>I don't know much about VHF modes other than QRSS,
>but from what I've seen on Packet, it appears some VHF
>folks are years ahead of us in making "Internet QSOs".
*Many* VHF folks, and it is part of the reason I gave up and came
back to top band. Too many "QSOs" involve some RF being sprayed into
space along with minute by minute two-way internet/cluster exchange
of details as to what has been heard and what is being sent. I
seriously wonder if some of these people ever hear (oops, I mean see)
anything on VHF (er... their computer screen). What you see on packet
is a very small tip of that iceberg - much more is conducted on
various internet chat / logger sites.
Computer to computer QSOs are about as interesting to me as watching
paint dry. Unfortunately these modes have almost completely replaced
CW on VHF. I personally hope it is a long time before we see a
similar transition on 160m, but I wouldn't count on it. Once someone
came up with a mode that works well on VHF, the death of CW came very quickly.
I'm perhaps being somewhat unfair. There are a few CW diehards left,
pouring money into maintaining big stations for the two or three
contest weekends a year when there is some CW activity, to get 25% of
the score they used to before digital modes. Almost no DXpeditions
are willing to do CW now, leaving little hope of completing "human to
human" mode DXCC for those who hadn't made it prior to the appearance
of digital modes.
73,
Paul N1BUG
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