[VHFcontesting] WSJT-Follow Up

[Les Rayburn]

I've received several private e-mail responses to my earlier posting. Please let me clarify my earlier statement. 

First of all, I hope that my remarks didn't offend any of you. That certainly was not my intention. This group has been great elmers to me, and I'm indebted to all of you. Obviously, no one "has" to use any mode, nor should they be mandated to do so. If you enjoy CW, or SSB--then I think that's great. Ditto for those interested in any other part of the hobby. Much to experience and enjoy. 

My concern is that many folks seem to ridicule folks who use the digital modes. I believe this has the effect of limiting it's growth. Some have written columns that link the Internet reflectors to cheating or unethical behavior. I've also seen postings that it wasn't the same as "real" meteor scatter (using CW or SSB) and that it amounted to automated QSO's. I couldn't disagree more. 

We all love the experience of making random QSO's. Calling CQ and hearing a response from an unknown person or location. Sometimes it's a new op in the same grid square, other times rare DX. Unexpected, and wonderful. 

But schedules are a celebrated part of VHF/UHF weak signal work. Without them most of the advances that we now take for granted would not have been possible. In the past, they were arranged by letter or telephone calls...sometimes by HF nets. The Internet is simply a continuation of that tradition...and I don't see how it's different to any real degree. It's just faster. It short, a better tool. 

The WSJT software is just another mode, superior in it's weak signal performance to even CW. I'm not advocating that we mandate it's usage, but I certainly think that it shouldn't be ridiculed. And it does not deserve to be lumped together into discussions about cheating in contests, or other nefarious practices. It's operators are no less ethical than any other, in fact, I might suggest that the opposite is true. Meteor Scatter operators go out of their way to avoid even the appearance of manipulating a contact. 

My point is that it's a tool---a great tool. It's easy to use, and difficult to master, much like other great modes. At it's limits, it offers real challenges to the best stations and operators. For day to day use, it allows the opportunity for exciting contacts to newcomers and those with more modest budgets. It also helps to avoid the "dead band" problem which turns many people off to V/U work, and feels in the nighttime hours during contests. It offers a virtual guarantee of working someone for those planning "GridExpeditions". What other modes can offer us all that? 

While some operators are "big guns", most have very modest stations. 100-200 watts into single Yagi's is pretty much the rule, with many stations having much less than that. And as a group, they've proven to be funny, helpful, and very honest. As such, they reflect the wider VHF/UHF community. 

If my comments suggested that I felt otherwise, I sincerely apologize.

73,

Les Rayburn, N1LF
EM63nf

Les Rayburn, director
High Noon Film
100 Centerview Drive Suite 111
Birmingham, AL 35216-3748 
205.824.8930
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