Elecraft

FT 8

Classic

List

Threaded

20 messages Options

Bill Levy

FT 8

As an old dog I am sorry to see that FT8 has become all the rage.
I grew up with a few vacuum tubes and a dipole. AM carrier controlled, 5
tube receivers. Loved CW when I had very little. Love SSB with big antennas
and towers.

FT8 changes the game. No more rag chews. So this is what DX has become. No
big power, no big antennas. Someone will write an app that will tell the
radio to keep calling cq and log contacts. V.2 of the App will record new
prefixes and club log it.

I may feel critical as I write this but the future is not mine and all is
fair in love and war.

Sincerely, Bill N2WL
______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Message delivered to [hidden email]

EricJ

Re: FT 8

Here ya go. SV5DKL has done exactly that. This AE5X blog entry is two
months ago.

http://ae5x.blogspot.com/2018/01/video-fully-automated-ft8-qsos.html

Who knows? Hams might have to go back to homebrewing as a hobby.

Eric KE6US

On 3/3/2018 3:57 PM, William Levy wrote:

> As an old dog I am sorry to see that FT8 has become all the rage.
> I grew up with a few vacuum tubes and a dipole. AM carrier controlled, 5
> tube receivers. Loved CW when I had very little. Love SSB with big antennas
> and towers.
>
> FT8 changes the game. No more rag chews. So this is what DX has become. No
> big power, no big antennas. Someone will write an app that will tell the
> radio to keep calling cq and log contacts. V.2 of the App will record new
> prefixes and club log it.
>
> I may feel critical as I write this but the future is not mine and all is
> fair in love and war.
>
> Sincerely, Bill N2WL
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Message delivered to [hidden email]

k6mkf

Re: FT 8

In reply to this post by Bill Levy

The Old Signalman, seeing the new-fangled
telegraph poles and wires stretching off to the horizon, threw down his semaphore flags in disgust.

-- Mike Flowers, K6MKF, NCDXC - "It's about DX!"

> On Mar 3, 2018, at 3:57 PM, William Levy <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> As an old dog I am sorry to see that FT8 has become all the rage.
> I grew up with a few vacuum tubes and a dipole. AM carrier controlled, 5
> tube receivers. Loved CW when I had very little. Love SSB with big antennas
> and towers.
>
> FT8 changes the game. No more rag chews. So this is what DX has become. No
> big power, no big antennas. Someone will write an app that will tell the
> radio to keep calling cq and log contacts. V.2 of the App will record new
> prefixes and club log it.
>
> I may feel critical as I write this but the future is not mine and all is
> fair in love and war.
>
> Sincerely, Bill N2WL
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

Wes Stewart-2

Re: FT 8

In reply to this post by Bill Levy

Quoting myself in part from an email to my DX club reflector re: FT8

"I think I will set a personal standard, at least for awards purposes, that 1) I
will be at the controls of the station. 2) I won't count any QSO that couldn't
have been copied on CW. 3) I won't count any QSO that requires the software to
have prior knowledge of the two station calls or could not be copied by an
uninterested third party.

I'm sure there will be critics who declare that I'm an old fogy who is longing
for the return of spark. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have
worked on the cutting edge of new technologies for years. But, I also believe
that there should be some value added by way of operator skill."

Since that time I'm adding 4) If JTAlert pops up with a text message from my QSO
partner wherein he tells me what he's copied and what I should send next, I will
not complete the QSO.

Wes N7WS

On 3/3/2018 4:57 PM, William Levy wrote:

Ken G Kopp

Re: FT 8

Hi Wes!

"Operator skill" ...

Surely you jest ...

73!

