What can i learn from FT8 thats all i want to know? Talking i can learn so much more. Propagation i can learn from from records already made. Without talking we can not learn. To generalize bad conversations is easy to talk about but, How about you get on the airways and have a conversation? Cat has their tongues as the ole saying goes! Communication and Advancement of Radio Art. Communicating to some one live is an Art! Some are good some are better. All about the knowledge and how the ideas and information comes out! Practice Advancement of Radio Art! FT8 has a place i suppose but not for me. Not talking is a problem. No horse no water here..73
There are several - I like CW, but I'm not very good at it. My "compromised" station has also operated PSK-31 and JS-8 on many occasions. JS-8 is a good option - almost the same carrying power as FT-8, buy you can actually chat on it - a few months ago I had a long JS-8 QSO with a ZL station that was barely above the noise floor - would have been difficult on CW! We were talking for about three quarters of an hour and JS8Call was reporting an effective speed of around 12wpm. Martin (G8FXC)
Back in the Long Ago Back in the early 1970s, I discovered shortwave radio. Within the first year, I discovered WWV, and heard the hourly solar and terrestrial activity reports. I was about eight years of age, and never heard of sunspots, or geomagnetic anythings. But, Skylab was just deployed, and I read about the artificial eclipse that they used to study the Sun. I did everything I could to learn about electronics, shortwave, propagation, Morse code, and so on. You can read more about my radio journey, here: https://g.nw7us.us/3lP0REy Fast forward to the 2000s Early in the new century, a digital mode called, Olivia, was developed and tested. It proved to be useful on HF--especially over polar paths. Olivia is a digital mode made for conversation--keyboard to keyboard, radio to radio, via the ionosphere on shortwave frequencies. (More information on Olivia can be found in the files and discussions at http://OliviaDigitalModes.net). While I have had many QSOs using PSK31, JT65a (I've written and co-written articles and made videos on JT65a), and JT9, I find Olivia to be very reliable and capable. Of course, I am also a CW nut. I enjoy leisurely chats by way of Morse code, using CW on many HF bands. Mostly, I am using a straight key (a mechanical key, the venerable World War Two US Navy Signaling Flameproof Key), and am active in the Straight Key Century Club activities, as life allows. But, in the last year or so, I have begun to hunt DX with a focus on adding more DX entities to my DXCC confirmed status (I am now just over 200 countries, between QSL cards and LotW). The hunt is not as easy as it was when I was just starting this DXCC effort. The more countries you get into your log, the more difficult it eventually becomes, because the more rare countries are not always on the air, or, propagation is not favorable. And, Here's My Main Point: When the more rare DX station is ONLY using FT8, and there's propagation between the DX station and my station, I will use FT8 to attempt getting that QSO into the log. And, if successful, eventually I hope to get it officially confirmed. For that matter, I will use nearly any mode, to match the DX operating choice, because I desire to have a QSO with that DX station. When they are using CW, I will use CW. If they are using SSB, I will too. When they are using FT8, there I am, waiting, watching their habits, and then I will strategize how I will call them and attempt to rise above the crowd. Yes, it is true: Hunting the more rare DX, using FT8 requires skill. No AI, no automation, will ever accomplish the same level of skill as that which a good DXer can wield. It takes strategy, planning, watching, patience, and careful selection of frequency. At least, that's my observation and these are my opinions. Your story may be very different. And, that's okay. Ham radio is a big space in which to play.
It's just occurred to me that there is a potentially big difference between DXCC for a US station and for a European station like me. DXCC does not take into account distance - it's just a quest for a large number of different countries in the logbook. For you guys on the west side of the pond, this implies distance to a large extent - for a station in the centre of the USA, a circle of radius 1000 miles may include as few as three DXCC entities. For a station in Central Europe, the same circle could contain upwards of 50 DXCC entities. I have not done the count in detail, but I guess that I probably could get a DXCC without ever having spoken to anyone more than a couple of thousand miles away... Martin (G8FXC)
The truth always hurts, doesn't it ??? What skill set in radio does FT8 provide or communication ability?
If you look at the number of threads created regarding difficulties that many hams have getting FT8 going on their rigs, I believe it sure helps a lot of hams get better acquainted with radio<->computer interfaces. For me personally though? I've learned a snot ton about propagation. I invite you to view this wonderful video provided by @MW1CFN in this thread: https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/21mhz-and-how-it-changed-yesterday.790037/ Tell me that you can't learn something from that?
e This is very true. The same can be said when comparing East and West coasts of US. Getting to DXCC is a LOT easier from Connecticut than it is from California. Question: how many super-station multi-multi winners do you see on the west coast in the DX contests? There may be a few, but where is K3LR? W3LPL? KC1XX? K1IR? Well, I will tell you where they ain't - west coast. 012-Contest Story -Liz:020-Gordon_Eton Review.qxd.qxd (cq-amateur-radio.com) But the great equalizer is getting to the Honor Roll. Noone has an advantage. Everyone has to go through the same hurdles. Some entities are harder for one location over another, but nobody gets to the top with an "advantage of geography." It's skill on top of the station. Butt-in-the-chair, ears open, understanding conditions, reading and refining technique...that's what gets a ham to the top.
It is interesting that no one (that I can see) has replied to your valid and (as far as I can ascertain) true assessment of fully-automated FT8 transmissions such is afforded by this AutoFT8 (and possibly other variations). Me thinks that there are some operators out there who pretend ignorance of the rules, and do whatever...
It's official now. Please do not connect directly to the RBN for FT8 spots, use a 'retail' cluster. https://reversebeacon.blogspot.com/2022/01/where-to-get-rbnspots-for-users-in-last.html
