I can say this: back when I started (1963) we had 300 kc/s for CW only on
80m and many nights it was difficult to find an open spot to call CQ. 75m
phone had 200 kc/s and was crowded even worse. Now CW effectively has
about 70 kHz and it's mostly empty, maybe two or three signals. Newer hams
have no idea what ham radio used to be :-(
However, the FT8 spot is busy.
I'm not big on FT8, but I do appreciate it: 1) it brings activity to our
bands. If we don't use it, we will lose it. 2) it is an efficient mode,
cramming many signals into a small bandwidth and decoding signals that we
can't even hear. Great technical job.
Some people decry FT8 for lack of useful communication. But at least it
communicates useful signal reports and location which is a lot more than
the typical "599 TU" DX or contest contact communicates.
Ken WA8JXM
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