And again PSKreporter does not diplay what else I've seen. DU0A from the Phillipines this morning but not on the map. XV9T was not visible but was spotted south of my QTH. Several HC (Ecuador) stations were visible in the early afternoon. Only one is diplayed. I would love to work them but todays propagation was really too short. From what I've seen on the DX cluster is that later this afternoon there was pretty good propagation between Germany and the USA/Canada.
FT8 hate campaign
Long time blogger EI2KC Anthony finally updated his blog. I hope he will continue to do that but I'm afraid he is too busy with his other hobby/work and being a well known writer of books about Irelands history. Certainly his post is worth reading I think.
The picture on the left covers his blogpost. There are a lot of people that are angry about how HAMradio changed in the last 10 years. They think that the FT8 operators are lazy people that automate DX chasing. Those that use FT8 know that even with this mode it is not always easy, at least we are always depending of propagation. And propagation is not always there, especially not on the 6m band. Besides that you have to know how the software works and how to connect everything to your radio. It is not as easy as connecting a mike or a key to your radio. Operating FT8 also needs a few tricks to reach the DX, some of them can be found on the world wide web. But there are also tricks that are kept secret because if too many knew it would not be working anymore. The big question is: what kind of people are moaning all the time about FT8ers and build a hatred campaign against it? What is the use of it? Digimodes will never go away and will increase in popularity. No one can stop it.
Yes, I'm also a big user of FT8. 90% of the DX plays at FT8 on 6m, so that's the mode to use for that band. Not that you really have to be on FT8 to work DX on that band. I know some stations that still use exclusive CW/SSB on 6m DX and luckily if propagation is good enough the DX stations still call CW and SSB on 6. Even when some people think I'm a lazy DXer I also still learn CW and enjoy it a lot. I even made a CW DX contact to Cambodia this year, a DXCC that was not on FT8 at that moment. So whatever mode it takes, use what you need to contact the DX. And don't judge the FT8 digimode for nothing.
Remember that this is just a hobby... most people take it far too serious. There are more important things in life. Have fun is my advice!
2 comments:
Good morning Bas, yes it is very nice to see Anthony post again and a very interesting read. Yes FT8 is the new kid on the block and sometimes that in itself brews up hate. As for me I'm not really into VHF/UHF or DMR BUT I am not going to bash it. Heck its activity that keeps the hobby alive and gives other enjoyment. Just like FT8 it brings folks into the hobby and provides enjoyment. I am a CW guy but never am I going to toss water on the SSB folks.
73,
Mike
VE9KK
Same to me Mike. I've been on 2m/70cm but never tried DMR. It can not really interest me. I'm more a DXer and like the noise and fading on the HF. But I'll never judge the people that like to do other things. Everyone should do what they like in the hobby. But spamming the DXcluster because of FT8 or write hate posts is, in my opinion, not really something that belongs to this hobby. I could be wrong of course ;-). 73, Bas
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