[Elecraft] Legacy = Low Latency: FSK-D mode

Peter Dougherty lists at w2irt.net
Sat Mar 23 01:41:36 EDT 2019


I concur. There have been some great RTTY ops at times, but more Dxpeditions had it as an afterthought and it showed in their rates. I've always hated RTTY pileups as a DXer. You need to have two active windows and a lot of luck finding the 599 on the second one, especially in a lidfest where nobody stops sending when the DX calls someone.

I'm currently sitting at 329 worked in digital, every one of them was on RTTY (including deleteds; 327 without). Included in there were some truly hellacious pileups 15-30 kHz wide. While I still enjoy the mode for simplex DXing or a simple "up 3", for high-demand DXpeditions I am grudgingly accepting that FT8 F/H is the way of the future, and will make a lot of DXers happy down the line. 

With Bouvet slated for FT8 as the sole digital mode, I'm hoping somehow to get another 4 more that I still need the old way, then I can hang the diddle up for good.

 - pjd

-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net <elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net> On Behalf Of Joe Subich, W4TV
Sent: Friday, March 22, 2019 9:01 PM
To: Elecraft <Elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Legacy = Low Latency: FSK-D mode


The issue is simply that DXPeditions mostly don't recruit quality RTTY operators.  A quality/experienced operator with proper software (GRITTY and/or a "broadband"/multi-channel decoder) can run rates comparable with CW or SSB.

73,

    ... Joe, W4TV


On 2019-03-22 8:45 PM, Wes wrote:
> I know about FT8 DXPedition mode.  I have used it a couple of times 
> just for the hell of it but I never claim DXCC credit for FT8 
> contacts.  I also know that 14080 isn't one of the "recommended" frequencies for FT8.
> 
> I would argue about the efficacy compared to CW.  I know it reports 
> all of those negative SNRs but they are bogus.  As to rates, when my 
> friend Ned, AA7A, was operating RTTY from S. Georgia and S. Sandwich 
> he was knocking them dead.  On 15 meters VP8SGI made almost the same 
> number of RTTY contacts as SSB contacts. They only operated RTTY on 
> three bands yet about 10% of their total Qs were RTTY.
> 
> Wes  N7WS
> 
> 
> On 3/22/2019 4:08 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
>> On 3/22/2019 3:29 PM, Wes wrote:
>>> DXCC certificate that actually says "RTTY" on it. Today it's harder 
>>> to find new ones, but I have 254 confirmed now with my modest station.
>>
>> Congrats on that.  I too am quite happy with AFSK.
>>
>>>
>>> It's great fun and even though it's a "digital" mode, operator skill 
>>> still makes a difference.
>>
>> Yep. RTTY contesting can be a lot of fun, especially with SO2R. A 
>> couple of guys in our contest club, WK6I and W0YK, win RTTY contests 
>> running three radios.  And operator skill also matters with FT8, even 
>> though it's also possible to make QSOs with minimal operator involvement.
>>>
>>> Unfortunately, I heard one of the current DXpeditions plopped on
>>> 14.080 using the abysmal FT8
>>
>> That's because 1) RTTY is very difficult for the DXpedition operator 
>> in a pileup, making for slow QSO rates; 2)  the latest version of 
>> WSJT-X includes a "DXpedition mode" that allows far greater rates 
>> than RTTY; and the signal to noise advantage of FT8 over CW 
>> (moderate) and SSB (a lot) allows QSOs over more difficult paths and 
>> with more modest stations.
>>
>> 73, Jim K9YC
> 
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