Weird how the bands work so utterly differently where you are I have absolutely ZERO issues establishing contacts on 75, 40, 30 in the evenings, and 20 most afternoons, all on either CW and SSB Not "everyone" is doing FT8 at least not all the days and evenings I am on the air. At least not around here Dave W7UUU
Dave -- thank you. Earlier today I posted a reply on another QRZ FT4/FT8 thread https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?th...-ft4-kills-off-ft8.657156/page-4#post-5056896 Yes, I can't have some of the types of QSOs I've had in the past. Instead I seem to be posting more often in the QRZ SK thread. Over the weekend I posted another SK notice of a good friend of over 50 years (W3CSW). We were both experimenters going back to the 60s. We got/get on the air to test our experiments and then talk about them, usually involving other long time and newbee friends. As my old friends become silent keys, I'm glad to have things like WSPR, FT8, WebSDR, PSKreporter, and other great tools to test my experiments. I'm hoping to have a new and crazy type of AM exciter working soon. For that, I know I'll need the people who frequent 3885 and 7285 to give me honest, and sometimes bruising, reports. But, I know they are there, or other places where I can find them on 75 and 40 meters. Propagation was pretty poor since I put my antenna back up a couple of days ago. I still didn't have issues while never running more than about 85 watts to a chunk of wire. I happy to have the new tools to test old time types of communication. Curmudgeon Ken W4KJG
A lot of posts against something, anything, is usually like that. No real facts, just a need to post in the best of cases. A few others truly want to cause havoc. Simple as that.
I haven't been on the bands very long, Technician to Extra with the various band expansions. I always like the phone portions, CW is being relearned so very little machine CW at this time till I can use that straight key. The digital modes are great when the bands are so noisy I can't hear anything or the phone portion is dead and I've called CQ whatever for awhile with no callbacks. Sometimes I get lucky and I get a few stations returning my call from god knows where. My favorite surprise was Chile and a Maritime Mobile freighter in the North Atlantic followed by a land mobile UK station. I got a fair mix of modes for DXCC and WAS so I'm not the least bit afraid to try new modes on HF when band conditions require something different. What I don't like is calling a internet based comms system radio. Echolink or whatever there is out there that connects a radio to a repeater to a wireless hotspot to the internet down to a repeater elsewhere connected to the internet is not really radio to me since it isn't point to point RF contact without the internet helping relay the comms. I prefer my signals to be from antenna to antenna .If I wanted internet related coms I'd go to IM IRC or any social media messenger service.
I guess digital modes are really fun. I've gone from jt65 to ft8 very nicely. trouble with ft8 is that you need to be a game show contestant quick on the send. jt65 gave a reasonable amount of time between exchanges to pick a signal to answer. FT4 is gonna be what? computer driven. Faster cpus win contests? kidding. it would be wonderful to see it in action, but will it be as popular once the solar cycle returns to its peak? meh. we should all have fun with what we choose on the bands. I don't mean get liquored up and pound away on someone on 7,200 khz though. beep bop.
Without VOICE Digital modes as as exciting as watching grass grow in the dead of winter or watching snails racing across a highway. BORING does not even come close when a computer is doing all of the work & now it has been shown that you can earn,WAS,WAC, DXCC & more while out at dinner or the kids baseball or football games. Now that is bragging rights worth mentioning at a funeral. FT8 & FT4 are the Perfect Lazy Hams modes no doubt & I'm sure there will be many more Lazy Hams modes to come. Hee Haw I can't wait but I will. Clayton W4KVW
Pick the mode you enjoy. Why would you care, for even a fraction of a second, what others might think?
Having been involved in this great hobby for over 30 years, I get it. Traditions are dying (read changing). but they don't have to. Keep on, Keepin on with CW and SSB. Welcome the new, don't be stubborn, no ego needed, its different but it serves a purpose. Ford model T was a great idea, but if you have to drive down a long bumpy road (i.e. solar min.), given the choice, I think many would prefer to drive a Rolls Royce.
