The technical advantages of FT8/FT4 operation are indisputable, and it is not
the intention here to deny them.
The problem that needs to be pointed out, however, is not a technical one but a
systemic one—and its core is DXCC.
Devaluation of DXCC – blurring the differences between fundamentally different
types of contacts
FT8 is capable of decoding signals deep below the noise floor, in a region
where the human ear is physiologically unable to distinguish CW or SSB signals.
No matter how hard I try, I simply cannot hear a CW signal at the same level
that FT8 can still decode without difficulty.
This leads to a fundamental consequence:
DX contacts on FT8 are significantly easier to achieve than on CW or SSB,often
without any audible signal.In order to be able to use an equally weak signal on
CW or SSB, I must at a minimum:
build special receiving antennas,use low-noise preamplifiers,deal with
directivity, interference, and phasing,and have a brain trained by many years
of DX operation to perceive and decode such weak signals.Yet such a CW/SSB
contact has the same DXCC value as an FT8 contact that was achieved solely
thanks to an algorithm capable of working below the noise level.
As a result, two fundamentally different categories of how a QSO was made are
being mixed together:
human audibility, technical preparation, and operator skill, versus
machine decoding of a signal below the noise floor.DXCC has thus thrown pears
and apples into the same bag.
Impact on DXpeditions and marginal bands
Practice in recent years shows that many DXpeditions:
start operating exclusively on FT8, often with provisional antennas,while final
antenna systems are still being built,postpone CW/SSB until the very end of the
expedition—or never get to it at all.On the 160 m and 6 m bands, this leads to
situations where some new or rare entities are available only on FT modes,
which effectively excludes CW/SSB operators from the chance to “fight for” the
contact.
Automation instead of the operator
It also cannot be overlooked that FT8 allows:
long-term unattended operation,sometimes even controlled by scripts,where the
operator merely downloads the log afterward.Such a contact nevertheless has the
same DXCC value as a contact that is based on:
antenna construction,working with propagation,the active presence and
decision-making of the operator.Conclusion
The problem with FT8/FT4 is not their existence, but the fact that:
DXCC does not distinguish fundamentally different principles of making a
contact,there is no separate category for FT8/FT4,which devalues the technical
and operational demands of classic modes.
This is not a fight against progress, nor nostalgia.
It is an effort to preserve fairness, motivation, and the meaning of amateur
radio DX operation, especially on the marginal bands.
Karel OK1CF
____________________________________________________________
Od: "Mike Fatchett W0MU"
Komu: [email protected]
Datum: 2. 6. 2026 2:16
Předmět: Re: Topband: 160m Today - Some additional musings....about the old days
How would you know how much skill is required if you don't work the
mode. There is plenty of skill involved. You just don't turn on the
rig and work like it was nothing. The FT bashing is kinda like the hate
for Trump. Tons of people use it and enjoy it and it has allowed many
to work dx or even work ham radio when they could not before. Can we
please stop the bashing? It does not help the hobby and FT modes
arguably might actually save the hobby.
W0MU
On 6/1/2026 4:16 PM, Mike Smith VE9AA via Topband wrote:
I "probably" won't work any more new ones on 160m, nor 6m.
At one time I was neck and neck (or trailing slightly behind) with guys like
VE1YX and VE1ZZ(sk) on 6m DXCC totals in VE.
I think I was #3 or #4 to get 100 DXCC's on 6m here in VE, but never
applied. I would literally leave my 6m rig on for weeks on end, endlessly
scanning or keyer calling CQ, sometimes for hours. I picked up a handful of
super rare DX's this way. I had rigs in all my cars, cottage, work QTH's,
parents place so when visiting, could put the rig on, motorcycle,
you-name-it. I even have worked or heard a few rare stns mobile. Very
exciting~! Those days are dust. Gone forever. Only memories remain.
I know what I have (148 now on 6m but when FT8 hit the scene all those
rare DX stns went away. I won't "cheapen" my 6/160 DXCC totals with
computer modes that take little in the way of real skill. (I hear that there
are actually guys employing robot programs so they can leave their rigs on
all night and check in the morning to see what they've worked on 6/160)
Yawn! Where's the pride in that?
The story is very much the same here on 160m. I never ran huge antennas nor
power, but was very active in the 1990's into the 2000's and managed to
scrape together 200 DXCC's with what I have and other than to pick up a few
mults in CQWW CW (etc. ) I don't ever get on Topband anymore. Why would I ?
99% of everyone is parked on FT8. Like watching paint dry.
Oh, and I put on several rare DXCC's in the area so OTHERS would be able to
work a new one. I will never be a FT8 op.
I hope things change, but I don't see it.
dit dit guys
Mike VE9AA
Mike - Keswick Ridge, NB, Canada
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