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| Results FT8Call 20m (click for more detail) |
In between busy times here I've been listening and experimenting with FT8Call today. I kept it on one band 20m as it is probabely the busiest band. Above the worldwide activity I heard. Not bad for a new project.
OH8STN/QRP Julian was spotted several times during the day. I've tried to send him a message but don't know if he received it. I noticed from the comments on my previous post and from stations I monitored that most really don't know what the software is for and that it is far from finished. Most stations still want to fill their log, they want to collect contacts, they want to proof something I guess? But FT8Call is not for filling your log, it is for making a real contact or network without logging. Ok, you can log if you like, the feature is build in but you can better use the original WSJT-X for that. Another thing I notice is that stations really don't know what to do. I tried to make chats with several stations but I guess they think everything will go automatic like in WSJT-X. Sorry guys, you need to type and press buttons yourself ;-). In the end I only had one chat QSO with G3NYY Walt.
I also tested the relay function, had some issues with it, but with some help managed to relay a message via HB9AVK to ON6NL. However I really don't know if the message was received. This is a very important feature to use for stations that are QRP in the field and I think something that should be refined in the software.
FT8Call is still being developed and actually by using the software you should experiment it and make suggestions. So what I suggest to Jordan is:
1. Station select in every screen, not only from the callsign activity list.
2. Station activity list not in alphabetical order but in time order. Latest activity on top.
3. Automatic directed message receive save. So you can read directed messages in a txt file even without starting the FT8Call software.
In the mean time I'll test and experiment with the software once and a while. Time will learn if this will be something to keep. At least it seems more populair compared to earlier experiments with V4chat, FSQ and APRSmessenger. I hope you will all enjoy FT8Call not as a way to fill your log but as a experiment and a way to do something else with radio.
Related article from OH8STN:
https://oh8stn.org/blog/2018/08/19/ft8call-fear-phobia-and-haters/
Official FT8call page:
http://ft8call.info/
FT8call documentation:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/159S4wqMUVdMA7qBgaSWmU-iDI4C9wd4CuWnetN68O9U/edit
I'm glad you wrote that follow-up blog on FT8Call, as I also wondered what people were actually doing with it on the first screen grab you gave!
ReplyDeleteThe really sad thing is that conversational modes have died out rapidly after FT8 came in. There are much better and well-constructed modes for weak signal conversations than FT8. OLIVIA is the obvious one. But ROS is also good under weak conditions or low power, and also has a beacon setting. For some reason, it never really caught on in a big way, and is now almost silent.
In general, I think the conclusion is that the overwhelming majority of operators now simply do only want to log a new DX.
FT8 has a purpose, but we're now at the cliff edge, where fully automated contacts and not real QSOs are what will soon take place on the bands. WSPR does that, but with a very different rationale and motivation that has nothing to do with logging calls. Ergo, I am these days more interested in WSPR operation, but even that is under threat, with too many transmitters, and too few receivers!
Hello John, tnx for your comment. I agree that there are much better and more sensitive modes around even without the need of time synch like olivia. However everything has advantages and disadvantages. I've been testing with Olivia in the past and found it power consuming leaving me with a very hot radio after one QSO. ROS is a option but is very broadbanded. I think FT8 is choosen because of the popularity. I'm shure Jordan KN4CRD could have used JT65, JT9 or any mode as well. But the disadvantage of those more sensitive modes is that they are slow. I cannot see what will happen in the future but a fast mode like FT8 with the sensitivity and bandwidth of JT9 would be ideal. I guess we will experience it within 10 years from now... But experimenting and using software like FT8/FT8call is needed to get what we want in the end. I do fully agree with the last alinea of you comment btw. 73, Bas
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