[PaQSO] Digital Modes -Mark

[w3hkk at roadrunner.com]

Couldnt agree more with Mark's comments on FT8.  Tuning the bands  ( these days:  160-80-40-30-20m ),   the number of cw stations and PSK stations seem way down.  Even on ssb there are fewer ops   Granted the bottom of ths sunspot cycle has affected things  dramatically, but I believe its more than that.  Or rather as the result of decreased sigs, people have moved to FT8, as its often the only  way to get thru.

I have been chasing 3W8B for the past six months.  Back in the spring we  often made contact on 20 cw.But come  June, no more sigs.  We'd chat via skype and make skeds but no more sigs.  July-Aug-Sep were just as bad.

Bruce says that since May, he now makes 95% of his contacts on FT8 as thats the only mode he can work the US on. 

I dont know how many times Ive tuned 160 40  30  and 20m only to  find no sigs EXCEPT  FT8.  

Its  really surprising. But its the only mode that works, here at the bottom.  

Im 76, and would rather struggle with  cw ssk or PSK  chasing DX or in  a contest ora  rag chew qso, than go FT8.  But you pay a steep price for the lack of ops on those modes.  Thank heavens for contests!  They bring  ops out of the woodwork.  So I dont believe we appreciate enough just how much contesting  means to ham radio, especially these days.

But until the cycle turns, and people get tired of the limited computer-assisted exchanges, FT8 will remain an astonishingly  effective way to make qsos - and in many cases - the ONLY way, much of the time.