Topband: J28MD, conditions

[Michael Tope]

Thanks for pointing this out, Wes. I went back a re-read the primer on 
using "hound" mode in a less sleep-deprived state (still sleep deprived, 
but not nearly as much). Sure enough it describes how the hound's 
frequency gets moved to the frequency where the "fox"  responded. It 
seems that the computer tried to do exactly what is was supposed to do. 
It's a miracle that P29RO logged me given all my attempts to sabotage 
the intended course of events. 😅

73, Mike W4EF.........

On 11/5/2022 4:26 PM, Wes wrote:
> I'm far from an FT8 expert* but on F/H mode the Fox does move the 
> selected hound to his frequency.  If contact is not completed on the 
> first sequence he will move the hound to another frequency, rinse and 
> repeat once more and you need to start over.
>
> To their credit, IMHO, P29RO is actually also working traditional 
> RTTY.  I now have them on 5 bands on RTTY.
>
> * A couple of my clubs have impromptu "competitions" on certain 
> DXpeditions where the scoring is the number of slots (band/modes).  So 
> if you want to compete, you have to use FT8/FT4.  I kick and scream 
> and work them, but to date I refuse to claim DXCC credit for the Qs.  
> This has created a personal dilemma, because my DXCC number 339 is Mt 
> Athos on FT8.  I haven't claimed it and probably won't unless I work 
> #340, Glorioso, which will probably never happen in this lifetime.
>
> Wes  N7WS
>
> On 11/5/2022 2:50 PM, Michael Tope wrote:
>> I am glad to hear T88WA is not at the hotel club station. The club 
>> station has a low dipole on 160 which in the past has made a poor 
>> showing.
>>
>> I managed to get a response from P29RO on 160 meter FT8 on Friday 
>> morning, but didn't think it was a complete QSO. I am new to "hound" 
>> mode and WSJT-X kept changing my transmit frequency. I think I was 
>> calling at 1086 Hz, and when I got the response from P29RO, the 
>> program moved my TX frequency to match the P29s QRG (504 Hz) and 
>> responded there. Not sure what was going on. In any case, I was a bit 
>> stunned to see that I showed up in the P29 log. I suppose our 
>> exchange meets the bare minimum for a QSO - their computer decoded my 
>> call and signal report and my computer decoded theirs. Definitely not 
>> as satisfying as a clean CW QSO, but I am pretty certain they were 
>> too weak for that. Much of the time I wasn't decoding them and 
>> couldn't see them on the waterfall display.
>>
>> 73, Mike W4EF....................