Yet another digital mode...This is getting out of hand! There needs to be a way to quickly detect which mode is being heard so we can respond accordingly. So many of them sound alike and look alike that I sometimes have to start switching through all the modes in the software to see when I can begin to decode the signal. By the time I get through three or four modes then the signal is gone.
With SSB, a QSO is also just a mic click away. No intelligence required. Just speak... AB6XXX 599 CA.
All the "pure" hams who complain about FT8/FT4 should sell all their ham equipment unless it was homemade. After all, that's how it use to be. People really hate change and progress.
Thank you for saying this. I've been biting my tongue for the longest time. When it comes to intelligence, SSB contacts should be handled with extreme care, since they are very rare.
Well thank you once again Joe keep them coming it is always great to see new ideas here on the bands I am just starting EME now with JT65 WOW ! half a million mile DX ! love it by the way FT8 is great already made over 500 contacts just on 6 & 10 meters & only been using the mode for 5 months ! thanks once again Joe please carry on 73' Phil KI6PMD..
Why would it make your DXCC look like a useless peice of paper??? DXCC phone has "PHONE" printed at the bottom of the certificate for all to see.
And DXCC CW says CW, go figure. DXCC Mixed has always been the next best thing, for the less skilled. And DXCC Digital is...well, digital. All modes that require a computer these days, unless using vintage hardware for RTTY, and/or some other stuff I'm not familiar with.
yes, but my computer didn't make the entire contact, a little bit of gray mater was required, , you might actually discuss something of value with another operator with similar interest. If your goal is simply putting contacts in a log, then FT-8 is it. however, why waste time , FT-8 will soon be relegated to the trash heap, sounds like FT-4 will do the same job in half the time, as for contests, I say we need to replace the categories, like Single Op, Multi Op, multi multi, etc with a more computer oriented designation, something like , single core, multi core, Quad core, Pentium class , apple, and maybe the 8088 class for the heavy (rusty) metal operation, least we forget the commodore mode.
Comparing modes will never be a clear cut thing. They each have peculiarities that won't apply to one another one for one. With FT8, the operator still selects the station to engage. Decides whether to call on the same frequency or split. If split, where? Is the other station answering callers below or above his frequency? How close to the segment edges can one call? Is the CQ generic or directional? Go full exchange, or drop grid when replying? Use RRR or RR73 for completion? Tail gate on the same frequency, or call more frequently on another frequency? Is propagation favoring you, or is more power needed? Is the reply cycle correct in relation to the other station? The computer is doing the donkey work, as it does for all other digital modes. The confusion seems to stem from the fact that the JT modes have error correction, and produce an all or nothing decoded payload. That's the nature of the protocol, there is no 'malice' in it. As for the so called 'automation', Call 1st, it was not there initially. JT65 and JT9, with their 1 minute cycle, allowed plenty of time for reply action. But FT8, with a 15 seconds cycle, is a different case. Call 1st became a necessity. It'll be even more critical with FT4. Some of you will certainly bring up the bots that are roaming the segments. That's not what I'm talking about. One may not like the mode as designed, but to denigrate it because a minority is in a clear deviation of purpose is not right. Other modes can be, and are, misused sometimes. The user is at fault, not the mode. It's also a personal decision whether or not one adopts advanced data communications techniques. It's just one more facet of the hobby. Enjoy what you like, discard what you don't.
I've been a Ham for over 55 years, first licensed in 1964, and have used AM/SSB almost exclusively over these many years, but with some CW thrown in there. I have a modest station with somewhat compromised antennas (i.e. no real elevated tower or elevated wire antennas). The poor propagation in the past few years and dismal prospects for any real improvement for the next few years has shaken my interest in the hobby during the past year or more. At 72, I do not have that much time to enjoy the hobby during the next good sun spot cycle to appear. Even though I have achieved a number of awards, I just could not "get out" like I use to during these poor conditions. Then along came FT8 - WOW now I could "get out" again like I had in the past. I've conformed over 110 DX FT8 stations, several new DXCCs and finally after 10 years of really trying my CQ WAZ award thanks to FT8. Now I am almost exclusively on FT8 and waiting for the 6M season to fully open to increase my 6M grids again using FT8. So why I am writing this post? I miss my SSB contacts - not US contacts, but DX type contacts using voice communications. I do like FT8, but I am concerned where the hobby is headed - now we will have FT4 which I'm sure I will jump on and start using. Perhaps, it is only my memory of how good SSB was during the good sun spot years. These were years that I could easily work the world on SSB with 100 watts and a simple inverted "V" dipole. Those were thrilling days to me at an early age. Perhaps never to return, but in its place I will continue to use FT8 - at least I can now "get out". Conflicted for sure. Glenn K4ZOT WAS, WAS-6M, DXCC (217), WAC, WAZ, VUCC (6m grids - 273), WPX
