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Re: Topband: FT8 clutter on the DX Cluster

To: topband@contesting.com
Subject: Re: Topband: FT8 clutter on the DX Cluster
From: Jim Brown <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com>
Reply-to: jim@audiosystemsgroup.com
Date: Wed, 13 May 2020 12:05:52 -0700
List-post: <mailto:topband@contesting.com>
On 5/13/2020 7:51 AM, Henk PA5KT via Topband wrote:
That is because for some people it can be useful information if they want to make contacts.

Yes. Cluster and RBN spots can be quite useful for showing propagation. WSJT-X can be set to automatically post every decode to PSKReporter. Anyone can view propagation on a map for various time periods from 15 min to a day or two, looking for ANY signal, for a given mode, and for any callsign, including his own or a DX station. I can call CQ on 160 FT8 and see where I am being decoded.

In the first 3-4 years after moving to W6 in 2006, I worked a dozen or so EU countries, all CW. I've heard only 6 EU stations on CW, all during contests, and worked only two of them, even though I have the same RX antennas and better TX antennas. The difference is noise, on both ends of the QSO. Since FT8 can work 10 dB deeper into the noise than CW, this has allowed me to add about 15 new countries in EU that I can't even hear on CW.

73, Jim K9YC

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