Also re brick amps. Maybe I have been lucky with mine. I can accept there
may be issues at times with some of them (and this may also be true for other
products as well.) In my view sharing experiences good and bad is a good thing
so people can make informed decisions about how to spend their own money.
73
Mark S
VE7AFZ
Sent from my iPhone
> On Sep 13, 2022, at 11:31 AM, Mark Spencer <markspencer@outlook.com> wrote:
>
> In my view approx 20 to 25 years or so ago there seemed to be more options
> for out of the box VHF / UHF gear. I recall both Icom and Yeasu had
> affordably priced HF/VHF/UHF gear, plus more VHF oriented stuff like yeasu
> FT736’s, various Icom radios etc and there were COTS (commercial off the
> shelf) solutions for 222 MHz (other than transverters) etc were available (I
> may be a bit off on the dates.) I don’t recall what Kenwood may have had on
> the market at that time.
>
> I still have and regularly use my Icom 706mkIIG’s. One of them was
> purchased new just before Icom replaced it with the 7000 ? It still works
> fine and has helped me activate a number of rare and semi rare grids in VE7
> land over the years.
>
>
> That being said I do like using my newer 7300, 9700 some Demi stuff etc and
> they do seem to work better (:
>
> I do think my first 706 got me hooked on VHF and up weak signal operation
> many years ago. There don’t seem to be quite as many similar radios on the
> market today.
>
> Working from CN89 to CN85 on 2M with 50 watts into a four element beam from
> my low altitude home qth was a major confidence builder for me and caused me
> to spend more time and money on that part of my ham radio hobby.
>
> Today I hear of some new comers to the VHF weak signal scene buying less
> powerful radios (ie Icom 705’s) and using them from home on 2M and 70 cm. I
> cringe a bit, but they are using their own money to spend as they wish.
>
> The current negative comments I see and hear from time to time about COTS
> “brick” power amps also may be discouraging some hams from getting more power
> in my view. Given how quiet the bands seem to be in my part of VE7 land, I
> would like to see and hear more people running more power (:
>
> In my view not every one is going to leap into buying amps with multi $K
> price tags or be prepared to deal with converting surplus commercial amps as
> a first step.
>
>
> Re FT8 I see pros and cons. I choose to use it but I respect the views of
> those who don’t. I’ll leave it at that.
>
>
> 73
> Mark S
> VE7AFZ
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Sep 13, 2022, at 9:06 AM, Bill Olson <callbill@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> Fred you are SO YOUNG!!!!!!
>>
>> bill
>> ________________________________
>> From: VHFcontesting
>> <vhfcontesting-bounces+callbill=hotmail.com@contesting.com> on behalf of
>> Fred Stefanik <n1dpmfred@gmail.com>
>> Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2022 2:12 AM
>> To: k3sk@buckwalter.co <k3sk@buckwalter.co>
>> Cc: VHF Contesting <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
>> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] Is FT8 Really the Problem with VHF Contests?
>>
>> I think there's a few factors....
>>
>> 1. FT8 operations as the "norm" have driven a number of people away
>> from VHF contesting. I for one am one of those people.... Now with
>> the analog only category it seems to be starting to breathe some new
>> life back into the contest. I wasn't able, because of other
>> commitments, to get on except for late Sunday night towards the end
>> and I found "plenty" of activity on SSB then to satisfy me whereas
>> before it would have been ALL FT8. There is as Paul says a place for
>> FT8, but that is not cranking out contact numbers, but where it's too
>> marginal for a CW contact.
>>
>> 2. The ham population is aging (if you haven't noticed). I'm 61 and
>> still feel like a "kid" in this hobby! There are some new younger
>> ones joining the ranks but it is uncommon! I remember how old hams
>> "crabbed" about the new hams that gained interest in the late 70's as
>> a result of the CB radio boom. I'm one of those guys! Ham radio has
>> been one of the best things in my life as it allowed and helped propel
>> me through my professional career in the broadcast transmitter
>> business. I am mentoring a "kid" at work in RF and he's catching on
>> and I've suggested that he look into this hobby as it will help with
>> his understanding (and because I still think it's cool). I have a
>> number of mentors to thank, such as my older brother WA1CYK, W1KK,
>> W1QWJ, WA1UQC (all SK) and NC1I, K1WHS, W1VD, KA1ZE (W3XTT), WB1FVS
>> and MANY more....So regardless of the origin of new hams, anyone that
>> is a young newcomer to the hobby from wherever....help them out and
>> give them guidance and mentoring to help them enjoy the hobby and
>> learn, or this hobby will go the way of the dinosaur!
>>
>> 3. (or 2A) As the hobby's population ages there are more and more
>> SK's by percentage every month / year, the pandemic notwithstanding!
>> Think of how many hams we all know that have become SK's in say the
>> last 5 years (about how long FT8 has been popular). They need to be
>> remembered but also need to be replaced (that dinosaur thing again).
>> Somehow I think that guys like K1WHS will never get old (or maybe
>> never grow up to be an adult, maybe a more accurate statement!)
>>
>> So all in all I think this FT8 / analog only category will help things
>> head in the right direction (in my opinion) but it will take time to
>> reach equilibrium.
>>
>> 73
>> Fred
>> N1DPM
>> FN32qb
>> 160m - 432MHz + 10GHz portable
>>
>>> On Mon, Sep 12, 2022 at 8:33 AM <k3sk@buckwalter.co> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> I blame most of the weekend on very bad propagation and mostly general lack
>>> of participation.
>>>
>>> This was both, the worst propagation in 30 years I ever remember during a
>>> VHF contest. And, it was also my first ever contest using a digital mode
>>> (FT8). I worked as many SSB contacts as I could find, with frequent moves to
>>> that portion of the band. I only heard 4 or 5 CW calls and all but one was
>>> stations I already had logged.
>>>
>>> During the later hours almost all FT8 I copied were dupes, calls I worked on
>>> SSB or FT8 earlier. This was no different than other VHF contests, where
>>> only the diehards and power-house multi-op stations just keep hammering
>>> away. I did the same thing. I kept visiting the SSB calling frequencies and
>>> called over and over with no response.. Then I'd go to FT8 and do the same
>>> thing, getting the same results.
>>>
>>> Regardless of the mode, it was tough digging out a contact. An example that
>>> proves this point is 222 MHz. Of the contest bands it's not a normally
>>> active band but it's one I have and enjoy. I run a full KW and 4 10 element
>>> LFAs on 222 MHz. In the past on this band I've worked 20 to 50 QSOs,
>>> sometimes more. Over this entire weekend I worked 9 contacts! 5 of them were
>>> on SSB and 4 were on FT8. There's nothing wrong with the equipment as half
>>> the QSOs were 400+ mile contacts, Q5 copy and some of those were SSB. On FT8
>>> I kept hearing the same 3 stations over and over again all weekend.
>>>
>>> There just wasn't anyone there to work, regardless of mode.
>>>
>>> de K3SK
>>>
>>>
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