[VHFcontesting] Is FT8 Really the Problem with VHF Contests?

[k3sk at buckwalter.co]

I blame most of the weekend on very bad propagation and mostly general lack
of participation.

This was both, the worst propagation in 30 years I ever remember during a
VHF contest. And, it was also my first ever contest using a digital mode
(FT8). I worked as many SSB contacts as I could find, with frequent moves to
that portion of the band. I only heard 4 or 5 CW calls and all but one was
stations I already had logged.

During the later hours almost all FT8 I copied were dupes, calls I worked on
SSB or FT8 earlier. This was no different than other VHF contests, where
only the diehards and power-house multi-op stations just keep hammering
away. I did the same thing. I kept visiting the SSB calling frequencies and
called over and over with no response.. Then I'd go to FT8 and do the same
thing, getting the same results. 

Regardless of the mode, it was tough digging out a contact. An example that
proves this point is 222 MHz. Of the contest bands it's not a normally
active band but it's one I have and enjoy. I run a full KW and 4 10 element
LFAs on 222 MHz. In the past on this band I've worked 20 to 50 QSOs,
sometimes more. Over this entire weekend I worked 9 contacts! 5 of them were
on SSB and 4 were on FT8. There's nothing wrong with the equipment as half
the QSOs were 400+ mile contacts, Q5 copy and some of those were SSB. On FT8
I kept hearing the same 3 stations over and over again all weekend. 

There just wasn't anyone there to work, regardless of mode.

de K3SK