Topband: The use of digital modes on 160 metres

[Don Field]

The discussion seems to have moved away from the initial question which
was, as I recall, whether digital modes had the means to expand DX
opportunities on 160. Yes, there are questions about bandplanning, whether
the digimodes are correctly set up, etc. But these can and will be
overcome.

But I would suggest that topband will, in time, be subject to the same
issues and opportunities that digimodes have brought to 6m (and,
increasingly, to the other HF bands). It's a topic I have already discussed
several times in the various publications I write for in the UK.

The simple fact is that digimodes, thanks especially to K1JT and his
excellent software, are a game changer. DX is now workable on 6m via EME
(I'm not suggesting topband via the moon, in case anyone was wondering!)
but also via terrestrial paths when conditions are marginal - JT65 (and its
HF variant) can integrate and pull out signals that are well below ambient
noise levels. This has had two effects on 6m. Firstly, it has extended DX
opportunities to those already active on the band - they don't have to wait
until signals reach levels which can be copied by ear. Secondly, it has
opened the band up to those with much more modest stations. This has both
an upside and a downside. The upside is exactly what I just described. The
downside is that those of us who have achieved DXCC and beyond by what
might be described as "conventional" means can easily feel "cheated" when
those who have smaller stations start to catch us up!

I can see the same happening on 160. How would you feel if you have built
and 4-square and got 200+ countries, only to find someone with a bit of
bent wire doing the same thing? But, on the flip side, how excited will the
latter operator be when he finds he can work DX on a band which previously
he had found impossible because he doesn't have room for that 4-square?

It's early days yet, but as the digimodes software improves further (and
it's really down to the processing power of PCs at the end of the day) and
other matters like bandplanning get resolved, these are the dilemmas we
will increasingly be facing. Maybe we will need two versions of 160m DXCC -
one of which specifically states "SSB and CW only" or somesuch! But the
genie is out of the bottle, for better or worse.

Don G3XTT