And again I will say that's a problem of the user interface, not the
fundamental mode.
Look at it this way. If there was an application that sent and received
FT4 signals (still time frame locked to 7.5 seconds) but was narrow band
tunable (thereby giving up multiple signal decoding), allowed more
generalized messages (still constrained by the bit count limit but no
longer needing to send callsigns each frame because it didn't need to
decode multiple simultaneous transmissions), and allowed a UDP feed to
N1MM+ for logging and scoring by N1MM+ ... how would that be any
different than RTTY except for having much better sensitivity and much
better bandwidth utilization??
That's probably more stripped down than even I would propose since I
think the ability to decode multiple simultaneous transmissions is an
important feature for spreading out the signals (essentially everybody
operates split), but my point is that it is NOT the mode that is the
problem ... it's the current user implementation of it that's the
problem. A proper contest UI could utilize the best features of FT4 as
a mode (I don't like FT8 for contesting because I think it's simply too
slow) and still look like MMTTY for everything else, and we'd all be
better off for it. It would still require the operator to decide
whether a contact had been made ... just like is done now with RTTY ...
but we'd have far better spectrum use and much better access to weak
signals.
I simply don't understand why this isn't better recognized. The
operator isn't held hostage to the mode ... the operator is currently
held hostage to the user interface. WSJT-X and it's current derivatives
are focused on casual weak signal contacts, not contesting. We need a
proper UI to make the mode viable for contesting, that's "all". And
no, I'm not smart enough to write it ... but somebody out there is.
73,
Dave AB7E
On 1/14/2020 4:16 PM, Edward Sawyer wrote:
Isn't the basic problem that the computer is running the show? On both ends.
And the operator really is helpless to change that?
It's a very basic statement about what is really happening with this mode.
73
Ed N1UR
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