Currently there is a
poll going on at DX world.net. Is the new FT8 digital mode damaging hamradio? I remember reading same discussions about SSB when it was new. Personally I don't think this mode will kill hamradio but it changed the whole game. However, there are hamradio operators that take this hobby far to serious. They probabely forgot that hamradio is all about experimenting and it doesn't matter what you experiment with. It is fun to experiment and see that others do the same so you can share your experiences. Most experimenters don't share the experiences via radio anymore but via social networks on the internet. And still it is fun! I remember gathering information about antennas before the internet, it was more difficult to get information on any topic. When packetradio was introduced to me it became easier to share and get info and with internet it became a way of life. Our hobby will evolve if you like it or not....
If you like to read
SV5DKL's statement about FT8, you think about how serious the whole thing is becoming even for the developers. I've been
writing about Stathis his experimental FT8 robot and later my thoughts about a DXpedition robot (less operators needed, cheaper DXpedition). Stathis will continue his experiments and was unfortenately prevented from using DXpedition mode for 2 days within the WSJT-X software because of this. Suddenly I was thinking about years ago when I was banned from using a certain digital wide band mode called ROS when a number of bloggers commented the bandwidth was just too large compared to other modes. Well, just like I wrote before....some of us take this hobby far too serious....luckely the WSJT development team realized that as well...
Remember this: hamradio is just a hobby, it should be fun. Learn from your experiments!
