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You just never know………
6 April 2021 | by  |
| 9K2OW in the log |
This evening I decided to settle into the shack and once again get on FT8 to see what was happening. I went directly to 40m and set my power to 70 watts. As a side note funny thing about 40m I used to bother the washer machine and an office light would turn on and off but for some reason not anymore. Anyway, this post was about a very nice FT8 contact I made. I was calling CQ well to be more accurate my computer was calling CQ. Right out of the blue I had a call from 9K2OW in Kuwait!!
With a couple of mouse clicks and he was in the log. Recently I have been reading some positive and negative opinions regarding FT8. Personally, I like to stay neutral when I read these posts maybe that is the Canadian in me but I do know I had a blast having Kuwait answer my CQ call on 40m. It was a short but good evening on ham radio!
8 Responses to “You just never know………”
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FT8 can indeed produce some amazing results. Frank Taylor deserves huge credit for creating this unique and fun mode. Some of my local radio friends turn thumbs down on the mode but, especially as a new HAM, licensed May 2018, I’ve found FT8 and PSK31 to be tons of fun. I also enjoy phones but have never had the tremendous results I get when chasing distant stations. Weak signal modes really shine when propagation is poor and you run a maximum of 100 watts on an end fed 10-80 antenna. Rarely do I run anything more than 50 watts on digital modes, and on average it’s only 40.
Good evening Marvin, and thanks for stopping by the blog and leaving a comment, first off I want to welcome you to the hobby. It’s true you will find within the hobby there are those who have opinions about certain modes. I really don’t get mixed up in the fray. I find it just takes time away from me to enjoy the hobby. Ham radio is so big there is room for all likes.
73 and have a great week,
Mike
VE9KK
Hi to all,
I;ve ben off the air for about 4 yrs,been out of the country,living in Ecuador.Then along came Covid and my wife and I thought it would be wise to return to the States.I’m 97 and been licensed since 1960.
I haven’t set up a ststion yet,just listening around for now.I just finished a MW loop antenna and I’m anxious to try it out.I read a recent post regarding
FT8 and I wonder what it is.
My favorite mode of operation is CW and have about 120 countries worked.
I just thought I’d dp in and say”Hello” and introduce myself.
73, Have fun,stay healthy,
“Van” K6QGH
Hello Mike and all FT8 and PSK 31 is just a extension to our communications aids.
One may say it is the C.W. version of electronic communications today. Any mode of
communications keeps one licence active if you do not use one licence you may loose
it as time goes on. Best of 73 from Gerard EI3EA
Good morning Van and very nice to hear from you, being 97 years old you for sure have seen lots of things come and go in ham radio? FT8 is just one of those fairly new things in radio. The internet is full of articles on FT8 both positive and negative.
Thanks for stopping by Van and saying hello I hope you enjoy the blog and do let me know how the new loop antenna is working once you are up and on the air.
73 and have a great weekend and you stay safe as well,
Mike
VE9KK
Gerrard very nice to hear from you and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, yes as you say anything that keeps the bands busy and most of us on the air is a good thing. Now that COVID has been here for some time FT8 has given hams a good reason to get on the radio even with the bum out solar conditions.
73 and thanks again for stopping by and adding a comment,
Mike
VE9KK
Hi Mike, yes, you nailed it, same here. The thrill of a direct world-wide contact never gets old. As for FT8, yes it’s brief, but for those few moments we are friends and that counts for a lot.
73 from Arizona
Good afternoon Elwood very nice to hear from you, very true I was very pleased to make the contact and get Kuwait in the log.
73 and have a great weekend,
Mike
VE9KK