Well, the obvious solution for FT8 would be to write the program in such a
way that it required the op to enter his grid square on setup and that it
sent the grid for EVERY QSO, whether it be HF, VHF, contest or no contest.
I don't know why not. I have had people on HF send me their 4-character
grid squares on CW and SSB. And "59(9)" is meaningless as an exchange in
contesting and DXing anyway.
Would it ever be done? I don't know.
73, Zack W9SZ
On Sat, Jun 30, 2018 at 6:44 PM, Marshall-K5QE <k5qe@k5qe.com> wrote:
> Hello to all VHF ops, especially those that are fooling around with FT8 on
> 6M.
>
> It has come to my attention that the problems with the NA Contest Mode(CM)
> and the so called "normal" mode of FT8 are still causing a lot of trouble.
> Just for background information, I invite you to look at an essay that I
> wrote for the ARRL last year. There is a bit out of date info there as it
> was written when v1.8.0 was the latest thing, but the gist of all the
> information is correct. Try this link https://www.dropbox.com/s/9l5o
> eiir4inn4x6/Contesting%20and%20Digital%20Modes.doc?dl=0
>
> For over 20 years, the signal report that VHF ops sent and received was
> the GRID. Recently, 6M has been infested with a horde of HFers / newbies
> that have decided that it is perfectly OK to throw away 20+ years of VHF
> history and methods. Mostly, I think that is because they have no idea
> what the history and methods are. VHF ops send and receive GRIDs, even in
> casual operations. Now, I am seeing folks that claim that the "funny
> little numbers" modes are the ONLY way to operate.
>
> It is terribly unfortunate and very sad that these folks do not know what
> "standard VHF operations" are and quite frankly, they don't care. If you
> look at what is going on right now, you will see that grids are NOT being
> properly sent by both sides. They are sending what I call the "funny
> little numbers"--the only time you will see a grid is for the station
> calling CQ.
>
> This is totally unacceptable in a contest, as the GRID is the exchange.
> If you don't send and receive the GRID, you do not have a proper contest
> QSO. Because of this, several of the top contesters(not me) prevailed on
> Joe to provide a method that:
> 1)Only took 4 sequences rather than 6
> 2)Got the grid across in both directions correctly every time.
>
> The result was the so called NA Contest Mode. The results of the NA
> contest mode are what we all need. However, most unfortunately, the way
> that Joe implemented this is a problem for those folks that are trying to
> work DX on 6M rather than a contest on 6M. The internal details of this
> are a bit complicated, but the problem only rears its ugly head when long
> haul International DX is in the picture. Joe has stated that he
> understands the problem and a fix is on the way. The contest mode(CM)
> causes problems for the folks that want to use the "funny little numbers"
> as the decodes don't work right. I would say that the decodes don't work
> right for those using the CM and when the other guy is not. So it works
> both ways.
>
> I sincerely hope that Joe can implement a fix that will allow us to
> coexist, somehow, with the "funny little numbers" crowd. We need GRIDS
> both ways....if the little numbers are also sent, that is OK with me.
> Until the fix is forthcoming, there will be problems. During the contests,
> we must have the GRIDS. During casual operating, it would really be best if
> we could send and receive GRIDS, but with the current software, that is a
> problem.
>
> In addition to WSJT-X, there are several "knock off" softwares that stole
> Joe's ideas, work, and sometimes his code. These bastardized softwares are
> missing features and most importantly are incompatible with WSJT-X. This
> causes further problems. Here are the type of exchanges that you see(this
> from one of the non-WSJT-X software packages):
> ME: CQ K5QE EM31
> DX: K5QE W1XYZ -02
> ME: W1XYZ R+01
> DX: RR73
>
> NOTES: 1)ME is not right. I would never do this. I just wrote it this
> way for clarity
> 2)There is NO grid sent by the DX station or by me to him
> 3)On a positive note, only 4 sequences were used
>
> I have posted that I believe we should use the NA Contest Mode at all
> times(lots of howling and screaming over this). It is faster and guarantees
> that the grids get sent and received properly every time. But I now
> understand that for those trying to use FT8 on 6M for working long haul
> International DX(like for DXCC), it can cause problems.
>
> Please note that this brouhaha only affects 6M and FT8. There is no
> problem on 2M, since the chances of International DX on 2M, except for EME,
> is vanishingly small. There is no problem on EME either, because we all
> use JT65b there and it passes the grids perfectly every time. There is no
> problem for MSK144 either, since the limit of meteor scatter is about 1400
> miles. The real problem is that the folks that are enamored with the
> "funny little numbers" will not realize that the rest of us are not using
> them outside of 6M.
>
> SUMMARY: There is a problem and that problem will continue until Joe
> comes up with a proper fix. Meantime, please understand that there are a
> lot of the top VHFers that hate the "funny little numbers". I for one want
> to continue with the 20+ years of tradition that has served us so well.
>
> MY FIX: Somehow, until Joe comes up with a software fix for all this, we
> need to make sure we use the contest mode in contests(what a novel idea!).
> We need to try to get the HFers / newbies on 6M to understand about VHF
> custom and methods.
>
> SPECIAL PRAISE: I want to publicly send out some well deserved praise to
> Joe-K1JT and his team for his / their fantastic software. First, he
> revolutionized EME with the JT65 software. Then he did the same for meteor
> scatter with FSK441 and now MSK144. These software products have made
> meteor scatter a blast rather than a chore. Finally, with FT8, another
> quantum leap forward. I have a lot of confidence in him and his team. I
> await his fix for the contest mode / grid issue. I am sure it will be
> another winner.
>
> Your comments / ideas? As usual, rational ideas, pro or con, gratefully
> appreciated. Flames will go directly to the bit bucket, they will not pass
> GO and will not collect $200.
>
> 73 Marshall K5QE
> www.k5qe.com
> Phone is 409-787-3830
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>
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