Dave (K1WHS), Tree (N6TR), and others --
Shoot, if I had thought a mode like WSJT might not be allowed
in VHF/UHF contests, I might not have put all the work into
developing it!
Contests are one of my biggest thrills in ham radio, from the
SS to the 160 and 10 meter Tests to the DX Tests, and especially
the VHF QSO parties and SS. Yes, Tree, I use your TR software in
all CW contests, and I love it! I don't run a big station, on
any band, but I've collected my share of ARRL wallpaper for all
of the above events.
VHF/UHF contests are inherently weak-signal oriented, and I fail
to see how using PSK31, WSJT, PUA43, or whatever mode might fit
the available propagation conditions in any way compromises the
spirit of the competition.
Anyone who has tried the WSJT mode for doing VHF meteor scatter,
or watched it being used, knows that making a 1000 mile QSO on a
dead 2-meter band is still anything but "automatic". This is
definitely *not* a set-it-and-forget-it,
computers-talking-to-computers mode. You do keep the headphones
on, for sure; you do listen for the pings. When you get a weak
one, and the computer fails to decode it on the first try, you
click on it and use several other options designed to extract the
most from the available signal. And you surely *do* get that
adrenaline rush when you catch a "blue whizzer" (and maybe even
finish the QSO on SSB, if you can find the mike in time!).
I would not even have a problem with longer-duration
"integration" modes of operation in the VHF/UHF contests. After
all, the thing is self-regulating to a large extent. If QSOs
take a half hour each, and you concentrate on them alone, your
grid total might look pretty good but your score will be lousy.
A few of us have been doing HSCW meteor scatter in VHF contests
for a few years now. No questions have been asked about its
"legality", as far as I know, nor should they have been. What
the operator does during a WSJT-driven HSMS QSO is very nearly
identical to what he/she does during an HSCW QSO, right down to
the very last step -- either using the computer to play back
the recorded HSCW ping so can copy it by ear at 25-35 WPM, or
letting the computer play some weak-signal DSP tricks with the
recorded signal.
Same goes for PSK31 -- it's a good weak-signal mode, and why
shouldn't it be an allowable mode for VHF/UHF contests?
Alas, my time in the September VHF QSO party will be very
limited this year. Hope to work you in the hours I have
available, though, whatever the mode!
-- 73, Joe, K1JT
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