Interested in Amateur Radio Digital Mode FT8 Operations?

Wait, are you saying digital modes aren't easy?

 

As CW ops, we know the enjoyment we get using this mode and like for everyone to put in the effort and time in learning Morse Code and join in. It is so satisfying.
I can send and receive code almost world wide using just a small transceiver not much bigger than a deck of cards, a wire and a pocket radio 9 Volt battery. I am not dependent on a computer or computer programs.

I also can send and receive from my base station and the operator on the other end can not hear any difference.
For me some of the enjoyment comes from my whole life I knew I was not smart enough to learn the code, but with many hours of dedicated study I did learn it, this gave me a great feeling of accomplishment. When I set my computer and transceiver up for FT8 and worked FT8 for a couple of weeks, I only learned two thing, for me it was boring, and I was unable to have a rag chew with anyone.

Some times there is old technology that seems to live on forever. Like the simple wheel, iron rails for trains to run on, Airplane wings, shoes we wear on or feet. Just because the technology is old does not mean it is no longer useful.
There is quit a few digital modes that are very important to have and use in an emergency, Winlink is one of them.

Thank you for your input

 

Yup, exactly what I'm saying if you're

• limited to 10W or under
• have a limited budget
• have limited space
• have a full time job
• find support for fl-digi on Raspberry Pi is limited at best
• have conditions that make verbal contact challenging

What's your point? Am I less of an enthusiast because of it or because I have no interest in voice calling?

 

It was a bit of sarcasm I'm mostly a digital mode op myself. Plenty of folks tend to think its easy, that you just fire up WSJT and watch the DX roll in! I have very little desire to do SSB either. I know it's not always the easiest thing to do, but our friends who mostly do CW and phone tend to think that its the easiest thing in the world. No offense to you

 

FT ….. what…?

No Tnx .

Paul K8PG

 

Importantly, the ARRL and RSGB have provided a definition of a QSO which includes FT-8 and other digital modes so your pseudo-definition that we are pretending is irrelevant.

Can you explain why you feel we must do as some CW ops say? Why the constant need to attempt to convert people who are otherwise totally happy with what they are doing?

I don't mind a reasonable list of the benefits (although I'm pretty sure I'm aware of them) yet don't understand the need to belittle.

 

Hey no problemo - scarcasm doesn't always come across via digital modes.

Ironically CW is technically digital. Dit no-dit dit no-dit long-dit etc but I think that's lost on some of the zealots...

 

And I appreciate your input although you were responding to another ham. When I set up my radio and computer years ago, I learned a few different things. I was able to access the source code for WSJT-X so I could write my own software to interface with the program to do other things I needed (e.g. calculate and display my manual tuner settings, extract info to my own custom databases, etc.). To me, the exploration and actual implementation of marrying PCs and Raspberry Pis to my radios is interesting -- again, certainly not everyone's cup of tea.

 

Is digital digital because of the characteristics of the mode, or the characteristics of how the transmission is converted into information?

For CW, the interpretation of the code sent is still mostly done using analogue wetware. That's why I frequently enjoy it more than digi modes -- it's a little more work / a little more of a challenge.

 

On/off keying is digital. Morse code is a digital encoding technique that typically uses wetware to decode.

 

As a physicist, I'd say that fundamentally digital is something that has discrete states whereas analogue is something that has an infinite number of states.
So I'd argue that CW comes within digital, although others may disagree.

Equally, if you use a filter on your rig which involves some kind of digital technology/chip then it's a grey area. Hey unless your rig has no chips in it at all, then I'd argue that CW is at least digitised or quantised in its modern format.

I totally appreciate that CW is a different challenge and am far from knocking it or the majority of its ops that live and let live.

 

Once in a while, I hear, "Morse code is an outdated method of communication."

The argument might include comparisons to digital modes, or to the various ways to talk to other amateur radio operators--from HF side-band to digital modes on repeaters or over the Internet.

Sailboats and sail power are also outdated modes of transportation. Yet, we see, on any given fair day at the harbors around the world, large numbers of sailboats being navigated around the harbors and inlets as large groups of sailing enthusiasts harness the power of the wind. There are many reasons folks still take to the sail and navigate the waters under the power of the wind.

Morse code is very much an active mode, with a utility still applicable in this day and age. Preppers know this: when computer networks go down, and when modern communications technology fails, Morse code can be generated, transmitted, received, and decoded with the most minimal of technology.

Not only that, but the efficiency of CW (continuous wave modulation, A1A) in terms of propagation is impressive. Morse code can be effectively used to communicate over much greater distances than voice modes and many digital modes, using the same equipment, antenna, and power levels.

That said, FT8 has its place, too. I'll use either mode (and others, still) depending on what's going on at the time of operations. As I said, earlier, there are DX stations that are one of the few in a country that are on the air, and they are only operating FT8. They may never operate CW or SSB, so the only option is FT8.

Morse code does give me a greater sense of joy, wonder, and accomplishment, whenever I have a connection via the ionosphere and the tapping of my key. But, I get joy out of knowing that my little-pistol signal made it to wherever, by the mere magic of propagation, whether that was using a mode like FT8, Olivia, CW, or SSB.

 

More un needed automation in the world. No wonder our kids cant do anything but stare at a screen.

 

How well do those modes work if the internet is down ? How much hardware is needed for digital modes?

Sorry you feel like everyone is dumping on you, my reason for sharing information is some new hams may not know that CW is a violable mode and is very much alive and is a very simple form of communication, does not requite much hardware. You may feel that CW is an ancient technique but it is still a reliable form of communication that does not need to brake the bank.

Oh I almost forgot you asked why learn an ancient code, For me it is the satisfaction of learning something that most people are not willing to put in the time and effort to learn, it says something about their caricature, not good or bad ether way but just different.
Best wishes

 

I used to have a fixed-keel sloop that I sailed. Often had a hard time getting "stinky-boat" owners to understand the attraction to wind and sail. I like your analogy. Seems to me the choice towards CW is pretty much the same as that of choosing to glide silently through the waters in a wind driven sail-craft. Thanks for your analogy.