[TowerTalk] All Day Everyday Unattended FT8

[Paul Christensen]

Getting way off topic, but I'll add this:  It's not difficult to establish a remotely controlled FT8 station with a smartphone as a control point.  According to the FCC, a critical part of a establishing a control point is that RF transmissions can be stopped by invoking a control command.   

What may appear as an unattended, automated operation may in fact be someone controlling FT8 activity with his or her smartphone app, even while driving down the interstate.   I live among people who never (and I mean never) distance themselves from their smartphones; they're always instantly accessible.    Whether these FT8 ops are in uninterrupted, constant view of their FT8 app screens is a different matter, but that's not directly addressed in the rules -- at least not those of us in the U.S.

Paul, W9AC