[Elecraft] FT8 - was "On Second Thought, I'll Take The Stairs"

[Nr4c]

I believe that half of US hams are Technician Class, so mostly VHF/UHF FM operators.  Not a lot of DX or contesting there. 

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...nr4c. bill


> On Jul 13, 2020, at 4:03 AM, David Gilbert <ab7echo at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> Fine, but that demarcation is pretty arbitrary.  You could just as easily go back to tube gear with crystal controlled transmitters and regenerative receivers., but I'd be a lot of money you don't.  The gear you operate compares little in form, fit or function to anything those folks used back then.  Your current radio almost certainly has a lot of digital signal processing already, and I'll bet you use a keyer instead of a hand key.  Quite frankly, I can just as easily imagine somebody at his keyboard on the other end as I could if he was operating a paddle.  Most DXing and almost all contesting is already somebody simply pounding on a function key on a keyboard.
> 
> And like I said before, it is entirely possible to preserve the bulk of everything you mention and still use modern signal processing to make human connections more achievable.  WSJT-X just doesn't happen to be that at this point, but that doesn't mean something else couldn't be.
> 
> Dave   AB7E
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> On 7/13/2020 12:41 AM, Victor Rosenthal 4X6GP wrote:
>> For me, it's simple.
>> 
>> When I make a CW contact, even if its total content is "ENN TU", I am connected to history, to Jack Phillips on the Titanic, to all of the military traffic men and airborne radio operators of WWII, to the operators on the merchant ships on the high seas and the Great Lakes, and to all the hams of the past, even Mr. Marconi, the first ham.
>> 
>> I like hearing the propagation change with my own ears and struggling to capture an ESP-level call. I like the feel of the key and the sound of the code. I like the idea that there is another person like me at the other end with his or her hand on a key.
>> 
>> I consider myself extremely lucky to have caught the bug at a young age and developed the skill needed to make CW as transparent to me as my mother tongue. I see how hard it is for those who begin to learn at middle age or older. They shouldn't give up -- it's worth it.
>> 
>> 73,
>> Victor, 4X6GP
>> Rehovot, Israel
>> Formerly K2VCO
>> CWops no. 5
>> http://www.qsl.net/k2vco/
>> .
>>> On 13/07/2020 5:06, Wayne Burdick wrote:
>>> 
>>>> On Jul 12, 2020, at 6:57 PM, David Gilbert <ab7echo at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Think of it this way ... CW works fine as both a contest mode,