[VHFcontesting] Changing from WSJT to SSB...

[Tom Frenaye]

All good possibilities.    As a ³little gun² VHFer with 100w and a broken
6m antenna it is my experience today and 10-20-30 years ago that with so
much emphasis from serious competitors on ³running the bands² for the UHF
and microwave QSO points and multipliers it is not much fun.  At least the
multi-ops stick around and try to work the beginners and low power
stations calling them.

I think the person who suggested that having a designated frequency for
FT-x activity is one of the main reasons as to why it has become so
popular.  I agree.   There¹s nothing less fun to a newcomer than hearing
two stations work each other and then QSY to another band.  The incentive
for those extra points for UHF/microwave QSOs outweighs the possible score
you might get by working the newcomers and low power stations.

     ‹ Tom/K1KI   


‹
Tom Frenaye, P O Box J, West Suffield CT 06093. c: 860-597-4539  h:
860-668-5444






On 9/18/19, 2:50 PM, "VHFcontesting on behalf of John Kludt"
<vhfcontesting-bounces at contesting.com on behalf of johnnykludt at gmail.com>
wrote:

>All
>
>But should we not be looking at why FT8 is dominant and not trying to
>figure out ways to put the genie back in the bottle?.  Maybe it has to do
>with the apparently declining number of "good CW ops" or the number of
>people who even know Morse Code.  Maybe it has something to do with the
>ability to be successful, whatever that means, with less than a KW and
>stacked beams.  Maybe it has to do with the possibility that for a
>station who mostly does S&P it is more efficient than SSB S&P.  Remember
>the job of the little stations is to maximize their score, not the score
>of the big multi/multi run stations.  And I get it, that is bad news to
>the multi/multi players.
>
>We will get it figured out.  It is a hobby and it is about having fun.
>Being the 6m band captain for a multi/multi believe me I get it.  But I
>also know we can't fix it by turning the clock backwards.  Genies do not
>like to go back in the bottle.
>
>John
>Sent from my Verizon Motorola Smartphone
>On Sep 18, 2019 13:11, Mark Spencer <mark at alignedsolutions.com> wrote:
>>
>> Or perhaps be able to work a station twice on one band using any two
>>separate modes (ie. Digital, Phone or CW)
>>
>> That way operators who didn't want to run digital could run Phone and
>>CW and still be able to work stations twice on each band.
>>
>> 73 
>>
>> Mark S 
>> VE7AFZ 
>>
>> mark at alignedsolutions.com
>> 604 762 4099 
>>
>> > On Sep 18, 2019, at 11:03 AM, Dave <kdcarlso at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > 
>> > If you got rid of the two signal rule you would actually reduce the
>> > activity. If there is a rule change I would support the idea of being
>>able 
>> > to work a station twice. Once on digital and once on CW or SSB. That
>>would 
>> > help reduce FT8's dominance.
>> > 
>> > Dave 
>> > N2OA 
>> > 
>> >> On Wed, Sep 18, 2019 at 9:59 AM RT Clay <rt_clay at bellsouth.net>
>>wrote: 
>> >> 
>> >> I think the mode switching problem (and people getting "stuck on
>>FT8") 
>> >> has been made worse by the recent change in ARRL VHF contest rules
>>that 
>> >> allows single ops to transmit simultaneously on multiple bands. It
>>was easy 
>> >> for example for me to set up a single computer with two sound cards
>>and two 
>> >> radios running FT8. I think many ops now want to have a radio
>>running 6M 
>> >> FT8 all the time to catch weak openings on that band.
>> >> Only allowing a single signal at once on ANY band (like HF contests)
>>would 
>> >> discourage single ops from trying to cover multiple bands on FT8.
>> >> 
>> >> Technically It is not easy to have a computer+two radios on FT8 and
>>easily 
>> >> switch back and forth from SSB (keeping a soundcard for voice
>>messages of 
>> >> course). Yes, you can go to multiple computers instead.
>> >> 
>> >> Also, allowing internet chat rooms I think has made FT8 use take
>>priority 
>> >> over SSB/CW, just because it is much easier to do FT8 + internet
>>compared 
>> >> to SSB/CW + internet.
>> >> Tor N4OGW 
>> >> 
>> >>    On Wednesday, September 18, 2019, 7:41:47 AM CDT, N1BUG <
>> >> paul at n1bug.com> wrote:
>> >> 
>> >> This is a situation I am going to have to investigate and try to
>> >> deal with as soon as I have some quality free time for radio...
>> >> hopefully in about 5 to 6 weeks.
>> >> 
>> >> Call it over thinking things if you want, but of necessity band
>> >> switching tasks are complicated here. I am active from LF to UHF and
>> >> can only afford to have one good transceiver. VHF band switching
>> >> involves switching 28 MHz IF to the appropriate transverter,
>> >> reducing power output from the transceiver, enabling the correct
>> > 
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