[Lowfer] Opera (and more)

[Douglas D. Williams]

I'm not really in this hobby (low frequency radio) to communicate with
anyone. I have the internet, telephone, and cell phone for that. For me,
I'm attracted to the esoteric nature of the hobby, the "thrill of the hunt"
when looking for weak signals, and occasionally melting some solder and
building something that (sometimes) works. If a newer digital mode proves
superior to QRSS for weak signal work, then I'm willing to give it a shot.
So far, I haven't found one that does, and I (like John) am not thrilled
with any mode that forces us to be connected to the internet.

D. KB4OER




On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 3:02 AM, JD <listread at lwca.org> wrote:

> >>>Newest version of Opera at....
>
> Can you use it at all without an Internet connection?  It would be helpful
> to know before I go stuffing any more software onto my marginally adequate
> little notebook for field use.
>
> I often kid that WSPR stands for "Web Surfing Passing as Radio," but so far
> as I can tell, at least it doesn't force spotting on you.  The Internet is
> an option that's just not going to be available at my monitoring post for
> the foreseeable future, so that's one reason I'd kind of hope more stations
> will be using standalone, communication-oriented modes in
> future..."generic"
> WSJT, for instance, instead of WSPR.
>
> The other reason is that one big justification given for 600m ham operation
> is its potential for groundwave communication.  I would personally define
> communication as an exchange of self-contained messages of arbitrary length
> and content...not simply highly formatted propagation reports.  At the risk
> of being a curmudgeon, I really do get the impression some software
> packages
> have more elements of online social networking than than radio operation
> behind them.
>
> I've finally been forced to join the late 20th century with regard to
> demodulating and decoding a wider range of digital modes lately, but I must
> admit, I like to start with a track record of proven results then build
> from
> there rather than opt for the latest novelty.  MFSK modes may be able to
> achieve worthwhile results, but they are proliferating too rapidly for an
> old geezer to keep up with who's sending what--or to know if my software is
> even capable of whatever specific variant is being sent at a specific
> instance.  By the time I click a few buttons to see what works, the sending
> station has switched to another mode anyway.
>
> On the other hand, I like to fantasize that more stations might someday
> further explore modes that are becoming more 'standardized,' like PSK31 and
> its other speeds, with a focus on real-world communication below the AM
> BCB.
> Before having to dig into digimodes myself, I thought PSK31 sounded like
> just another sort of trendy deal, but I've since developed an appreciation
> for it.  Even with the strongest Amtor/Navtex transmissions, I seldom get
> more than low-90% decoding accuracy.  But Ralph's PSK31 segments as
> WD2XSH/7
> have always given me 100% perfect copy thus far, even during a few moderate
> fades.
>
> Sorry for the rant, and I certainly don't mean to put down _any_ hobby
> activity anyone enjoys for its own sake, but I've been curious lately where
> folks feel the emphasis really lies for future 600 m operation.
>
> John
>
>
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