Steve, That was a good read. I see there's a lot of replies so I'll send this before reeading them...
I too love CW and it is without a doubt my favorite mode. You asked a question and I have used FT8 and my favorite band is Topband, so here's my 2 pence. I think what might have turned Ham Radio upside down was the institution of DXCC (I have 329 confirmed, so I participate). With that, a pressure began to get the current QSO over with and the next one started. A new subset of the above is the Challenge award concept, where one Q was enough for DXCC, now the game includes working the rare ones on every band and mode. That accelerated the rush to get heard and the Q over with. The pileups are horrendous even for big guns. I think the next "Upside down" event was the advent of the computer which took the personality out of logging and made your contacts a viewable & printable tally. The Apple II+ I had in 81 had a CW/RTTY card. I could now send and receive faster than I could copy. A subset of this above is the dehumanizing of the QSO, with my logging program it connects to QRZ or Buckmaster and tells you the person's name and QTH. Most everyone sends 599 when working DX, so you don't have to enter it, it's already listed by default. Last night I worked a TI on SSB, rare for me to be on SSB so after he took the time to have my call correct and give me a 5X9 report, I gave my name, his 5X5 report and my QTH I turned it back to him and he said 73, QRZ? and that was the QSO. I felt disappointed but it is what it has become. The digital modes are nothing other than a logical extension of the computer and experimenting; totally inevitable these would be. Other than CW & SSB, I have only used RTTY and FT8 (maybe 5 JT contacts are in there..) but here's my Luddite take on FT8: Last night I did something I have started to do, I let FT8 read all night on 160. Why? it gives me a good idea of propagation that I can read in the morning, was there DX, where were the signals from and when were they there? For last night from CT, only Canada & USA. Other nights I've seen some good DX that was present. How many times have I wondered if there might be signals on what seems to be a dead band? Sure, low band DX signals are not heard during the day, but are there any surviving in the most minuscule amounts? Logic says almost assuredly not, but almost is not 100%. With some of these modes, especially WSPR, signals below the noise level can be pulled out. That's pretty cool and goes against everything I believed in this regard. Better Receivers can lower the noise floor of course but to copy a signal below that new & lower noise floor, the mystery still remains. Now you can. How much below? that remains to be seen by future experimenting. As to what the future really holds may well depend on how much Amateur allocations are being used and while for most of us, it's a way of life and a deeply personal hobby, that's no reason for Governments worldwide of offer us licenses and permission, these spaces have to be earned to be kept. I think it's wonderful to see so much activity in 2 KHz of space that otherwise would be dead air. I love CW, it is a challenge and a skill I'm good at, FT8 is not a skill, other than getting it to work and play nice with other software running at the same time (it needs to be willing to use virtual ports and WSJT-X software is not helpful to this in the least). The last I'll offer is how it allows people with marginal systems to be able to get on the air and have a reasonable chance of making contacts that would otherwise be impossible. I had the pleasure of communicating with Carl Smith N4AA (SK) who used to put out QRZ-DX. He was in a bad way in Hospice care and this is a snip of the last email I received from him and it speaks to FT8, I don't think he would mind my posting that, here: --Start------------- I'm sitting here in this VA Hospice room now hoping I can get back on the air somehow, sometime soon. I have talked to the folks here and they have agreed to let me get a wire out the window for an antenna. I am on the ground floor on the southeast side of the building so it should not be too bad with some kind of a portable antenna. If I can get that done, and I AM working on it, I'll have my son bring my TS-590S digital radio up here and see if I can at least try to get on using FT-8. I have fallen in love with that mode... hi hi Will make my life a lot easier while I'm here and allow some measure of being on the air. ---Finish----------- It is what it is and it's not the end of the world of Ham Radio as we knew it, that started long ago. 73, Gary KA1J > G´day > > As a committed (yeah, that´s probably the right word - complete with > white jacket that laces up at the back) topbander since 1970, I´ve > never been so intrigued and disturbed by anything on the band as the > emergence of the Franke-Taylor FT-8 digital mode. <snip> > Now, over to you other topbanders, especially those who have dabbled > with FT-8 and live in more populous areas. Has the world really turned > upside down and what do you think the future holds? > > Vy 73 > > Steve, VK6VZ/G3ZZD _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