K0PP

On Sat, Mar 3, 2018, 17:44 Wes Stewart <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Quoting myself in part from an email to my DX club reflector re: FT8
>
> "I think I will set a personal standard, at least for awards purposes,
> that 1) I
> will be at the controls of the station. 2) I won't count any QSO that
> couldn't
> have been copied on CW. 3) I won't count any QSO that requires the
> software to
> have prior knowledge of the two station calls or could not be copied by an
> uninterested third party.
>
> I'm sure there will be critics who declare that I'm an old fogy who is
> longing
> for the return of spark. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have
> worked on the cutting edge of new technologies for years. But, I also
> believe
> that there should be some value added by way of operator skill."
>
> Since that time I'm adding 4) If JTAlert pops up with a text message from
> my QSO
> partner wherein he tells me what he's copied and what I should send next,
> I will
> not complete the QSO.
>
> Wes N7WS
>
>
>
> On 3/3/2018 4:57 PM, William Levy wrote:
> > As an old dog I am sorry to see that FT8 has become all the rage.
> > I grew up with a few vacuum tubes and a dipole. AM carrier controlled, 5
> > tube receivers. Loved CW when I had very little. Love SSB with big
> antennas
> > and towers.
> >
> > FT8 changes the game. No more rag chews. So this is what DX has become.
> No
> > big power, no big antennas. Someone will write an app that will tell the
> > radio to keep calling cq and log contacts. V.2 of the App will record new
> > prefixes and club log it.
> >
> > I may feel critical as I write this but the future is not mine and all is
> > fair in love and war.
> >
> > Sincerely, Bill N2WL
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

wayne burdick

Re: FT 8

Administrator

In reply to this post by Wes Stewart-2

Seconded.

They had to pry the stick-shift out of my hand, too, when my CRV was trashed by a drunk and, valuing gas mileage over sportiness, I got a Prius.

Still, I wouldn’t want the self-driving model.

Wayne

----
http://www.elecraft.com

> On Mar 3, 2018, at 4:43 PM, Wes Stewart <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Quoting myself in part from an email to my DX club reflector re: FT8
>
> "I think I will set a personal standard, at least for awards purposes, that 1) I will be at the controls of the station. 2) I won't count any QSO that couldn't have been copied on CW. 3) I won't count any QSO that requires the software to have prior knowledge of the two station calls or could not be copied by an uninterested third party.
>
> I'm sure there will be critics who declare that I'm an old fogy who is longing for the return of spark. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have worked on the cutting edge of new technologies for years. But, I also believe that there should be some value added by way of operator skill."
>
> Since that time I'm adding 4) If JTAlert pops up with a text message from my QSO partner wherein he tells me what he's copied and what I should send next, I will not complete the QSO.
>
> Wes N7WS
>
>
>
>> On 3/3/2018 4:57 PM, William Levy wrote:
>> As an old dog I am sorry to see that FT8 has become all the rage.
>> I grew up with a few vacuum tubes and a dipole. AM carrier controlled, 5
>> tube receivers. Loved CW when I had very little. Love SSB with big antennas
>> and towers.
>>
>> FT8 changes the game. No more rag chews. So this is what DX has become. No
>> big power, no big antennas. Someone will write an app that will tell the
>> radio to keep calling cq and log contacts. V.2 of the App will record new
>> prefixes and club log it.
>>
>> I may feel critical as I write this but the future is not mine and all is
>> fair in love and war.
>>
>> Sincerely, Bill N2WL
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

rich hurd WC3T

Re: FT 8

In reply to this post by Ken G Kopp

At the risk of arousing the ire of those who have gone before me, I humbly
submit that we have beat the FT8 horse to death - many times over.

Nobody's going to be happy about the ultimate answer and it might be best
to just let nature take its course, no matter what it is.

