The simple fact is that digimodes, thanks especially to K1JT and his
excellent software, are a game changer. DX is now workable on 6m via EME
(I'm not suggesting topband via the moon, in case anyone was wondering!)
but also via terrestrial paths when conditions are marginal - JT65 (and
its
HF variant) can integrate and pull out signals that are well below
ambient
noise levels.
So can a good CW operator.
I can see the same happening on 160. How would you feel if you have built
and 4-square and got 200+ countries, only to find someone with a bit of
bent wire doing the same thing?
A bit of bent wire can easily work 200+ countries on 160 on CW. Probably
more so than on "digital" modes at the present time.
But, on the flip side, how excited will
the
latter operator be when he finds he can work DX on a band which
previously
he had found impossible because he doesn't have room for that 4-square?
....or doesn't have patience or CW skill.
It's early days yet, but as the digimodes software improves further (and
it's really down to the processing power of PCs at the end of the day)
and
other matters like bandplanning get resolved, these are the dilemmas we
will increasingly be facing. Maybe we will need two versions of 160m
DXCC -
one of which specifically states "SSB and CW only" or somesuch!
That's a good suggestion. It really should be one award for the case where a
human operator copies the signal, a man and his radio, and another
certificate where a machine actually copies the signal, a man reading the
text decoded and printed on a machine.
This fits with the trend to make rewards in life increasingly less dependent
on human effort, patience, and skill, and those who prefer to do it with
human involvement. There should be two clear classes.
But that isn't the primary issue for me. The issue for me is technical, and
surrounds how we plan growth when some groups simply go off on their own and
ignore bandplans and the IARU.
73 Tom
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UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
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