[ADXA] FT8 thoughts

[w5zn at w5zn.org]

Nice comments Dennis!

ZN


On 2019-06-29 12:02, Dennis Schaefer wrote:
> I’m not as active as I was at one time, but listen to CW a lot.  I’m
> not too worried about FT8 hurting ham radio, any more than DMR.  Lots
> of people gush about DMR and being able to work DX with a handheld.
> They don’t have a DX chasers heart - using the internet for 99% of the
> path isn’t a problem for them.  DMR was very popular and now seems to
> be dying back a bit.  I bought a DMR HT - it was $89.00 and everyone
> was talking about DMR and the club used DMR for a public service event
> we supported.   Some just love discussing code plugs and all the
> little technical details of connecting a radio to the internet and
> coming out anywhere in the world, but most people lose interest pretty
> quick.  I still use mine occasionally.
> 
> FT8 seems the same.  Everyone talks about FT8, so I did it.  It was
> different, and I loved the brightly colored screen and waterfall the
> same way I like the “bell ringing” tones of RTTY.   I used it for a
> magnetic loop demonstration where we were deep inside a building and
> couldn’t even hear any CW or SSB signals.   I’ve fired it up on other
> occasions, but it’s just a small part of my interest.  I can see
> people losing interest, though except for the hard core and others who
> are occasional users.   The reason is the protocol complications.  It
> was pretty simple at first, but now there are endless and unresolvable
> arguments about how to operate and when to log a QSO.  Do you need to
> copy a 73 message, or is RR73 OK?  Do you need to do something so the
> other guy will know you copied his 73?   When is getting the RRR
> message enough?   What about contest QSO’s?   DXpeditions?  Each of
> these has a different protocol and there are often disagreements about
> what it is.  Not only that, but if you disagree with someone’s idea of
> how it should be done, he may attack you on the internet, or send you
> a nasty text message.   People attack others for having a strong
> signal.  They have no idea that propagation and a good antenna can
> result in a strong signal, they think if someone has a high db level
> in their program, they are running “too much” power.   Because of
> this, I think growth of FT8 is self-limiting.  Many hams just won’t
> put up with this on a regular basis.
> 
> This incessant arguing may not be as prevalent on VHF, and FT8 really
> makes more sense for VHF.  I’ve listened for hundreds of hours on
> 144.200 and not heard any signals.  With FT8, I can set my rig to
> 144.174 and come in anytime and see if the band is open.   FT8 is a
> lot like the advent of the cluster - it takes away the responsibility
> to actually tune the band and listen.  That is probably overall a bad
> thing, but the reality is that most people will adapt to it and use
> the cluster and also **occasionally** use FT8 as a beacon.
> 
> Time to check 6 meters for DX, I guess - 73,
> Dennis
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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