I remember the impact of LORAN on 160 in the 1970's which made it
impossible to work DX from a modest station on 160 and was a whole lot
worse than a high noise level. There wasn't much on 160 to hear except
for a few W1's, W2's and an occasional VE. The answer was to do
something else; like DX on 40 and 80 instead.
First, 40 meters was "discovered" as a DX band in the 1970's and then 80
started to become a great DX band in the 1980's and then this eventually
led to increased DX interest in...... 160, in the late 1980's and
1990's! Of course these bands were useable for Dxing decades before,
but the real interest started in the 1970's for a variety of reasons;
chief among them, the availability of VFO's.
Whether or not 80 and 160 get "discovered" again or not remains to be
seen. I will miss DXing on 160 but radio will survive, and it should
mean more DX on 80, at least initially. But it isn't that simple is it?
Not at all; because now the digital modes have been unleashed on all
the bands.
Much like when codereaders enabled people to work stations on cw that
they could not actually copy by themselves; but unlike codereaders which
actually increased activity levels and did not result in a reduction of
CW DX, FT8 and the other modes are SUBTRACTIVE of DX activity on CW.
That is NOT a good thing overall, even though it may benefit certain
individuals DX totals.
My own personal opinion is that FT8 and some of the other digital modes
are a scourge on DXing. People are free to do it but at what cost? If
it's fun for them that way then they are free to enjoy it but if all I
had was a radio and some equipment and almost nothing for an antenna and
I could contact JT on 160, it still would mean nothing to me because I
never actually heard the signal or worked it by myself, which is what
radio was and still is to me. Maybe that is why I never really warmed
up to RTTY. It just seemed to me like two machines talking to each
other.
Again, people can do what they want to do, and will do so. But yes,
DXCC and other awards are absolutely cheapened by the incursion of
allowing digital qso's in the totals. I get that the ARRL doesn't give
a damn about that as long as more revenue is generated for them. But
for the rest of us? Digital modes to me are a lot like operating
assisted and then claiming unassisted and I personally have no interest
in that. It's a shame that digital modes have become a "feature" of
DXpeditions rather than a sidelight.
I disagree with the premise that DX stations have the sole right to
determine whether or not they use digital modes as a main thrust of
their operation because many of them, possibly most of them, get some of
their funding from US making donations to help support them. And we pay
up front before they ever go. So when they do go and they avoid certain
bands, turn on the machines while they sleep or just decide to ignore CW
or SSB, it is a slap in our face, as well as a lost opportunity to work
what we need and where we need it. That sucks especially when we have
supported their operation with our own $ And, where DX foundations are
involved, our $ have gone there was well, so it really is no different,
just the collected and dusbursed $ are larger.
And even if the Dxpedition to a rare or semi-rare place is self-funded,
how considerate is it to completely avoid certain bands and/or use only
digital modes? Not because of necessity but because of inconvenience or
indifference?
We all have objections to certain types of operations and what they do /
how they do it etc. That's human and we are also going to disagree
about some of it. That's human too. But just because it is allowable
doesn't make it ok. And just because someone has taken the time,
trouble and expense of going somewhere rare doesn't make their operating
decisions ok either. Nor should they expect a "free pass".
I feel bad for the newer hams that don't understand why these topics are
so important because they have missed an era of radio that may never
again be like it was. Like my daughter who doesn't fully understand how
important a phone conversation is vs. using a cell phone to email or
text, there are some things that have to be experienced to be understood
and valued.
73
Bob, KQ2M
On 2026-06-02 15:06, Mike Fatchett W0MU wrote:
If you have a noisy location just give up ham radio? Well that will
sure kill it off pretty quick. Wow!
W0MU
On 6/2/2026 10:29 AM, uy0zg via Topband wrote:
Jim
You're right about amateur radio in general. But in this case, we're
talking about achievements in DX work.
And if you don’t have the opportunity to have a quiet place and
receiving antennas, then the answer is simple - do something else.
Turning the dxing process into a void using robots and remote websdr
is a great sin.
It used to be possible to make good connections from the city. My
first NA (100 watts and LW)
https://www.topband.in.ua/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/k1mem_qsl.jpg
My station is currently located thirty kilometers outside the city. I
have the opportunity to listen to interesting stations from all
continents. Of course, land here is very inexpensive... Especially
now. This is not California...
---
Nick, UY0ZG
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