[VHFcontesting] FT8 and the ARRL June VHF Contest

[RT Clay]

Keep in mind that if you are running 100 W and you are copying 1500 W stations at -15 dB, there is little chance that you can work them since they have ~10 dB more power. That was probably why K5QE couldn't hear you.

The same is true of course on CW/SSB, but in modes you copy by ear you often pick up some subtle clues that the other station is high power (for example propagation via backscatter can be recognized). One disadvantage of FT8 is that you miss those clues...everything you know about the signal is reduced to a single number.

Tor
N4OGW

--------------------------------------------
On Tue, 6/12/18, Michael Rapp <mdrapp at gmail.com> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] FT8 and the ARRL June VHF Contest
 To: "VHF Contesting" <vhfcontesting at contesting.com>
 Date: Tuesday, June 12, 2018, 2:07 PM
 
 I'm very new to VHF
 Contesting.  I discovered NA Contest mode via
 Marshall's article the day before the
 contest by Googling, "how to do VHF
 contesting with FT8."  I ran a very
 relaxed effort (dipole in attic) and
 did FT8
 on six meters exclusively.  For me it was so much fun to
 watch the
 Es situation change hour-by-hour
 over the US with so many stations on.
 
 Most of the stations I encountered were using
 contest mode.  A few weren't,
 and it
 did take some quick clicking to reset WSJT-X back to
 "funny number
 mode."  :) 
 Ironically for me, I saw K5QE on my waterfall several
 times,
 but he couldn't hear (see?) me. 
 I wanted to show that even someone so new
 to
 this can do contest mode!  :D
 
 -- 
 /*/-=[Michael /
 KT5MR]-=/*/
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