28-05-2018, 09:50 AM
"The adverse effect of FT8 is that it requires minimal skills and provides minimum in the way of a challenge. Click on a DX callsign on screen, click on the Tx<--Rx button to make sure you are using the same 'frequency', click Enable Tx and it all more-or-less happens for you. Working that 'rare-ish DX' takes no effort."
- and therein lies the problem. The WSJT-x software has been painstakingly written so that when you click on a station, your transmit frequency remains the same. The very last thing you should do is to reply on the same frequency, because it slows down the whole process. Set your TX frequency for one that is free on your cycle. Operating split avoids inane transmissions like "Nil decode" or "no copy", which waste bandwidth. If you are operating split, there is less likelihood of no decode because you have less incidence of two or more stations replying to your call on the same frequency. If you transmit "no decode", you are announcing to the world that you are not operating split. Unfortunately the message has not got through yet, leading to the fact that the FT8 segment is often barely usable on the weekends because operators who are having a play are replying on the same frequency. (Not to mention those who are overdriving and distorting their signal)
If somebody calls me on the same frequency I called on, I usually change my frequency to avoid congestion. on that frequency - A little different to what we're used to on other modes.
If you're planning to have a play with FT8, it's a good idea to read the manual first. /rant off
- and therein lies the problem. The WSJT-x software has been painstakingly written so that when you click on a station, your transmit frequency remains the same. The very last thing you should do is to reply on the same frequency, because it slows down the whole process. Set your TX frequency for one that is free on your cycle. Operating split avoids inane transmissions like "Nil decode" or "no copy", which waste bandwidth. If you are operating split, there is less likelihood of no decode because you have less incidence of two or more stations replying to your call on the same frequency. If you transmit "no decode", you are announcing to the world that you are not operating split. Unfortunately the message has not got through yet, leading to the fact that the FT8 segment is often barely usable on the weekends because operators who are having a play are replying on the same frequency. (Not to mention those who are overdriving and distorting their signal)
If somebody calls me on the same frequency I called on, I usually change my frequency to avoid congestion. on that frequency - A little different to what we're used to on other modes.
If you're planning to have a play with FT8, it's a good idea to read the manual first. /rant off