over an extended period before launching these things on the bands.

 

I'd like to see a bit more interaction then just hello, report exchange, RRR and 73 though I might participate those days.

 

I understand how you feel. But, that is what FT8 is all about. Brief exchanges to fill log books. There are other modes for more personal interaction. I was extremely excited with the mode when it was first released. My wife (also an Amateur Extra) liked it because it was a mode that was NOT personal in nature. Now after a few short months and thousands of contacts, we are both pretty much bored with FT8. Especially since we are approaching solar minimum and a vast majority of the "brief log book filling contacts" are never completed. We assume that propagation is the cause of not completing contacts, but I am not sure that is always the reason. I think that many of the Grid Chase operators are just sending the minimal information so they can hurry on to the next contact. If that's the way they want to operate, that's fine, but, we do not log those contacts. If they cannot take the time to complete all the steps, we cannot take the time to log the QSO. I know that there will be denigrators on the ZED who will post hate messages because we choose to not log those hot to trot pseudo log filling contacts. But, so be it. We are not on the air to fulfill anyone's contest desires. We are here to have fun with ham radio. Contesting is not fun for us. As far as we are concerned, it serves no useful purpose. So, we don't participate. That's not to say that we think no one should participate in contests. If that's your thing, great. We enjoy seeing how far we can cary on a qao with as little power as possible. That is what FT8 was initially designed for.

 

I regularly see 30-40 contacts in about the same bandwidth as a signal SSB contact. That should be a problem?

Ed

 

You do realize there are modes to ham radio right?

Ed

 

That's what paragraphs were initially designed for.

 

I couldn't say it any better!
Thanks Dave
Kevin K7KHC

 

do you get more than CALL 5nn / tu from a DX contact? Not really in this case this will be a DX mode only so nothing more than CALL -1 RR73
This works for me as FT8 is very difficult to work a DX station with now. It causes major issues on the standard FT8 frequencies. I understand you desire to have a rag chew and that is great, but not really what this mode is for. I think there are other modes that will still allow you to do what you want.

 

It still requires human intervention, technical knowledge and setup. Of course the logical next step is a fully antonymous solar powered station installed on a remote island such as Navasa, Melish Reef, ect. Just pick your top most wanted from Club Log and drop a package in...... is that ham radio? Well technically yes. Perhpas as a remote station with a sat link to an actually operator or a microwave link to a boat first it will happen, unless DXCC rules address it otherwise. I have a feeling the next activation of Scarborough Reef will be such a package with a team sitting nice and safe on a boat operating the remote station running 2-4 bands at the same time.

 

I look at amateur radio operating achievement in different modes the same as baseball.

There is the official MLB variety; 9 players per team, 9 innings, hardball, wood bats, etc. Their rules are rigid within each season, yet constantly evolving. Along with the technology used to play, and participate as a fan, in the game.

Then there is college baseball, aluminum bats. Softball, stickball, whiffle ball, etc etc etc.

The gear, type and number of players, and environment may change, yet the game still conforms to a logical common denominator.

To me, it's all still BASE BALL.

Radio award qualifications and contests ought to be evolved too, with comparison of achievements focused within like modes, equipment levels, calendar / BIC time, etc. Any "mixed mode" all-time cert / event will probably always mean just that, and some would say of diminished meaning, like comparing historical MLB stas & records vs. Modern or "Steroid" Era.

And, some people would rather play ... GOLF

73, John, WØPV

 

Dave,
No flames, just some questions for consideration. If you don't like the automation and want to hone your skills, you can switch off the autosequence, color-coding and alerts. Then you will have approx. 1.5 seconds to examine all the decoded signals with no aids to guide your attention through the list, determine which station you want to work, find it with mouse cursor in the list of decodes and double-click it to start transmitting on time. I'd say that requires skills like fast eyes, a fast mind and fast fingers, and very limited scope for automation, since you don't know what is going to show up where in the list. Its hard to compare skills, but don't you think such an exercise would correspond to something like error-free CW copying at 40-50 WPM or so?

If you want to stick to the Weak Signal idea behind FT8, and don't want to be absolutely certain to make a QSO, joining the QRP crowd by reducing the power to 5 or 3 or 1 W and/or using that low "shortwire", may offer some new challenges requiring at least some operational skills to be the chosen one by the wanted station, particularly when he has selected to work the station first decoded.

And is there really a big skill difference between securing a macro-driven RTTY (or other digimodes) QSO for the logbook and an FT8 QSO, except that the RTTY QSO normally will require substantially stronger signals/more power to decode, and that RTTY doesn't apply autosequencing (yet), so that you have to be able to skillfully click the mouse button for the next macro when receiving K or SK?

Talking about automation, isn't CW copying above approx. 12 WPM just that, automation. The fact that it takes place in our brains doesn't make it less automated, or requires more skill. Not at all to devalue CW in any form or shape, but would it be wrong to say that the main skill in CW copying and sending, is persistence in training, not the actual copying and sending (which among the good CW operators I have met, seems to take place in a quite "detached" state of mind? Don't you think that most hams (and others) that set their mind and persistence to it, could achieve the skill of copying and sending at 20+ WPM? Is it really more complicated than bicycle riding, car driving, or cross country skiing, i.e. difficult when never done before, but quite manageable with training, and that once automated, it sticks if you keep practicing? And hasn't contesting become quite automated, too, with keyers for every mode, decoders available for any mode but SSB (and required for digimodes), and logging with minimal human intervention?

I fully agree that an FT8 QSO with autosequencing, run at 100+ W with big antennas, does not require a massive skill set, as seen by +10 - +20 reports. That, on the other hand, corresponds well with the purpose of FT8, as the Weak Signal modes were never intended for such conditions. However, considering that working DX (and DXpeditions) is a thrill for many hams and looking at FT8 from the perspective of the small pistol, with modest antennas in a lousy QTH, using low power to avoid RFI in the neighborhood, and near the bottom of the solar cycle, don't you think that even FT8 (and the other Weak Signal modes) may require some skill, and that the FT8 DXpediton mode seems to be a good solution to level the playing field between big and small guns, and to sort out the main issues of an unruly pileup, and even a result of good brainwork at least at the level of mastering CW, and that, in the best spirit of what amateur radio is, it deserves a good participation in the upcoming test to help smoothing out any issues before a general release?

73 de Frode LA6VQ (and N2VQ)
Same day Tech/General/Amateur Extra 2016 (regrettably many years too late for 20 WPM CW)