First activation with WSJT-Z on The Cloud G/SP-015 earlier. Everything worked perfectly, and the SOTA qualification without user intervention is now possible!
I only made one QSO on a 15m band that wasn’t really open but soon I shall do a fully automated 30m FT8 activation - and film it for your viewing pleasure!
Three QSOs added on 2m FM with the handheld - Jake 2W0SEY/P on Moel Famau GW/NW-044 plus the ubiquitous Pete 2E0LKC and Anne 2E0LMD.
Now driving over to Hunstanton for tonight’s gig with The Platters. It’s true. I’m no great pretender.
Walt, I try not to be a Luddite despite my age and my roots in a past age of ham radio, but I sympathise with your comment. I suppose that the justification for it will be that the equipment made the contacts under supervision, although it only needs to be a sketchy sort of supervision, the operator can enjoy lunch, have a nap or photograph the views while the equipment chunters away in the background. I only hope that the equipment enjoys the contacts and doesn’t slip into liddishness while the “operator’s” eye is elsewhere! What is the digital equivalent of a rettysnich?
The General Rules imply that there needs to be an operator, eg: “11. Activator points accrue to the operator regardless of the callsign used”. So in this case, maybe the computer should get the points
I’m fascinated to know how my FT8 QSO this morning was supposed to have happened without operator intervention and supervision.
It’s not that far removed from using a CW keyer (which I do) or a voice keyer.
But for clarity, it was me that walked up to the summit, me that set all the gear up, me that monitored the tablet screen and me that wrote the logs into my notepad.
And me that will be claiming credit for the contact.
Tom, playing with my whizz-bang new database toy I can tell you that you have had 176 activations where you have qualified the summit using Data modes alone. This was up to 11th January 2020 which is where you had logged to in the snapshot on the new new database server.
“Walking to the summit” “Setting up the gear” “monitoring” and “logging” do not qualify for the accrual of points, according to the General Rules, as far as I can see.
If you had delegated the operation of your transmitter to another human, then that other human would accrue the points - according to the General Rules.
Perhaps the most defining action of the “operator” as the term is generally used in Amateur Radio, is the operation of the transmit switch (morse key / microphone pressel etc).
In this case, operation of that switch has been delegated to a computer.
(I’m just passing the time while my new FT70 battery charges up - playing devil’s advocate )
My radio went into transmit because of my actions and in accordance with software I configured to my requirements.
I thought this was a technical hobby?
This is all from a single contact, before which I clicked on “Enable TX” and after which I clicked on “Halt”. Goodness knows what will happen after I post my video of my first “hands free” qualification!
I would imagine that the introduction of bugs (mechanical semi-automatic morse generators) might have caused similar concerns. After all, the operator doesn’t actually key every dot themselves. (Note however the style used by Denise Stoops “DA” sending this final message from KPH using a bug DA sending closing message on Night of Nights 10 - YouTube).
And in multi-tone modes, the operator isn’t keying each tone on and off using a piano keyboard like device and their manual skills to get the timing right. Instead, it’s done by a computer program.
Even in rtty that is now generated by computers, the operator is typing a letter on a keyboard but the transmission is an alternating series of tones on slightly different frequencies. The operator isn’t sending the transmission, in a theremin type interface, so does it count?
The question is “where do you draw the line?” It is rather arbitrary.
Progress is continuous and the modes we muse about today will in future be as ordinary and acceptable as today’s voice and morse modes.
Next: ESP by radio. (Arguably, today’s conditions require it already).
The Mouse or sticky fingers on a touch screen becomes the morse key or microphone to Transmit digital information to the radio in a mode considered legitimate in the Ham Radio hobby.
vk5cz …
All joking aside, I have a lifelong love for the mountains, AFAIC SOTA is a bit of icing on the cake. There are others like me, fellow lovers, I get to know them, we exchange a few words about the summit, the ascent or the conditions and then pass on. This is why I stick to phone. To me FT8 et al are marvellous technical achievements and I can understand its fascination although I don’t share it. So I applaud what Tom and others are doing - just don’t expect me to join in! And after all, if you can kick off an activation and then sit back and enjoy the ambience it can’t be bad!
Based on personal experience, anyone who can produce intelligible Morse with one of these machinations of the Devil gets my enduring respect ! By comparison FT8 from a hilltop is easy
I respect your observation Paul as you have done one FT8 activation and one CW activation, so you are in a position to make an informed comparison.
My own perspective after 1400+ CW activations and 290+ Datamode activations (>50% of which are FT8) is that CW is way way easier. But it depends on the individual, like most things in life.
More importantly, when are you going to try another FT8 activation? And indeed, another CW activation?
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