FT8 is a contest mode only supporting short basic exchanges so this is a well overdue move by the AARL. I also love the indoor antenna category, very creative.
I do FT8 frequently and enjoy FT8 with POTA, but I do see it as impersonal and mechanistic, so I can understand why it gets criticized. If FT8 were the only thing that I did I’d probably find it unsatisfying. So, like a half-dozen other commenters I’d say “each to his own”. My playing with FT8, or THOR-22, or PSK31, or OFDM500F doesn’t prevent anyone from “rag chewing” for 10 minutes about a hernia operation with an old ham friend. The important part of amateur radio, in my opinion, is the technical skills we gain building antennas, putting together field set-ups, getting radios to work under less-than-ideal situations - i.e., building skills. If another ham believes that the most important part of the hobby are club meetings, hamfests and rag-chewing, great. There is room for all of us in the hobby.
All those studies....all those exams.....for nothing ? What are you talking about mate ? In order to operate FT8/FT4 you need an amateur radio license to start. The computer is not doing everything for you. You need to understand propagation, how to setup a antenna, SWR, cables, Long path / short path, Grey line propagation, etc... Many of these guys who criticize FT8/FT4 don't even know how it works.
This is great. Of course people are going to complain, but people will complain about anything especially in this hobby. There were cars with bumper stickers that said "SSB is killing ham radio" when single side-band came out. If you don't enjoy a part of the hobby, don't participate in that part of the hobby. But please don't tear down others that DO enjoy the parts of the hobby you don't enjoy. What's going to kill this hobby is negativity, not any particular mode of transmission.
ft8 has it's uses to check propagation, i often send a few calls and check the psk reporter. Or if a band looks dead on the scope, i might send a few calls, by chance i might make a contact. But my main modes are obviously ssb and cw when the bands are open..
Indoor antenna category is FANTASTIC, wife and I play on a rain gutter antenna due to our HOA and it's an amazing set-up running FT8 & 4, can't wait to put it to a contest.
This is a good move by the ARRL and makes a lot of sense. It is great that they put Six Meters in this, because as K0LWC, it is in the peak of the Sporadic-E season on Six and even Ten Meters. Maybe there will be more SSB and CW activity on Six Meters the following weekend in June for the VHF contest.
At least digital will (hopefully) be constrained to a narrow portion of each band rather than hijacking and overwhelming the entire band. I’m not anti-FT8 … I use it … but given contests are supposed to be a test of skill, I reckon first place should automatically go to the authors of WSJT-X. 🙂
They’re recommending a 10k slice outside of the normal FT8 range. We’ll see how it goes! I feel some might accidentally use the normal frequency, that could become messy.
@@K0LWC If you look at the combination of FT4 and FT8 it's actually 20 KHz slices. It's probably going to get messy even if participants stick to those recommended slices as there is conflicting band use in many regions. There is a world beyond the USA :)
So let me get this straight, from my basic understanding of FT8 ... It's a computer application talking to another computer application over HF? Where's the human touch, the ragchews? From other things I've seen, a lot of people automate FT8 all day while they're mowing the lawn, doing groceries, out at work, and a bunch of other stuff, just to get their pins on their maps. That really seems absolutely lame. My computer can ping anyone on the internet, that's pretty damned boring and unskilled.
I really mean no offense, but from a "marketing" point of view, your thumbnail being an exaggerated open-mouth pose is not the best "look" possible. It's kind of click-bait-y. Been done, and done and done. A smile would go much farther. Really good post, though!
FT8=brain dead mode lol..What it does is take operating out of ham radio..And as far as being needed for antenna restricted goes that does make as much a difference as made out to be..Try Iowa to Porto Rico on SSB 10m on a 705 with a 18g speaker wire dipole that hangs about 3-4 feet above my head..I will NEVER run FT8 because it does not take a lot to click a mouse and in my book that is not operating a radio it is operating a mouse..You do not even have to be at the computer to make a contact..Anyone remember the whole set it and forget it thing :/
You neglected to mention that operating FT8 requires a much more complicated operating setup than needed for simple SSB operating. You have to configure software AND hardware, along with proper audio settings. It often takes hours to set up a station for FT8. Any CB operator can set up an SSB station in minutes. Oh, and you STILL need to set up an antenna, power supply, etc., etc., etc.
