[VHFcontesting] WSJT for tools.

[frank bechdoldt]

Well in my WSJT experiences on 6 meters over ½ of my qsos were made on a M2 loop and 200 watts.  The other ½ were made on a par moxon with a huge beam width.  
 
My general impression of vhf up to 2 meters is less power is needed to make e-skip, qsos than on hf.  How many elmers use to say that you can work the world on 10 meters with 10 watts and a wet noodle?  
 
All be it there is an exponential amount of reflective ions on a e-skip cloud or f2 opening than on a brief meteor trail.  But how much of that cloud are you really using to connect station a to b, and when you do so on an e-cloud its usually a pretty strong signal.
 
Therefore in the small slivers of ions we use on WSJT we are overcoming that small reflection path with Joe’s programming and algorithmic language.  It is simply true that it is easier to complete a qso with WSJT than CW when all the other variables are the same on a station.   
 
It is mathematically true that you are better off applying 10db gain in a well cooled amplifier to radiate a loop than swing around a 10 db beam looking for someone else who is moving a beam at the same time.   Using this principle I have made plenty of un scheduled contacts on 6 and 2 meters. Also using a loop and listening on the “calling frequencies” is a good way to pick something up.  When I was in to WSJT I would leave the radio on, go to work and check the recordings for burns when I got home.  Just as a tool to know what I was doing was working.
 
So I will call WSJT what it is. It is a TOOL.  Tools make goals easier to achieve when used correctly.  Ham radio has been advancing communication tools for 90 years.  So what’s the issue here?
 
My frustration with WSJT is the over  use of the beams and the webpage and pre-arranged qsos.  But those are tools as well, open for all of us to use, except in contests. I suppose that’s why I never set it up from CN86.
 
rr 27 rr 73
k3uhf
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