Well, it finally happened. KV9L helped me setup my computer at home to work some digital modes with my IC-705. It turns out that all I needed to connect my IC-705 to my desktop PC was a simple USB cable! It also took a significant amount of “know how” from my buddy Aaron to get them talking to each other as well. The two modes that I have played with so far as FT4 and FT8. These seem to be the current hotness in digital modes with FT8 clearly winning in popularity as the “watering hole” for it on 20 meters has dozens of stations on the air pretty much 24/7. The FT4 area can go long periods of time with no one there at all. Just to see if I like this idea, I have just wired the 705 up temporary on the shack bench with wires running this way and that… Once I decide if I want to keep this up or not, I will put all those pesky wires away…but till then!
All I needed was a USB cable that was in the storage bin 3 feet away…lol.
I will be honest though, I am kind of stuck in the past. I really like the kinesthetic feel of working with my gear and once setup, these new digital modes are pretty hands off. I was blown away at how far I could hear stations that are not even perceptible to the ear when using the “main two” modes (SSB & CW).
I was hearing stations from all over the world on my simple vertical antenna. Here comes some of the problems though. They either wouldn’t answer or couldn’t hear me when I would click on them. That isn’t to say that I didn’t make any contacts but it is not as easy as I was thinking it would be. Often I would choose a station to answer just to have them continue to call CQ.
Another thing I learned was that there is a good bit of waiting… Actually, there is a lot of waiting… it takes 15 seconds on FT8 to send one message, in one direction, and another 15 to send the reply. A typical QSO is 4 messages(as best as I can figure) from each person so a full two minutes to finish one QSO. This doesn’t sound like a long time till you are sitting there watching the QSO happen in real time. It goes a little as follows: they call CQ, you call them for a QSO, they don’t hear you the first time as you started transmitting in the middle of a cycle, so they call CQ again, then your message is repeated, they accept your call and send signal report, you send signal report back, they acknowledge and 73, you close with 73…all automatically. Each one of these is a full 15 seconds of waiting since the computer is handling everything for you. If the band is crowded and noisy or you are like me, running QRP power, the exchange can take multiple attempts to complete each stage (all of this is also automated), running the total time up even further.
Here is an example of a QSO I had with KP4PUA in Puerto Rico and notice we had to send signal reports twice to complete the QSO, This took a full 2 minutes to exchange this simple contact.
Another thing that happens is they give up after three of four attempts at the QSO. Burning a full 5 minutes or more just ATTEMPTING to complete a QSO. So I tried several times and made maybe a dozen QSO contacts over the past couple of days. This ends up being very frustrating and to be honest…boring… for a CW op who is used to things happening differently. I found myself picking a callsign for my computer to attempt to call and then leaving it to make the QSO and going for snacks, water, or even a bathroom call and just checking for the complete QSO window when I returned. It is a fully automated process and requires nothing from you other than to click the ok button and choose another callsign.
A typical window layout for FT8 (pictured) or FT4. Click on the screenshot to goto the WSJT-x webstie to learn more about it.
I can see the value in It though, as it takes very little energy and lots of stations can fill the same bandspace as a single SSB QSO. I mean a lot, like dozens or maybe more as shown in the waterfall above. All of those little yellow squares are exchanges happening and they are taking about 100hz of bandspace and they can also duplex and share the bandspace at the same time…from what I can tell. So it has merit, just not for an old CW op like myself.
Now to be honest, FT4 is more my speed as it took half the time to send each message. Waiting 7 1/2 seconds seems like a trivial amount of time difference, but it does seem to pass be faster than the 15 seconds of FT8 for some reason… Like disproportionately faster. Even though there is only 7 1/2 seconds difference, it just seems like it is 4 times faster for some reason, it must be a mental block or something, but that is how I see it. I have been letting it run on FT4 while I typed up this blog post and actually made a few QSOs while I have been here. Not many as FT4 is not as popular as FT8 for some reason and there are not as many people using this mode.
So who do I think this mode of operation is for? That is a great question. I would guide the new ham to it, as once setup, it is very simple to operate and you don’t have to worry about “mic fright” as it is literally point and click. Another group that would be well served right away is the younger generation as they are accustomed to this type of interface and for them, it would “just make sense” for them as they are used to using computers all their lives. Another group would be the person that has been injured or incapacitated in some way that prevents them from using the usual modes, as long as they can drive a mouse, they can get on the air. Shoot, if you just like using digital modes, then it is there for you! There are others of course, my point is that I am not bashing digital modes here, I have just found it wasn’t what I expected and that it isn’t really for me…at this time. I hope to be able to add a computer to my activation gear list at some point and that should enable me to add digital modes to my activation tool kit. I carry a microphone now, but rarely use it, and that needs to change… I really enjoy quietly sitting in the park working CW though, so I am torn… lol. Anyway, till then I will keep using my little QRP radios and having a grand ole time. If you have not gotten out and activated a park, I highly recommend it. I am going to write up what I pack for an activation, and that is my style, and share that with you soon.
If you want to learn more about Parks on the Air. Click this link or the photo below.
Me working the OG digital mode…CW on my tiny N6ARA paddles