I am trying to gauge interest in JT65. I would be bringing my Macbook Air with me to some of the less challenging summits. But before I do, I wanted to see if anyone chases or activates using this mode. And as a followup, how about PSK31?
73 de K5RHD
/randy
In reply to K5RHD:
PSK31 has been used on a few summits but not a lot. Have not heard any JT65 so far.
Gary A. - W0MNA
In reply to W0MNA:
Thanks Gary. WB5USB, NM5SW and I have a double summit day planned for Sunday. Look for us.
73
/randy
In reply to K5RHD:
Regarding JT65 and other JT modes please remeber that the accuracy of the PC clock needs to be Ā±2 seconds synchronized or the decode becomes really challenging. From these slow modes I prefer the JT9, since it has better band efficiency compared to JT65 and the same QSO rate. Please consider taking a GPS mouse to sync your Mac clock with, if you decide to try the JT modes from the summit.
The benefit of PSK is the non-dependecy to time sync.
73s, toni oh3t
Iād be very happy to chase JT65. That might be a good chance to increase my NA chase count from its current lowly value of 2!
I wonder how well you will manage to decode anything from a pile-up of chasers though? That could be another reason to consider JT9, which gives more room for chasers to spread their TX frequencies.
Simon, G4TJC
In reply to K5RHD:
Hi Randy,
Conditions seem better to Eu activators than US activators at present so maybe JT65HF will bridge the gap. Iād be delighted to chase.
73
Ron
VK3AFW/AX3AFW
In reply to G4TJC:
I wonder how well you will manage to decode anything from a pile-up of
chasers though? That could be another reason to consider JT9, which
gives more room for chasers to spread their TX frequencies.
This is an intriguing idea, as Iāve just recently started playing around with JT65 myself (receive only so far). Havenāt tried JT9 yet; will have to look into that. It could help to mitigate the fact that so many activators I try to hear are just too weak (only really tried SSB seriously so far; still need to work on CW speed).
From what Ive seen, it should be possible to decode multiple chasers signals at the same time.
Just thinking out loud hereā¦would this be done on normal JT65 frequencies, or elsewhere so as to attract SOTA chasers specifically? Also, does the mode even support enough characters in a transmission to allow one to call CQ SOTA?
ā73 Karl KA3RCS
In reply to KA3RCS:
It will be interesting to see how this progresses. JT-9 and JT-65 are modes designed to make contacts as opposed to having meaningful QSOs, they are also very slow so I guess they wont appeal to everyone.
73 Richard G3CWI
In reply to K5RHD:
Iām not able to activate a lot of summits, but all of my activations are in PSK31.
Last week i activated DM/BW-054 in this mode, next week i will try to activate a summit in France.
The only drawback of running this mode is the extra weight for the laptop you need to carry. Maybe i will try DroidPSK in the future.
Iāve never done anything with the JT modes.
73 Bart de PE1RIK
In reply to G3CWI:
It will be interesting to see how this progresses. JT-9 and JT-65 are
modes designed to make contacts as opposed to having meaningful QSOs,
they are also very slow so I guess they wont appeal to everyone.
Indeed; these modes are not the best option for a quick (or low-profile) activation.
On the plus side, they are optimized for very low power/weak signal operation, which fits well with what we do.
I expect that my Fujitsu U810 should work nicely. Itās a UMPC which is even smaller than a netbook (5.6" screen, about the size of the FT-817 when closed). It runs for about 4 hours on a charge. Of course, transmitting a full power carrier for a minute at a time wonāt be so good for the batteries in the radioā¦
ā73 Karl KA3RCS
In reply to K5RHD:
And as
a followup, how about PSK31?
I know Tom, M0EYP has been using PSK31 on some of his HF activations - Iām not sure how thatās gone for him.
Iāve been using PSK31 on 2m here in the UK both as part of my PSK group (http://tiny.cc/a4ledx) and to activate SOTA summits with some degree of success. It seems to suffer a bit on 2m due to phasing issues. When working weak signal on 2m Iāve used Olivia and thatās been a good compromise (better at resolving the text and still giving you the freedom to ātype what you likeā).
Iām just too āchattyā to use that highly structured stuff like JT65 and I like the freedom to type anythingā¦
Rob G7LAS
I have qualified a summit on PSK 31 as well as completed a S2S. Interested in trying some DX with it as it is pretty easy to use. My laptop and signalink interface is about 1.5KG, not much extra weight to carry for most summits I activate. Hardest part I find is trying to type accurately when not sitting comfortablly. I should make more use of the macros in FLDigi that I use.
