The choice of frequency makes little difference to me, either. But, it's
had to find guys if every little region has its own 'channel'. If there
truly is a consensus on FT8 (and meteor scatter) frequencies, I will start
suggesting them in place of the regionals people are using.
Yes, different frequencies for M/S and FT8 tropo/whatever is probably a
good idea. I'm already seeing some QRM problems on M/S. Pings are SO
short and intermittent that it's hard to tell who's who if you're in range
of more than one station transmitting. Some radios still drift on 222 so
looking at "offset" can be problematic in figuring out who is who.
As far as legacy stability, yes, you are right ! I recently worked a guy
on 222 and then 2M who was within 10 Hz of my GPSDO locked frequency. I
congratulated him on his accuracy and he told me the radio was just an old
FT-736 that he took some care to calibrate once in a while. There are
plenty of NEW radios that aren't that close...
-W9RM
Keith J Morehouse
Managing Partner
Calmesa Partners G.P.
Olathe, CO
On Thu, Apr 23, 2020 at 10:27 AM Mark Spencer <mark@alignedsolutions.com>
wrote:
> I am rather ambivalent about the exact frequencies so long as I know where
> the action is likely to be in and around the PNW. It was unclear to me
> until just before the Sprint what frequency to use.
>
> That being said a few comments of mine are:
>
> - I recall there was some discussion about the desirability of keeping
> 70cm FT8 out of the frequency range used for EME.
>
> -Having separate FT8, MSK144 etc frequencies on 222 might be a good thing
> ? I would expect serious MSK144 use to likely render a frequency unusable
> for near by FT8 users ?
>
> On a related note I have been pleased how well some of my legacy radios
> have functioned on 70cm FT8. I was expecting issues vis a vis frequency
> stability that didn't seem to arise. (This is somewhat removes one of the
> reasons I was using as justification for buying an Icom 9700.)
>
> 73
> Mark S
> VE7AFZ
>
> mark@alignedsolutions.com
> 604 762 4099
>
> > On Apr 23, 2020, at 8:47 AM, Jay RM <w9rm@calmesapartners.com> wrote:
> >
> > Now that the Sprint events (above 6M, obviously) where FT8 would most
> > probably be used are over, have we come to a consensus on exactly which
> > frequency we're all using for the mode ?
> >
> > I mentioned this right before 222 and the only thing that was obvious to
> me
> > by the (very) few answers I got, was the FT8 frequency seemed very 'local
> > option" on that band. Is the 432 FT8 frequency (432.174) more of a
> > national thing ?
> >
> > 222.174 seems awful far from the traditional 'action frequencies' and I
> > doubt the band is occupied heavily enough that we need to go up that
> high.
> > Maybe this isn't the case on 432 in 'hotspot' areas, although I doubt I
> > ever heard more than 3-4 guys on the band at once in EN52, which is
> > somewhat of a hotspot.
> >
> > Many of us western guys have zeroed in on 222.080 for both meteor scatter
> > and FT8, which is conveniently close to those few people who still
> operate
> > 'traditional modes' on that band - the 222.100 calling frequency. I've
> > also used 432.080 for FT8 with Rovers, again, for the same 'close to
> > traditional' convenience.
> >
> > -W9RM
> >
> > Keith J Morehouse
> > Managing Partner
> > Calmesa Partners G.P.
> > Olathe, CO
> > _______________________________________________
> > VHFcontesting mailing list
> > VHFcontesting@contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
> >
>
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