FT8 – Tipping Point for Ham Radio?

Last weekend I monitored the area around 3550. There wasn't much cw going on. Move up the scale to the ft-8 freq and it was nuts. Same for the ft-8 freq on 40. Each to their own my friend but my suggestion is to accept the reality. You can be as bitter and condescending as you wish but to me the current state of amateur radio was/is obvious. There wasn't even much going on between 3800 and 4000. I don't give a rats butt on how it used to be. Dwelling on the past to me is useless and a waste of time.
Carl

 

interface all the hardware and software correctly then come back and tell us how easy it was.
you might ask yourself why digital contacts are worth twice what voice contact are during field day.

 

Because they made that rule when digital wasn't used very much for portable work like field day and they wanted to encourage it, and they're always behind the times and haven't changed it.

 

If I'm not mistaken, last weekend was some sort of FT-8 contest or contest-mode test.

Did you happen to tune around 3550 kc during the CQWW DX CW weekend?

 

I run 2 watts to 60' of #26 magnet wire and chat with European hams at the bottom of the sunspot cycle ... without DSP, a computer, software, or firmware doing the heavy lifting.

Oh yes, the mode is that antiquated CW stuff. My, my! How quaint!

 

Hams have been interfacing computer sound cards with their radios since the 1990s. Maybe even earlier. Digipan was released in 1998 I believe, and there were hams experimenting with sound cards earlier than that.

So you are embracing old technology ?

Since the late 1990s, it's never been "rocket science". The early adopters had to know a little about audio impedance matching, and how to generate a PTT signal, and home-build a circuit. But nowadays it's all been pre-packaged into devices such as Signalink, and I guess some radios even come with all that already built in. Plug and Play!

 

If you are using a 6U8 regenerative receiver and a rockbound 6AG7 transmitter, I am impressed.

 

I agree. I spend about an hour or so on FT8 to get my 5-10 contacts and then move to a different mode. Anything more than an hour and all you see at times are the same call sign calling CQ. Its fun for an hour or so then the fun quickly fades.

 

Not quite, but definitely in that direction: 40 year old, non-LSIC solid state, DC receiver, no RIT/XIT, analog dial VFO.

 

Wanna talk boring?
Another person giving me the useless explanation on how "it used to be"
Don't like what's on tv? Change the channel. That's what I'm going to do on this topic. Bye

 

Yep...we have lots of channels!

 

I have to agree at this point.

 

DAMN !!! I'M NOT SHOUTING, I JUST LIKE USING CAPITAL LETTERS, GEEEZ OB DON'T GET UR "PANTIES" IN A BUNCH, BESIDES WHO DESCRIBED USING CAPS AS SHOUTING??? THAT'S REALLY LAME!!! AS WE'LL CONTINUE TO USE (WHATEVER CASE) WE "DAMN-WELL" PLEASE!!!

 

I was recently operating from Greece on a portable antenna with poor band conditions. Without FT8 there would have been no ham radio fun at all. I made two contacts to North America and was thrilled. Also several to Japan and one to Cambodia. I hope next summer the bands will pick up and I'll have even more luck into North America.