[ADXA] DXpeditions, RTTY, FT8. etc

[Dennis Schaefer]

First, welcome to Phillip!  This is an active group and I think you will
enjoy it.  Also, congratulations to Jay on being named a card checker.
That's a job that involves actual work and we appreciate all of you.

I've been enjoying trying to get to a better DeSoto Challenge number, and
have been chasing the DXpeditions.  So far, here's the score:

D60AE - CW 40, 20, 17, 12, 10M.  SSB 20M.  Digital none

TY0RU - CW 40, 20, 12, and 10.  SSB 20, 17, 12, and 10. Digital 30, 15

J28MD - CW 20, 17, 15, 10.  SSB - none.  Digital 15, 12

5V7RU - CW 20, 15.  SSB 15.  Digital 40, 30, 17, 15, 12, 10

VK9CM - no contacts

P29RO - CW - 12.  SSB 15, 10.  Digital 15, 10

T88WA - CW 17, 12, 10.  SSB 15, 12, 10.  Digital 20, 12, 10

A35GC - CW 40, 20, 17, 15, 12, 10.  SSB none.  Digital 15, 12, 10

T33t - no contacts

TL8AA/ZZ  CW 17,  SSB 20.  Digital 40, 30, 20, 17, 15.

The obvious need is for antennas for 80 and 160.

I've been intending to add to my dismal total on 30M this fall and winter
but have been kept busy chasing these expeditions.  I'll get more CW and
SSB contacts with the TL8's but they seemed to spend the first day or so on
digital and I went ahead and knocked those off.

I have a theory about why FT modes have largely supplanted RTTY.  I love
RTTY, the sound of it, and the fact that you can make contacts much faster
than on FT8.  However, I looked at my Kenwood rig and it has FSK and
FSK-Reverse on the mode buttons.  Then it has a separate setting to reverse
the tones in the menu.  I seem to remember that the firmware had at least
one of these settings backwards so you had to set it "wrong' to have proper
tones.  I use Microham devices and the Device Driver has at least one place
to set the RTTY tones.  I used MMTTY, and guess what....you have to tell it
how you want the tones.  None of this is rocket science, and I'm certainly
capable of coping with it, but with Joe Taylor's software, you install it,
enter your callsign and grid square, and you're on the air.  CAT control
helps, but that is also easy.

On the robotic thing - yeah, I think some guy in Europe wrote a robotic
version.  I don't see why a good programmer couldn't completely automate
CW, RTTY, PSK31, maybe even SSB voice. I'm sure it's been done.  Most of us
sit right here and bang the key or push the buttons to make contacts on CW,
RTTY, FT8, etc.  Some people record their calls and just push the buttons
to make SSB contacts.   Nothing wrong with any of that.  Further automation
is always possible, but I doubt if many want to do itthat way.

I haven't given up on RTTY and will probably set it up again one day when I
have time.  However, I think I see why FT modes have become so popular.
They are not robotic modes, not weak signal modes, not low power modes -
they are simply digital modes that are very easy to get set up.  I intend
to use them as much as I need to in adding to my DeSoto points.
73,
Dennis
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