On Sat, Mar 3, 2018 at 7:49 PM, Ken G Kopp <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Hi Wes!
>
> "Operator skill" ...
>
> Surely you jest ...
>
> 73!
>
> K0PP
>
> On Sat, Mar 3, 2018, 17:44 Wes Stewart <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> > Quoting myself in part from an email to my DX club reflector re: FT8
> >
> > "I think I will set a personal standard, at least for awards purposes,
> > that 1) I
> > will be at the controls of the station. 2) I won't count any QSO that
> > couldn't
> > have been copied on CW. 3) I won't count any QSO that requires the
> > software to
> > have prior knowledge of the two station calls or could not be copied by
> an
> > uninterested third party.
> >
> > I'm sure there will be critics who declare that I'm an old fogy who is
> > longing
> > for the return of spark. Nothing could be further from the truth. I
> have
> > worked on the cutting edge of new technologies for years. But, I also
> > believe
> > that there should be some value added by way of operator skill."
> >
> > Since that time I'm adding 4) If JTAlert pops up with a text message from
> > my QSO
> > partner wherein he tells me what he's copied and what I should send next,
> > I will
> > not complete the QSO.
> >
> > Wes N7WS
> >
> >
> >
> > On 3/3/2018 4:57 PM, William Levy wrote:
> > > As an old dog I am sorry to see that FT8 has become all the rage.
> > > I grew up with a few vacuum tubes and a dipole. AM carrier controlled,
> 5
> > > tube receivers. Loved CW when I had very little. Love SSB with big
> > antennas
> > > and towers.
> > >
> > > FT8 changes the game. No more rag chews. So this is what DX has become.
> > No
> > > big power, no big antennas. Someone will write an app that will tell
> the
> > > radio to keep calling cq and log contacts. V.2 of the App will record
> new
> > > prefixes and club log it.
> > >
> > > I may feel critical as I write this but the future is not mine and all
> is
> > > fair in love and war.
> > >
> > > Sincerely, Bill N2WL
> >
> > ______________________________________________________________
> > Elecraft mailing list
> > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> > Post: mailto:[hidden email]
> >
> > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> > Message delivered to [hidden email]
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>

--
72,
Rich Hurd / WC3T / DMR: 3142737
PA Army MARS, Northampton County RACES, EPA-ARRL Public Information Officer
for Scouting
Latitude: 40.761621 Longitude: -75.288988 (40°45.68' N 75°17.33' W) Grid:
*FN20is*
______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Message delivered to [hidden email]

NK7Z

Re: FT 8

In reply to this post by wayne burdick

On 03/03/2018 05:09 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote:

> Still, I wouldn’t want the self-driving model.
>
> Wayne

...and still you bought a Prius. :)

73s and thanks,
Dave
NK7Z
https://www.nk7z.net

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Message delivered to [hidden email]

Jim Brown-10

Re: FT 8

In reply to this post by Wes Stewart-2

On 3/3/2018 4:43 PM, Wes Stewart wrote:
> I won't count any QSO that requires the software to have prior
> knowledge of the two station calls or could not be copied by an
> uninterested third party.

Misconception alert: WSJT modes do NOT require prior knowledge of any
part of the message sent or received. For some modes, WSJT CAN be set to
consult a database for what they call a "deep search" function that can
reach a dB or two deeper into the noise. I don't know details, but it's
my impression that it's used on EME (moonbounce) and for weak signal VHF
work.

WSJT modes are much like RTTY in signals can be copied by anyone using
software that decodes these modes, and like CW, in that they can be
copied by anyone with CW skills. :)

On 3/3/2018 3:57 PM, William Levy wrote:
> FT8 changes the game. No more rag chews. So this is what DX has become. No big power, no big antennas.

What passes for ragchewing on HF and VHF/UHF FM bores me to tears (and
often turns me off). FWIW, ham radio was never about rag chewing --
rather it IS about radios and antennas and electronics and networks. And
on the operating side, I enjoy challenging myself with contesting.

YOU may have big antennas (I do now, deep into retirement, but for my
first 50 years in ham radio I didn't). Many hams live in cities, towns,
and housing developments where they cannot have anything visible. Many
hams are surrounded by electronically generated noise. WSJT modes allow
us to work 10-20 dB deeper into the noise floor than a very good CW op,
giving a ham mired in noise and with limited antennas a chance at
playing radio. I see nothing at all wrong with that!

73, Jim K9YC
______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Message delivered to [hidden email]

wayne burdick

Re: FT 8

Administrator

In reply to this post by NK7Z

>
> ...and still you bought a Prius. :)

... and I get 60 MPG. I think of it as a QRPmobile (one that sips rather than guzzles fuel), thus rendering it not OT.

Wayne

>
>
> 73s and thanks,
> Dave
> NK7Z
> https://www.nk7z.net
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

Wes Stewart-2

Re: FT 8

In reply to this post by Jim Brown-10

Offered without comment:

http://www.sm2cew.com/jt65.html

On 3/3/2018 6:18 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
> On 3/3/2018 4:43 PM, Wes Stewart wrote:
>> I won't count any QSO that requires the software to have prior knowledge of
>> the two station calls or could not be copied by an uninterested third party.
>
> Misconception alert: WSJT modes do NOT require prior knowledge of any part of
> the message sent or received. For some modes, WSJT CAN be set to consult a
> database for what they call a "deep search" function that can reach a dB or
> two deeper into the noise. I don't know details, but it's my impression that
> it's used on EME (moonbounce) and for weak signal VHF work.

