Let me preface these comments with the statement that these observations are
meant to provoke some productive and objective discussion on the digital modes
in VHF contesting and not aimed at criticizing any individuals. Please take it
in that spirit.
I find it odd that after years of wringing our hands over declining or steady
participation in the VHF contests that some are now criticizing the increased
activity that the digital modes, primarily FT8, are bringing to contesting. I
realize that there is more to the sentiments some express than that, but to me,
any increase in activity is good, particularly for the January contest when
propagation is often flat.
I think that there are three primary reasons that FT8 and MSK144 are popular:
1. FT8 offers many of the advantages that CW offers on VHF. To people who have
entered the hobby over the past 25 years without knowing the code, this is a
powerful attraction, and one not to be taken lightly.
2. Using both FT8 and MSK144, even a modestly equipped station on 6M can work
other similarly equipped stations out to the limits of one hop Es. In some
areas it is possible to work everyone within this radius that is on in a
contest. This is not easily possible on either CW or SSB with a modestly
equipped station.
3. A lot of ops run FT8 on HF and many of the skills translate directly to 6M.
With the proliferation of HF+6M rigs, this provides a large pool of potential
VHF Contesters. The contesting skills do not necessarily translate, but it
is, in part, our responsibility to educate these potential new VHF ops on how
to operate contests. Posts educating newbies on VHF contesting practices on
local contesting, VHF, DX, club reflectors and newsletters should be made by
those of us who are experienced Contesters.
It does not do much good to complain that FT8 ops would do better on CW if they
don’t know CW. But if conditions support it, they should go to SSB, and we
should spread the word that when the indicated SNR on FT8 is over a certain
threshold, say +6dB for SSB and maybe -14dB for CW, the band is probably open
and they would do better on CW or SSB depending on the operator’s skill.
A nice addition to FT8 would be an alert, perhaps flashing, included in the SNR
report on FT8 suggesting that CW or SSB might be a better choice for a QSO and
the band may be open.
I don’t think that there is really a viable analog, that is CW or SSB
alternative, for meteor scatter QSOes in a contest, at least not for one that
is as quick.
I understand that it is hard to work scatter out to the limits with CW or SSB.
It takes skill and patience. With FT8, these QSOes are much easier and the
skill required is less, and hence there are more operators that can utilize
these modes. I think that this is good. Again, some education for these ops on
what propagation modes they are working on and how best to utilize the various
modes would help.
As several have stated, the problem with the digital modes is that they may
take activity away from the conventional modes. I am not sure how best to deal
with this, but getting people to use more of the assistance resources available
is a start. That will alert the FT8 op that there is a QSO that can be made on
SSB or CW that is not available on FT8. They can go to the analog modes after
their FT8 QSO is complete, say in a minute or so. After doing this a few times,
hopefully it will become second nature. The conflict between MSK144 and other
modes is not as easily resolved as the time commitment for meteor scatter is
longer. I have heard ops explain that they work FT8 because that is where the
activity is and there is nothing to work on CW or SSB, and at the same time
rovers in those same areas will complain that there is no one to work on CW or
SSB because all of the ops they usually work are on FT8. Emphasizing FT8 over
CW or SSB because of lack of analog activity is a self fulfilling prophecy.
So, I think that to begin with, we should launch an education campaign to those
new FT8 contest ops as to how best to maximize their scores by using modes
other than FT8.
Adding alerts to the FT8 software to prompt an op to go to CW or SSB when the
SNR is good would help.
Encouraging the FT8 ops to monitor the various forms of assistance so that they
can be alerted when CW and SSB ops are available for QSOes would help as well.
If FT8 ops keep an APRS window and local VHF chat room/activity window open,
and pay attention to it, that would help alert the FT8 op that there are other,
perhaps more fruitful and faster sources of QSOes and points.
One issue that has not been expanded on much is the impact on rovers. FT8 and
MSK144 are additional activities layered on an already busy rover activity.
Rovers usually work the easy pickings first when they make a stop. I, and I
suspect most rovers, also try to work as many others that are on the air. If
the rover goes to MSK144 or FT8 to work stations, that takes additional time,
but it may make it worthwhile to get the extra mults and QSO points. Stations
that are busy with scatter QSOes will put off working the rover. The end result
will be that the rover will miss out on working stations he would normally
work, or have to spend more time at a given stop, or perhaps operate on two
radios simultaneously, probably with another operator and certainly with more
hardware complexity. The simple three band single op rover may become a thing
of the past and everyone will suffer for it.
I think the digital modes offer great contesting opportunities for the entry
level operator and modestly equipped stations. We need to figure out how best
to utilize them to derive the best benefit though. Education is a good place to
start.
Rational opposing views and thoughts on the subject?- Duffey KK6MC
James Duffey KK6MC
Cedar Crest NM
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