[RTTY] RE: MFSK!

[Phil Cooper]

Hi Joe and the group,

My apologies for the tone of this email, but after nearly losing out on
ST0RY to MFSK, I am feeling a bit annoyed. Not half as mush as I was
yesterday lunchtime, but enough to warrant this:

Like you, if I heard an MFSK station operating, I would NOT start calling CQ
in RTTY on that same frequency, Nor would I start calling CQ on any occupied
frequency in any mode.
And yet that basic rule does not seem to be followed by those using MFSK.
The latest versions of some MFSK software now allow colour pictures to be
sent in the middle of a QSO, and that is starting to become quite common.
Have a listen, and you will hear an ordinary MFSK signal suddenly turn into
something that sounds like overdriven PSK. That is the picture.
It made me wonder if MFSK shouldn't move to the SSTV frequencies, but I can
imagine the complaints about that!

I am not against MFSK being used in the same bit of spectrum as RTTY, but I
do object to the way they feel they can start up a QSO, or call CQ without
bothering about the RTTY station underneath it all.
I would mind less if the QSO's involved DX, but most of the time, they are
"local" QSO's, and usually with hundreds of watts!
if MFSK is that robust, why use such high power? (I think I know the answer
to that one, so no replies please!).

I also suspect that there is some correlation between this activity and the
type of person who worked HH4 on PSK and sent a large brag file (!)
and wonder what sort of power they reported using in trying to contact HH4?
>From what I saw, many were using excessive power!

I do think that RTTY DXpeditions should consider the fact that MFSK often
uses the lower half of the band, and maybe consider moving up a little,
although that may not cure the problem, and could be seen as "giving in".

I also had a lot of QRM from MFSK during the BARTG Spring contest this time.
I am also sure some of it was "deliberate" QRM, as it was sent in short
bursts, often covering my short CQ's, or just when I sent my exchange.
At one point, I called CQ on 14.082, and ended up having to move up a little
more, and the MFSK station just moved up with me.
I guess some of them cannot work out that they have to add the audio
frequency to the dial frequency to know what frequency they are ACTUALLY
working on!

Ah well, I feel better for that! 

73 all
Phil GU0SUP


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