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Message delivered to [hidden email]

Wes Stewart-2

Re: FT 8

In reply to this post by NK7Z

Well, he does live on the left coast in N. CA. ;-)

Contrast that to one of his engineers who lives in Tucson. He drives a Tesla.

Personally, I use all of my electrons powering my Elecraft gear and still burn
petrol* in my automobile.

Wes N7WS

* I drive an Australian-built Pontiac G8-GT.

On 3/3/2018 6:14 PM, Dave Cole (NK7Z) wrote:

> On 03/03/2018 05:09 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote:
>
> > Still, I wouldn’t want the self-driving model.
> >
> > Wayne
>
> ...and still you bought a Prius. :)
>
>
> 73s and thanks,
> Dave
> NK7Z
> https://www.nk7z.net

Roger K7SJ

Re: FT 8

Having a ball using my J-38 racking nice chatty QSO’s on 40 and 80 CW in the Novice Rig Roundup, Google it and come join the fun, all week long!!
73, Roger K7SJ/VE1 Nova Scotia

Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 3, 2018, at 10:15 PM, Wes Stewart <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Well, he does live on the left coast in N. CA. ;-)
>
> Contrast that to one of his engineers who lives in Tucson. He drives a Tesla.
>
> Personally, I use all of my electrons powering my Elecraft gear and still burn petrol* in my automobile.
>
> Wes N7WS
>
> * I drive an Australian-built Pontiac G8-GT.
>
>> On 3/3/2018 6:14 PM, Dave Cole (NK7Z) wrote:
>> On 03/03/2018 05:09 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote:
>>
>> > Still, I wouldn’t want the self-driving model.
>> >
>> > Wayne
>>
>> ...and still you bought a Prius. :)
>>
>>
>> 73s and thanks,
>> Dave
>> NK7Z
>> https://www.nk7z.net
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

K3 #75

John Harper

Re: FT 8

In reply to this post by Bill Levy

I think FT8 and, more significantly, FT8's future iterations will add to
ham radio in ways that aren't being considered.

For example, adding an extra layer to the computer time sync requirement of
future modes (and with those computers being on the 'net) could allow DFing
of each station worked. Or the exact propagation path could be made known
via the time delay in working stations at known locations - was it direct
path, LP, gray line or something else? Imagine that info being plotted on a
map in almost-real-time by a future version of WSJT. Opens up a lot of
possibilities in learning propagation while "our computers work each other".

For those who are inherently against this mode and the automation behind
it, I don my flamesuit and say that we are hams, not CBers. It doesn't have
to be about human QSO's and human contacts - we can also engage in modes
that allow the vagaries of propagation and other aspects of radio to be
investigated in ways that aren't possible with current modes of
communication.

John AE5X
______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Message delivered to [hidden email]

NK7Z

Re: FT 8

In reply to this post by wayne burdick

That is a cute name for the Prius, the QRP Mobile...

73s and thanks,
Dave
NK7Z
https://www.nk7z.net

On 03/03/2018 05:37 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote:

>
>>
>> ...and still you bought a Prius. :)
>
> ... and I get 60 MPG. I think of it as a QRPmobile (one that sips rather than guzzles fuel), thus rendering it not OT.
>
> Wayne
>
>
>>
>>
>> 73s and thanks,
>> Dave
>> NK7Z
>> https://www.nk7z.net
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>> Message delivered to [hidden email]

w0mu

Re: FT 8

In reply to this post by rich hurd WC3T

If you like it use it! If not move on. Like packet it is out of the
bag. It is not going back in.

FT8 has allowed many people with less than ideal situations to work dx
they never had a chance to work before. This is a good thing no?
People should want to operate and make contacts.

I didn't realize that people using a couple of Kc of bandspace was a
problem. At least 100 people can operate in less space than an SSTV
signal or SSB signal.

