[CQ-Contest] NCJ Article RE: Sweepstakes Change Suggestions

[Michael Clarson]

FT8 does something different. Since WSJT decodes the entire passband,
one does not have to call on a specific frequency making the smaller
stations more competitive with the "loud" ones. --Mike, WV2ZOW

On Tue, Mar 20, 2018 at 12:54 PM, rjairam at gmail.com <rjairam at gmail.com> wrote:
> FT8 has blown out the other modes on 6 meters at least. There are few
> doing SSB and CW during band openings and in contests many are on FT8.
> Now most don't even bother getting on CW and SSB. They just get on FT8
> and let it run.
>
> I do agree that on HF it is likely that CW and SSB will remain king
> for a very long time, for a number of reasons, chief among them the
> ability to make good rates on HF.
>
> BTW it still requires skill. Skill to aim your antennas and skill to
> work the openings, as well as weave in and out of QRM. The computer
> just does the "QSO" part for you. It's definitely a different
> experience and I think next VHF contest I'll try a serious effort
> mostly focused on FT8, just to see where it can take me. "Just for
> giggles"
>
> 73
> Ria, N2RJ
>
> On Sun, Mar 18, 2018 at 11:57 PM, Stephen Bloom <sbloom at acsalaska.net> wrote:
>> Ria:
>>
>> True you can't decode by ear, but unlike the WSJT/WSJT-X modes, you are (or
>> at least I am) still using my ears to pick out what to work when I'm S&P,
>> and even sometimes when running if I have a pileup.  The other thing is
>> ...don't confuse computer to computer with "operator skill doesn't matter."
>> I'm pretty new to RTTY contesting, and extremely new (as in a few months) of
>> taking it at all seriously, and it is just as much of a challenge as CW, in
>> terms of going from "decent" to "competitive."  Lots of things to learn, in
>> terms of multiple decoding, what decodes best with certain propagation
>> patterns, the rhythm of "stacking" (I'm still struggling with this one) etc.
>> W0YK gives a talk each year at Contest U about some of this.  I know I'm
>> planning on having the KL7RA team do some multi ops for the big RTTY
>> contests next season.  I also expect to see the use of other digital modes
>> grow in the contest space, but at least for HF, it's not going to be FT-8.
>>
>> 73
>> Steve KL7SB
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: CQ-Contest [mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of
>> rjairam at gmail.com
>> Sent: Friday, March 16, 2018 5:56 AM
>> To: xaxaxaxa yayayaya <cqtestk4xs at aol.com>
>> Cc: CQ-Contest Reflector <cq-contest at contesting.com>
>> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] NCJ Article RE: Sweepstakes Change Suggestions
>>
>> Computer working computer also applies to RTTY, because you can't decode the
>> didle.
>>
>> I've used FT8 in contests and it's basically just another mode.
>>
>> Ria
>> N2RJ
>>
>> On Thu, Mar 15, 2018 at 8:32 PM, Bill via CQ-Contest
>> <cq-contest at contesting.com> wrote:
>>> Let's not go there with FT-8 as part of the SS.  My computer working your
>> computer...boring!
>>>
>>>
>>> FT-8 only SS is OK with me...I'll sort my sock drawer.
>>>
>>>
>>> Bill K4XS/KH7XS
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Jack Haverty <k3fiv at arrl.net>
>>> To: cq-contest <cq-contest at contesting.com>
>>> Sent: Thu, Mar 15, 2018 11:21 pm
>>> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] NCJ Article RE: Sweepstakes Change
>>> Suggestions
>>>
>>> On 03/15/2018 09:48 AM, Bill via CQ-Contest wrote:
>>>>
>>>> No code licenses are an death knell for SS CW.
>>>
>>> Perhaps it's time to consider adding other digital modes to the contest?
>>> RTTY has been around for decades, PSK for a while, and newest methods
>>> such as FT8 are popular.  SS used to be CW and AM; then SSB appeared.
>>> So change is part of how to keep SS alive.  If it were still SS/AM,
>>> SS/Voice probably wouldn't exist now.
>>>
>>> Such a move would probably bring more newcomers in to the game.  It
>>> might also give the CW experts a new challenge to learn how to use new
>>> technologies and how to compete using them as well as CW.  And
>>> everybody might have more fun?
>>>
>>> /Jack de K3FIV
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