@@randyjones6225 First anyone setting up brain dead mode will most likely have a antenna power supply and all that..so toss that where it should be(in the trash) and as far as hours to set up ft8 software??? really?? If it takes you more then 20 mins to set up for ft8 you should not be doing it anyways for real..The set up for ft8 is not even close to being as complicated as you would make it out to be..even a new tech can set up for it faster then what you are making it out to be..what a joke..if it is so hard then why is so many brain dead hams on ft8 every min of every day?? hell ft8 people do not even read a cq call on it so clearly most cant read..call cq dx or cq ILL or any other state some time and see how many people othecomplicatedr then your cq come back to you..trust me they do..ft8 does een half as complicated as you would have it look..try lookinig videos of ft8 set up..most are shorter then 30 mins and some even less then 20..give me a break..
Glad I will never see bentrider canoe on FT8. That will keep me doing it. You can tell he has never done it as there is actually great skill involved in FT8. But it is obviously over his level.
I see no reason for anyone to be pissed off. Amateur radio has always been about developing new technology ,ect. There are many many hams that enjoy the digital modes and that should be recognized and included in contests and such.
![[Unedited] Having a Ham Shack has its Advantages](/img/n.gif)
FT8 is a contest mode only supporting short basic exchanges so this is a well overdue move by the AARL. I also love the indoor antenna category, very creative.
I agree, Aaron. This is a good move by the ARRL all around. 💯
I am surprised not by the contest but that the ARRL did anything.
Great video! i dont operate ft8 but i have no issues with it, its just another way to enjoy this great hobby!!73!!
I live in an HOA all my antennas are in the attic work mostly FT8 I am looking so forward to this contest .
I have never done FT-8, but I like this. I may get my station FT-8 ready. My question, why not include 2 meter
I do FT8 frequently and enjoy FT8 with POTA, but I do see it as impersonal and mechanistic, so I can understand why it gets criticized. If FT8 were the only thing that I did I’d probably find it unsatisfying.
So, like a half-dozen other commenters I’d say “each to his own”. My playing with FT8, or THOR-22, or PSK31, or OFDM500F doesn’t prevent anyone from “rag chewing” for 10 minutes about a hernia operation with an old ham friend.
The important part of amateur radio, in my opinion, is the technical skills we gain building antennas, putting together field set-ups, getting radios to work under less-than-ideal situations - i.e., building skills.
If another ham believes that the most important part of the hobby are club meetings, hamfests and rag-chewing, great. There is room for all of us in the hobby.
All those studies....all those exams.....for nothing ? What are you talking about mate ?
In order to operate FT8/FT4 you need an amateur radio license to start. The computer is not doing everything for you. You need to understand propagation, how to setup a antenna, SWR, cables, Long path / short path, Grey line propagation, etc...
Many of these guys who criticize FT8/FT4 don't even know how it works.
The introduction is sarcasm. 😊
Fantastic move. You can't live with the past, you need to look ahead,
Digital Modes, mainly FT8, is basically the more active operation mode in ham radio in the world. The end!
About time, our older generation of hams are killing the interest in the hobby. Nice job as always Matt
The older generations are saying the same thing about the younger generations destroying ham radio.
This is great. Of course people are going to complain, but people will complain about anything especially in this hobby. There were cars with bumper stickers that said "SSB is killing ham radio" when single side-band came out. If you don't enjoy a part of the hobby, don't participate in that part of the hobby. But please don't tear down others that DO enjoy the parts of the hobby you don't enjoy.
What's going to kill this hobby is negativity, not any particular mode of transmission.
Well said, Dusty!
I agree with this 100%. We’ll said 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
ft8 has it's uses to check propagation, i often send a few calls and check the psk reporter.
Or if a band looks dead on the scope, i might send a few calls, by chance i might make a contact.
But my main modes are obviously ssb and cw when the bands are open..
We need to attempt a CW sked sometime!
Great video. Loved your opening...
Well Done, Sir.. DigiModes UP!!
Looking forward to that weekend, hope to work you. I like your shack setup. Fill me in on the desk and the monitor mount.
