Folks,
I hate to say it but I think the majority of the problem is laziness. We
had a decent TEP opening on 6m the other night and I worked a lot of LU,
CX, and CE stations, unfortunately on FT8 but I did go to 50.090 through
50.125 and there were some DX stations there, not a single US station. I
think folks are forgetting what the BIG knob on the radio is for. I'm not
that old but when I first got on 6m in 1978 I used a FT620B with a real
VFO. By 1982, I had to replace the gear drive because it had gotten loose
from tuning so much. As a society we've become lazy and live by point and
click.
My observations are it mostly started with all the HF+6m rigs that all the
manufacturers are making and the regular HFer figured out that their tuner
would tune their tribander or wire to 6m. But anyone who has spent more
than 30 seconds on 6m knows you need a decent antenna to work outside your
grid. Then came along FT8 and they found they could work with non-resonate
antennas. As more and more got on and as contesters, you go where the
action is, we've all had to migrate there. Most of these folks have never
been on 6m and they think of it almost as line of sight and they are amazed
at hearing DX on 6m
Now don't get me wrong, I think FT8 like MSK144, JT65 and Q65 are nothing
short of awesome, but you don't change your surface mount FET with a 300
watt Weller soldering gun (although I've had to!!!). When signals are on
the + side, you can work folks MUCH faster and I'm sure anyone with the
microwave bands will agree, it's MUCH easier to say "QSY" on SSB or cw than
FT8. Yes, there is freehand but no one looks at it, they just move on to
the next caller.
Jay, W1VD brought up what EVERYONE should understand, when you get that
many huge signals on one frequency (yes I know it's many audio frequencies)
it's going to cause desense and that hurts EVERYONE. I run K3's and they
handle strong signals pretty good but I can watch weak traces all but
disappear when a +30 signal comes on 20 miles away.
So how does it get fixed for contests? Unless the ARRL gets educated it
won't. All they are interested in is selling books and magazines and
getting more shack-on-the-belts on. Contesters and especially VHF+
contesters are such a small percentage of the ham population we are -30dB
down where not even FT8 will hear us!!! IMHO the only way to fix it is to
eliminate FT8 from contests but that does hurt folks. There are folks that
I regularly work on FT8 that are too weak for SSB and they don't operate
cw. HOWEVER for the handful I will miss, there are probably 10 times more
that would come back on if no FT8 were there. Since folks operating scatter
and eme never have been a problem, those modes should be left alone. As an
alternative, since the contesting calendar is pretty full, just break the
contest into two parts, the first 12 hours is no digital and after that
when only the diehards are left, anything goes.
If y'all haven't noticed, the K8GP rover hasn't been out in many years. I
refuse to spend the time and $$$ it takes to rove when it's so difficult to
pass folks to the microwaves. It's a significant expense and time consuming
to get that stuff going and keep it going and the last time Andy and I were
out, we sat for 6 hrs at Blueknob just working FT8 on 6 and 2 and it wasn't
much fun. I feel for the guys at W2SZ, I know what it takes to put on a
show like that and to sit and listen to FT8 I'm sure is disheartening.
Just wait until the ARRL lets FT8 into HF contests, then "it" will really
hit the fan !!!!
Terry Price - W8ZN
Directive Systems and Engineering
703-754-3876
On Thu, Sep 19, 2024 at 9:48 AM Gerry Hull <gerry@w1ve.com> wrote:
> I respectfully disagree, Rick.
>
> Yes, some of the Multis will have less QSOs due to people aging out or
> putting up smaller stations. Other than that, any of the amazing
> operations pointed out above are still entirely possible.
> Here we are at the peak of the solar cycle and all we are going to do is
> work Digital modes on 6m? (You will see 6 SSB and CW explode as we get
> into October and the F2 season starts in earnest.)
>
> Maybe it's because we are getting old and lazy. All it takes is
> education. Yep, you can work further on Troposcatter or EME on Digital
> modes with a minimal station, but at what cost?
> In the time it takes to make 4 or 5 QSOs on a Digital mode on 6m, you can
> make 10 times as many QSOs on SSB -- same points and more grids.
> 99% of the Digital QSOs on 144 Mhz could be made on SSB or CW in 1/10th
> time time. On high n=microwaves, Digital becomes more important.
>
> We are seeing an enthusiasm gap by the OTs because they don't get as much
> thrill out of working Digital modes... but is seems they do nothing to
> encourage or educate newcomers on how to do it "the analog way" --- at
> least that
> is my impression. I may be wrong.
>
> I don't think it is about rules. It's about Elmering the newbies on what
> is possible. Digital is of course in the mix.
> It is in our hands to change the course of how we operate. Mandating a
> particular operating pattern by changing rules ALWAYS has unintended
> consequences.
>
> All that said, I don't think the picture is as bleak as you say.
>
> 73,
>
> Gerry W1VE
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 17, 2024 at 9:33 AM Rick R <rick1ds@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > That book was written in the 80’s and it crystallized the effects of
> > change and how we need to adapt. No longer will K1WHS have his crew of
> ops
> > for contesting; no longer will W2SZ score 3million points with other
> > multi-ops chasing them; no longer will K5TR work 1000 QSOs on 6m; no
> longer
> > will it be easy to run 10 bands with a rover. No longer will K1TEO be
> > getting close to the million point mark as a SOHP. Some of us have
> adapted
> > and run remote digital (+/-analog) stations, we can use many ways to
> alert
> > other stations to our signals, we have added screens to see where the
> > activity goes, we have computer power to help us log, transmit, copy CW,
> > and many forms of digital signals. Newcomers never experienced the
> decades
> > of rapid fire contest QSOs and are content to be digitally focused, while
> > others of us bemoan the changes and slowly adapt or just drop out. ARRL
> has
> > allowed means to facilitate contacts and added entry categories to
> > accommodate all operating styles—FM, 3-band, analog, etc.
> > It’s great to be able to share memories of the past. We all know that our
> > cheese has been moved and we’re all learning the new dynamic of VHF
> > contesting. 73, Rick K1DS
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
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