I operated CW in the past, but really loved SSB, today it is the other
way around and I also enjoy FT8 as I can operate and work at the same time.

Things change, life keep on. Much to do about nothing.

W0MU

On 3/3/2018 6:11 PM, rich hurd WC3T wrote:

> At the risk of arousing the ire of those who have gone before me, I humbly
> submit that we have beat the FT8 horse to death - many times over.
>
> Nobody's going to be happy about the ultimate answer and it might be best
> to just let nature take its course, no matter what it is.
>
> On Sat, Mar 3, 2018 at 7:49 PM, Ken G Kopp <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> Hi Wes!
>>
>> "Operator skill" ...
>>
>> Surely you jest ...
>>
>> 73!
>>
>> K0PP
>>
>> On Sat, Mar 3, 2018, 17:44 Wes Stewart <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>>> Quoting myself in part from an email to my DX club reflector re: FT8
>>>
>>> "I think I will set a personal standard, at least for awards purposes,
>>> that 1) I
>>> will be at the controls of the station. 2) I won't count any QSO that
>>> couldn't
>>> have been copied on CW. 3) I won't count any QSO that requires the
>>> software to
>>> have prior knowledge of the two station calls or could not be copied by
>> an
>>> uninterested third party.
>>>
>>> I'm sure there will be critics who declare that I'm an old fogy who is
>>> longing
>>> for the return of spark. Nothing could be further from the truth. I
>> have
>>> worked on the cutting edge of new technologies for years. But, I also
>>> believe
>>> that there should be some value added by way of operator skill."
>>>
>>> Since that time I'm adding 4) If JTAlert pops up with a text message from
>>> my QSO
>>> partner wherein he tells me what he's copied and what I should send next,
>>> I will
>>> not complete the QSO.
>>>
>>> Wes N7WS
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 3/3/2018 4:57 PM, William Levy wrote:
>>>> As an old dog I am sorry to see that FT8 has become all the rage.
>>>> I grew up with a few vacuum tubes and a dipole. AM carrier controlled,
>> 5
>>>> tube receivers. Loved CW when I had very little. Love SSB with big
>>> antennas
>>>> and towers.
>>>>
>>>> FT8 changes the game. No more rag chews. So this is what DX has become.
>>> No
>>>> big power, no big antennas. Someone will write an app that will tell
>> the
>>>> radio to keep calling cq and log contacts. V.2 of the App will record
>> new
>>>> prefixes and club log it.
>>>>
>>>> I may feel critical as I write this but the future is not mine and all
>> is
>>>> fair in love and war.
>>>>
>>>> Sincerely, Bill N2WL
>>> ______________________________________________________________
>>> Elecraft mailing list
>>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>>
>>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>>
>
>

Neil Zampella

Re: FT 8

In reply to this post by Wes Stewart-2

Well I'll comment on it.

1. its from 2009 ... and refers to the old WSJT v6
2. Its obvious he has not looked at the code for the JT65 decoder

Now the system can use the saved data from previous QSOs, but there are
so many new users that the only thing its good for is to show whether or
not you can classify a call as new or is a previous contact.

You can say what you want about the FT8, but it has made many operators
who live in marginal locations, with compromised antenna able to use
their license once more.

Neil, KN3ILZ

On 3/3/2018 9:11 PM, Wes Stewart wrote:

> Offered without comment:
>
> http://www.sm2cew.com/jt65.html
>
>
> On 3/3/2018 6:18 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
>> On 3/3/2018 4:43 PM, Wes Stewart wrote:
>>> I won't count any QSO that requires the software to have prior
>>> knowledge of the two station calls or could not be copied by an
>>> uninterested third party.
>>
>> Misconception alert: WSJT modes do NOT require prior knowledge of any
>> part of the message sent or received. For some modes, WSJT CAN be set
>> to consult a database for what they call a "deep search" function
>> that can reach a dB or two deeper into the noise. I don't know
>> details, but it's my impression that it's used on EME (moonbounce)
>> and for weak signal VHF work.
>
>

Bill Frantz

Re: FT 8

I guess I'm just impure in my ham radio operation. Today I
helped the local ARES/RACES group test communications between a
possible repeater site and various places in town operating my
HT between .1 and 5 watts. Then I went home an fought through a
pileup for XR0YD on 40M CW using 850 watts using only the K3's
memories. Then I got on FT8 at 100W to try to contact a friend
who was in Honduras, but no joy.