Thanks for the breakdown on the new contest. Nice to see the antenna restriction category. Jeff, KF5KWO
Indoor antenna category is FANTASTIC, wife and I play on a rain gutter antenna due to our HOA and it's an amazing set-up running FT8 & 4, can't wait to put it to a contest.
Welcome to the 21 Century! I use Digital Modes my self, DMR, C4FM, soon DATV,
A double RL? How much time time did you save saying double instead of R?
This is a good move by the ARRL and makes a lot of sense. It is great that they put Six Meters in this, because as K0LWC, it is in the peak of the Sporadic-E season on Six and even Ten Meters. Maybe there will be more SSB and CW activity on Six Meters the following weekend in June for the VHF contest.
At least digital will (hopefully) be constrained to a narrow portion of each band rather than hijacking and overwhelming the entire band.
I’m not anti-FT8 … I use it … but given contests are supposed to be a test of skill, I reckon first place should automatically go to the authors of WSJT-X. 🙂
They’re recommending a 10k slice outside of the normal FT8 range. We’ll see how it goes! I feel some might accidentally use the normal frequency, that could become messy.
@@K0LWC If you look at the combination of FT4 and FT8 it's actually 20 KHz slices. It's probably going to get messy even if participants stick to those recommended slices as there is conflicting band use in many regions. There is a world beyond the USA :)
Crazy, I'm sure someone lost their head on this news!
Psssh HF Packet Radio FX.25 Posse Represent.
So let me get this straight, from my basic understanding of FT8 ... It's a computer application talking to another computer application over HF?
Where's the human touch, the ragchews? From other things I've seen, a lot of people automate FT8 all day while they're mowing the lawn, doing groceries, out at work, and a bunch of other stuff, just to get their pins on their maps.
That really seems absolutely lame. My computer can ping anyone on the internet, that's pretty damned boring and unskilled.
I really mean no offense, but from a "marketing" point of view, your thumbnail being an exaggerated open-mouth pose is not the best "look" possible. It's kind of click-bait-y. Been done, and done and done. A smile would go much farther. Really good post, though!
FT8=brain dead mode lol..What it does is take operating out of ham radio..And as far as being needed for antenna restricted goes that does make as much a difference as made out to be..Try Iowa to Porto Rico on SSB 10m on a 705 with a 18g speaker wire dipole that hangs about 3-4 feet above my head..I will NEVER run FT8 because it does not take a lot to click a mouse and in my book that is not operating a radio it is operating a mouse..You do not even have to be at the computer to make a contact..Anyone remember the whole set it and forget it thing :/
You neglected to mention that operating FT8 requires a much more complicated operating setup than needed for simple SSB operating. You have to configure software AND hardware, along with proper audio settings. It often takes hours to set up a station for FT8. Any CB operator can set up an SSB station in minutes.
Oh, and you STILL need to set up an antenna, power supply, etc., etc., etc.
@@randyjones6225 First anyone setting up brain dead mode will most likely have a antenna power supply and all that..so toss that where it should be(in the trash) and as far as hours to set up ft8 software??? really?? If it takes you more then 20 mins to set up for ft8 you should not be doing it anyways for real..The set up for ft8 is not even close to being as complicated as you would make it out to be..even a new tech can set up for it faster then what you are making it out to be..what a joke..if it is so hard then why is so many brain dead hams on ft8 every min of every day?? hell ft8 people do not even read a cq call on it so clearly most cant read..call cq dx or cq ILL or any other state some time and see how many people othecomplicatedr then your cq come back to you..trust me they do..ft8 does een half as complicated as you would have it look..try lookinig videos of ft8 set up..most are shorter then 30 mins and some even less then 20..give me a break..
@@bentrider1972 Easy to say, when you've "NEVER run FT8".
Glad I will never see bentrider canoe on FT8. That will keep me doing it. You can tell he has never done it as there is actually great skill involved in FT8. But it is obviously over his level.
Fake news. It's like any other contest. Do you hate RTTY/ CW contests? Or just not interested in them? Live and let live, enjoy what you want.
I see no reason for anyone to be pissed off. Amateur radio has always been about developing new technology ,ect. There are many many hams that enjoy the digital modes and that should be recognized and included in contests and such.
Agreed, it should be celebrated. Unfortunately, it won’t be by some in the community.