Topband: FT8 - the end of 160m old school DXing? (long)

[Charlie Young]

I think the game changing aspect of FT8 is that many folks who would normally be available to work on CW or SSB  will now be on FT8.   The amount of activity on the FT8 frequency of any band is phenomenal.

This summer I constructed a 4 x 7 LFA stack on 6 meters, primarily because the largest remaining opportunity for Challenge points as I close in on 3000 is on 6 meters, along with 160 and 80.  I thought, might as well add elevation and go for 6 EME. Except for RTTY, I was inactive on digital modes, so downloaded WSJTX and started working JT65A on EME.  On a whim, I fired up on FT8.

There will be FT8 activity, and usually lots of it, on just about any HF band and usually it will be there when there is little or no other activity.  It is a bottomless pit of stations to work.  The active callsigns seen there are well known DXer’s from CW and SSB, along with a whole bunch of newer callsigns that are unrecognized.

Although I was QRT on 6 for most of the summer due to the construction, the spots were closely watched.  It seemed to me that early in the season, there was an explosion of JT65A activity.  After the release of FT8, it seemed everyone switched to that.  There were hardly any spots on CW.

It is very easy to make QSO’s with FT8, almost no effort.  The sensitivity of the mode for weak signal work is attracting a large following, along with the faster speed of making a QSO compared to JT65.  I have been on FT8 on a casual basis for about 2 weeks, and likely have 500 QSO’s logged, including some new digital counters and a couple of Challenge band fills.  I have not listened to FT8 on Topband.

Anything that sparks this level of interest can only be good for the long term future of ham radio.  Personally, I will be completely disappointed if we can’t find DX to work on CW, since that is my favorite activity in ham radio, especially 160.   It remains to be seen if FT8 will take over on 160 like it seems to have done on some other bands.  Hopefully, there will be something for all of us to enjoy on our favorite band.

Regarding 6 EME, being completely new, I was surprised to be able to detect by ear many of the signals, and to be able to see traces on just about anyone we can decode.  The first big thrill was hearing my own CW echo several days in a row, before getting my 8877 amp finished and firing up JT65A.

Being 70 years old now, I decided to pursue Challenge points where they can be found, regardless of mode.  No time to waste looking backward, if there is any hope to get 3000 while I am still above the grass.

73  Charlie N8RR












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