Compton
VK2HRX
In reply to VK2HRX:
Hardest part I find is trying to
type accurately when not sitting comfortably. I should make more use
of the macros in FLDigi that I use.
ā¦or get a camping stool. Makes a big difference and is well worth carrying on easier summits where you envisage stopping a while.
73 Richard G3CWI
In reply to KA3RCS:
Just thinking out loud hereā¦would this be done on normal JT65
frequencies, or elsewhere so as to attract SOTA chasers specifically?
Also, does the mode even support enough characters in a transmission
to allow one to call CQ SOTA?
I would recommend using JT9 in its normal QRG slot. More than 150 parallel QSOs fit easily to the passband of a typical rig, so a few SOTA calls can fit there easily. Normal bands are pre-programed in WSJTX software.
There is mechanism to send wildcards in tx in jt9 (also jt65 has this feature), which is 13 characters. So one could easily send xx/yynnn
as an extra info when calling cq instead of the locator.
Let me think about this. Please prepare your digi mode setups for JT9 testing tomorrow around 8-10 UTC from OH/JS-066. Iāll send message to the cluster when I am QRV. Most probably that will be on 20m or 30m depending on the band conditions.
ā¦
While writing this I made a call to Saku OH2NOS and we agreed to make a joint activation tomorrow morning around 9 UTC 
Soā¦ JT9 will be on air tomorrow from the JS-066.
Cheers,
Toni oh3t
In reply to K5RHD:
I am pleased to announce that Toni OH3T made today first in the world JT9 SOTA Summit in OH/JS-066.
73, Saku OH2NOS
In reply to OH2NOS:
I worked OH3T on 20m using JT9 this morning; looked as if he qualified the activation using JT9, but I didnāt see any other active SOTA Chaser callsigns. Maybe I didnāt catch them all!
73
In reply to GM0AXY:
When I got to the summit Saku (OH2NOS) was already at full speed. I started setting my double to the trees while he was handling the CW QSOs with his ft817 with louadpeaker on so I could listen to the QSOs.
I decided to try to qualify the summit only with JT9 (the four QSO requirement). I had a loads of trouble with my USB connector that I found to be broken and the cable was loose between the Flex 1500 radio and the computer. I had to reboot the PC several times.
There was not that much action on JT9, but after several dozen CQs I finally got the needed four contacts, qualifying the summit
Here is one happy camper after the fourth QSO. (picture taken by Saku, thanks)
Some afterthoughts.
I was sending standard CQ and after that a message āSOTA OHJS066ā.
Instead of sending RRR I sent āSOTA OHJS066ā.
I think it is very pssible to achieve one qso/two minutes rate with indirect ack. That also requires running split, which is easy with JT9. you just need to unclick the RX=TX and from the bandscope you can pic a clear QRG for your transmission.
In this way the activator can receive several replies and decode them all. Thenā¦ from the decodes activator can just send the S/N report and wait for the chaser one to ack that. If activator does NOT come back to the chaser one and picks a new one (chaser two) the chaser one can be sure that his ack was received successfully and the QSO is complete.
With standard JT9 this is the fastest possible way to make contacts and a reasonable qso rate can be achieved.
Just my thoughts on the āSOTA JT9 protocolā. BTW this is more or less standard practice already in JT9 when the regular contacts send quick reports on the band conditionsā¦
Thanks again! it was a fun challenge.
Cheers,
Toni oh3t
In reply to OH3T:
Hello Toni,
Well done. I did the clock thing about a year ago using:
http://www.thinkman.com/dimension4/
(which is very good - x4 PCs here linked to the Swiss time server) with the intention but never go round to it butā¦
Then yesterday I downloaded the software for JT9 etc. and was still fiddling around with the CAT stuff on the Flexradio so was not up and running when you came on. Very pleased that it worked for you 8) I like the thumbs up in the photo!
Hopefully I will be ready next time.
Best wishes
Mike
In reply to OH3T:
Sorry I missed you Toni. Saw the spot, but from my train to work! Sakuās signals were very good earlier, so Iām sure it would have worked.
Does the software/protocol let you sign /P?
73, Simon
In reply to K5RHD: I can do either and interested.