I think it's way too simplistic to dismiss FT8 as being merely a phase.
I haven't tried it yet, but it seems to me that FT8 contacts have
similar appeal to folks who try to rack up as many countries or other
entities as they can ... where having a chat isn't the main intent.
I've made a ton of CW contacts where all I had to do was copy a callsign
and push a button on my keyboard to send my info. I doubt you can make
a strong case that those were much different than an FT8 contact.
It is certainly likely that some other mode will eventually take it's
place, but I don't see sub-noisefloor modes ever going away. They simply
have too much benefit for hams with antenna and/or power restrictions.
Besides, I could probably argue that exploring new modes is well within
the spirit of ham radio ... something you seem to have forgotten.
Dave AB7E
On 6/1/2018 9:59 AM, Al Lorona wrote:
I wrote an April Fool's article back in like 1999 (I might still be able to
find it on dejanews) describing a make-believe ARRL contest which was totally
automated; contesters could come home from work and peruse their logs to see
what stations their computers had 'worked' that day. When parody becomes
reality, it's no longer funny. I'm chagrined that that fictitious day appears
to have finally arrived.
FT8 is just a phase. It is the mode du jour, the next in a long parade of
digital modes that stretches back to AMTOR and packet. This too, shall pass, to
be replaced with the Next Big Mode, which in turn will pass and be replaced. In
the meantime, there hasn't been a single CW signal in the morning on 40 meters
so I can test out my new homebrew FD rig. It's very depressing.
Al W6LX
From: Wayne Burdick <n...@elecraft.com>
To: Elecraft Reflector <elecraft@mailman.qth.net>
Cc: "k...@yahoogroups.com" <k...@yahoogroups.com>; elecraft...@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, June 1, 2018 8:47 AM
Subject: [Elecraft] Boldly OT: 6 meter Sporadic-E season and the FT-8
microjuggernaut
At first I thought it was my receiver. Or my antenna farm, limited in scale by a pre-nuptial clause. Or noise caused by the zomboid army of switching power supplies oozing inexorably into my personal space.
Nope.
It turns out the dearth of CW and SSB signals on 6 meters at the height of 2018
Spring Sporadic-E season can be traced to one factor: the 24-hour intravenous
rave that is FT-8.
Yeah, I get the whole sub-noise-floor-and-not-automated-(wink)-QSO thing. But
I’d like to figure out how those of us who enjoy the occasional gear-grinding
manual-transmission contact can find each other on this brave new highway.
Ideas?
Wayne
N6KR
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