Very , very disappointed in this operation ! 99.9 percent FT-8 !! I do not do FT-8 and at this late stage in my ham life , I will not spend $1000 ‘s of dollars to upgrade for 1 lousy DX country. A52 would be a ALL TIME NEW ONE for me and put me on the DXCC Honor roll. I run a modest station and still have made contacts at unbelievable distances using CW. What little CW you did was at times and bands not even open to the west coast of the USA. With all the groups working to keep CW from being a dying art , it’s a real shame most DX operations do nothing but FT-8. Really , if you go to a rare DX , the first thing should be to give ATNO hams first shot ! But , no , the loudest and most obnoxious stations are worked first and often !! HOW SAD !! Are you really proud to give a few stations 20 or more contacts with your operation ? I am really thankful and surprised at the contacts I have made in my present situation , but , I need a little help from the other stations. I have a beam , tower and Amp , but they have been stored for 23 years now. I really didn’t need them as I have made contacts with stations much farther away than you guys. What was your purpose and / or goals for contacts when you planned this trip ? Anyway , what a sad thing ham radio has become. If all you want to do is FT-8 , why don’t you just give us your cellphone number and we can TEXT you for a contact !!! After all , part of that would use radio !!!
So sad , Gary – WØBF
Why do you think it costs thousands of dollars to add FT8 capability to your station? You obviously already own a computer, which is by far the biggest portion of the equipment needed to equip a ham station that already has SSB availability for FT8 operation. Beyond that, you need a sound card – if you don’t already have one, there’s versions aimed specifically for this application for less than $50 – and some free software.
Spoken like true Catholics 😉 Happy Easter from Orthodox Europe!
Very , very disappointed in this operation ! 99.9 percent FT-8 !! I do not do FT-8 and at this late stage in my ham life , I will not spend $1000 ‘s of dollars to upgrade for 1 lousy DX country. A52 would be a ALL TIME NEW ONE for me and put me on the DXCC Honor roll. I run a modest station and still have made contacts at unbelievable distances using CW. What little CW you did was at times and bands not even open to the west coast of the USA. With all the groups working to keep CW from being a dying art , it’s a real shame most DX operations do nothing but FT-8. Really , if you go to a rare DX , the first thing should be to give ATNO hams first shot ! But , no , the loudest and most obnoxious stations are worked first and often !! HOW SAD !! Are you really proud to give a few stations 20 or more contacts with your operation ? I am really thankful and surprised at the contacts I have made in my present situation , but , I need a little help from the other stations. I have a beam , tower and Amp , but they have been stored for 23 years now. I really didn’t need them as I have made contacts with stations much farther away than you guys. What was your purpose and / or goals for contacts when you planned this trip ? Anyway , what a sad thing ham radio has become. If all you want to do is FT-8 , why don’t you just give us your cellphone number and we can TEXT you for a contact !!! After all , part of that would use radio !!!
So sad , Gary – WØBF
Gary – Just curious…
Why do you think it costs thousands of dollars to add FT8 capability to your station? You obviously already own a computer, which is by far the biggest portion of the equipment needed to equip a ham station that already has SSB availability for FT8 operation. Beyond that, you need a sound card – if you don’t already have one, there’s versions aimed specifically for this application for less than $50 – and some free software.
Perhaps I missed something.
73,
Clarke K1JX
Just simple…
Why 95% of amateurs demand FT8 QSOs? Why calling CQ on SSB nobody answers for 20 min?