When I was lucky enough to contact VE2XK on 6M FT8 New Years
Eve, I used the K3, 100W and my 160M dipole. He came in at -07
dB and received me at -15 dB, FN06 to CM97. Machine generated
signal reports take a lot of the guess work out of how well
you're getting out.

I found FT8 to be ideal for when I was recovering from cancer
therapy. I had no energy and the automatic operation let me be
on the air and have some fun. I'm glad my health is back to a
state where I have the energy to work a contest.

When my wife and I bought a new Subaru Forester, our principle
requirement was a manual transmission. Our 1993 Miata has 300K+
miles and a manual transmission.

Tomorrow, I plan to get out the straight key and try not
embarrass myself too much when I try to check into the CW net.
With luck, my schedule and the contest will let me try to check
into the SSB net. I don't know how much power I'll run for those checkins.

I think my weakest signal situation was when I was activation
Kings County for the California QSO party. I had my 10W K3
operating into a Little Tarheel screwdriver antenna on my car
operating out of a model parking lot. I made a few 80M SSB QSOs,
but every one of the operators I managed to complete a contact
with said something like, "You're way down in the noise, but
we'll make it work." Many thanks to them.

Ham radio is a wonderful hobby, and there are many ways to enjoy it.

73 Bill AE6JV

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Frantz | Security is like Government | Periwinkle
(408)356-8506 | services. The market doesn't | 16345
Englewood Ave
www.pwpconsult.com | want to pay for them. | Los Gatos,
CA 95032

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Message delivered to [hidden email]

Edward R Cole

Re: FT 8

In reply to this post by Bill Levy

I haven't yet used FT8, but 15-years use of JT65 on 2m-em (and 6m & 23cm eme).

FT8 and JT65 plus other variants are for making basic contacts where
one exchanges call signs and signal reports (and grid squares for
some contests).
Not really designed for any conversation. This satisfies DXer's and
contesters, grid chasers, etc.

Note: deep-search is used with marginally weak signals to speed up
decoding (adds about 2-3 dB sensitivity). Basically is a listing of
all eme stations worldwide so the software does not have to look for
all random possibilities of call signs. Some feel this is a kind of
cheating and have deep-search off during contests.

QRA is a new digital mode that is purportedly more sensitive without
use of the call sign list. I agree that contests should require
operator interface real-time (no auto contesting). Contesting is
supposed to be a test of station capability and the operator's skill.

But I enjoy a nice chat on phone on occasion and only RTTY and psk-31
have sufficed as digital equivalent.
There are some digital modes that work like e-mail but are not
real-time exchange.

A new mode is being explored called WSQ which may offer a digital
alternative to CW/phone. Quite a bit of its use on 630m!
My 630m antenna is hung up at this point so cannot fully raise
it. Having sat-TV guy out soon and might convince him to get wires
cleared on the roof if he needs to adjust the dish. I'm not allowed
to climb anymore.

73, Ed - KL7UW
http://www.kl7uw.com
Dubus-NA Business mail:
[hidden email]

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Message delivered to [hidden email]

KENT TRIMBLE

Re: FT 8

In reply to this post by Bill Levy

I did a Show-N-Tell with our club’s CW class last Saturday using my
46-year old Hallicrafters T.O. Keyer so they could operate the first
successful commercial electronic keyer, and to underscore how viable
vintage tube gear still can be. To add luster, I dug through old log
books to resurrect that oft-remembered, highly enjoyable, and
technically informative hour-long QSO I had on May 24, 1976, with Jim
Ricks, W9TO, the original designer of that mercury-wetted relay circuit,
and in whose honor Bill Halligan named the keyer when he put it into
production (a courtesy Martin Jue has yet to learn).

Forty-six years from now I hope hams will enjoy showing off their old
towers and laptops to each other as they try in vain to remember
memorable conversations with living human beings that never took place.

73,

Kent K9ZTV

On 3/3/2018 5:57 PM, William Levy wrote: