[Elecraft] FT8: "Magic radio"?

[Bill Frantz]

I can't resist.

My accomplishments: I have a DXCC with 150+ LotW confirmed 
entities. I have over 100 entities on both digital and CW, less 
on voice. I have a triple play WAS. I have 5 contacts with 
KH1/KH7Z in their log, 2 CW, 2 FT8, and 1 SSB. (I'm missing 
RTTY.) I'm active in ARES/RACES, and like to rag chew, either on 
the local repeaters, or with PSK31. I'm trying to be a well 
rounded ham.

I look at FT8 as another step in station automation.

Back when I started, in the early 1960s, it was normal to have 
separate transmitters and receivers. Frequently people would 
have to manually switch the antenna between the two. Now we have 
full break in with CW. That's an advance in station automation.

We used to keep logs on paper, now many of us keep them on a 
computer reducing the chance for error in details like frequency 
and time. FT8 carries it a step further by building a log entry 
which includes the call, grid and signal reports. That's an 
advance in station automation.

We used to scan the bands by turning the big knob to locate 
other stations. Now we have spotting networks and panadapters. 
That's an advance in station automation.

When one station wanted to call another, it had to transmit for 
a long enough time so the other station could find him. CQs were 
long for the same reason. Now we can change to his listening 
frequency and make a call. Many people use this technique for 
working DX pileups. FT8 makes it even more automatic by 
highlighting all messages that include your call sign. That's an 
advance in station automation.

Where do I come down in all of this? I'm all over the place. In 
CW contests, I operate unassisted because I want to improve my 
CW skills, and getting the calls from a spot or decoder doesn't 
help me toward this goal. When working as part of a contest 
team, I'm happy using everything that is legal for our entry 
category. When trying to work rare DX, I'm quite happy running 
power. I just want to put out a clean signal and not be too 
obnoxious to other hams.

I've heard a lot of comment about various contest rules being 
too automated or requiring facilities that are not available to 
everyone. For example contests that provide real-time score 
tracking. Here I think we should let 1000 flowers bloom. Sure, 
enjoy Straight Key Night (SKN) and bring out your boat anchor 
and old paper log book. But also have contests where contesters 
and an audience can keep track of the scores in real time. Some 
people can't do CW and sit SKN out. Others may not have the 
Internet connectivity needed for the real-time contest. In the 
old days, many hams did not have a Teletype machine for RTTY 
contests and had to forgo RTTY contacts.

Do what you enjoy. Ham radio is a very big tent.

73 Bill AE6JV

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