On 12/12/2018 00:02, Mike Maynard wrote:
Well, I shall start with the fact that when I started doing mobile and
asked around, it was said that I needed to update my grid square as I
moved from one square to another. thus I concluded that many people
would take offense to me not even using one? I thought that the grid
square was part of the 'accepted' protocol for FT8 and if I were not
to use one, that it may offend many people.
I find it interesting that we have taken a mode that everyone seems to
love as a 'fun' mode as its primary use to a primary contest mode, and
oh yeah have fun with it if you can as well.
I am all about progress, improvements and furthering the hobby. I
dont have any issue with upgrades, etc. I just dont see why we have
to sacrifice things that were once working fine to make it happen.
I am starting to see why so many people are griping about the new
version, which up until I tried to use my mobile callsign I fully
supported.
Hi Mike,
that doesn't seem to address my question, but I will comment on what you
say here also.
Firstly WSJT-X is all about weak signal communications, that constrains
the implementation domain. There is a reason why minimal QSOs are part
of the equation. To complete QSOs in an acceptable time without using
excessive bandwidth either the amount of information transferred must be
limited or the sensitivity must be reduced. Sensitivity is very high on
the list of desirable characteristics. To allow more flexibility in
possible QSOs the envelope of allowed messages has been given a shake
up, it is now larger with respect to the overall potential user base and
that has been done by pushing out in a few important places. By making
room for new groups some existing edge cases have had to be discarded,
they couldn't all fit in. Your preferred QSO style was in a previous
group of cases that have been discarded for a new large group (much
larger BTW) which still allows you to make QSOs but only within the
limitation that you cannot call CQ with a grid square. You should note
that this is nothing new, in the 75-bit message payload all type 2
compound callsign holders have always had that same restriction.
Regarding exchanging a grid square in a QSO, it has never been a
requirement, the normally accepted exchange of information for a QSO is
to exchange and acknowledge receipt of each others callsigns and to
exchange and acknowledge another piece of QSO specific information such
as a signal report. A grid square is not a callsign, nor is it QSO
specific (even it you are operating mobile). As far as the WSJT-X
developers are concerned, a grid square is sent because it is an aid to
establishing a QSO, i.e. for aerial pointing or Doppler correction
calculations on EME paths. The WSJT-X QSO templates started with VHF and
up as well as EME paths where grid squares are very useful, on HF they
are much less so but there was little justification to change them. The
grid is effectively exchanged for free while making a general call or
answering a call and acknowledging the callers callsign.
You should note that LoTW which is used a great deal these days to
confirm and validate QSOs does not require a match of copied grid square
or any other location information, quite the opposite in that if the
time, frequency, and call match then the QSO match will actually deliver
the other operator's grid square. Just like an old fashioned QSL card,
there has never been any requirement to exchange location information
except in contests where that information is explicitly required in the
exchange.
If you are operating in an unusual grid square then you still have the
opportunity to state that to listeners, just not in your general calls.
You can use the standard message form I suggested in a QSO, or in your
case with a 1 by 2 callsign, send a free text message like "K2GC/M FN03".
73
Bill
G4WJS.
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