Is fully automated FT8 now acceptable?

Some people like to watch grass grow. That is kind of like watching grass grow via their security camera computer monitor.

 

Fully automatic FT8 operation is frowned upon by Joe Taylor and WSJT development team. ARRL DXCC and awards department also views it very negatively. In the future, anyone caught with this sort of cheating (it is cheating) may very well face sanctions and loss of their awards. I personally take a very dim view of this kind of operation.

 

What's his call? I want to make sure I blacklist him.

 

that'd why i mentioned above that FT8 based QSO's may get an astericks in the future. My DXCC digital has some FT8 contacts comprising the 100 so that award has much, much, much less value to me than does the DXCC CW

 

I worked WF4W on FT8 two years ago. Was that you, or the previous callsign holder?

 

that was me - 10/24/17, 80m FT8

 

No. Not all FT8 should get asterisks. Working FT8 with a human behind the computer is very similar to working CW with macros, you press one button for your call and another one for 5NN TU.

Fully automated should be fully disqualified, but not those with a human behind the computer.

 

but how do you know who's a bot and who's live?

 

Just to clarify, what if I have the software in fully auto mode, but I'm sitting in the shack monitoring everything going on. Would that be acceptable? And how can we tell the difference between that and when I'm outside mowing the lawn? I guess it's on the honor system. ??

.............Bob

PS: I see WF4W beat me to the punch!

 

By fully automated, do you also mean unattended? I don't like either way, but there is some difference. This is why I call an unattended, fully automated station, a bot.

Not only that, but the automation type also varies. Auto CQ is different than Auto Call, for example. Auto Call is impossible to detect.