It’s inevitable. At some point, machines are going to render humans irrelevant. It’s been a recurring theme in science fiction since before I was born (1955), and there are numerous predictions of the Singularity, the point in time when machines will be smarter than human, occurring between 2030 and 2045.
It may happen in amateur radio sooner than we think. A couple of days ago, one of my readers, sent me a link to a blog post by John, AE5X: Automated FT8 “FoxBot” in upcoming DXpedition – confirmed. He wrote:
A DXpedition to Tokelau will take place from 1 to 11 October and it will be your chance to work an FT8 robot operating in Fox/Hound mode.
Stathis SV5DKL has been working on a “FoxBot” for some time now, is listed as a partner to this DXpedition and has confirmed that the DXpedition will be using his FoxBot.
John has since updated this post, noting “The SV5DKL logo has now been removed and the DX team will be in ‘full compliance’ with the mode.” Full compliance meaning following the rules set up by the ARRL DXCC rules.
The ARRL is, of course, against the use of robots. Contacts made via a fully-automated station will not be given DXCC credit. I guess they think that it’s just not fair—at least not fair to all those guys who spent thousands to be able to work those rare ones.
As John says, however, the use of FT8 robots in the future is a certainty. Sooner or later, some DXpedition is going to use an FT8 robot without saying anything about it. How is the ARRL going to know that a DXpedition is using robots if the DXpedition operators don’t tell them?
I’m wondering when some DXpedition is going to give up on SSB and CW altogether. Why bother with those modes when you can make hundreds or thousands more contacts by just operating FT8?
Another thought just occurred to me. If the ARRL gets its way and Techs are awarded HF digital privileges, how long will it take for some enterprising Tech to make the DXCC Honor Roll using FT8 exclusively. Oh, the horror of it! Watch for this in an upcoming blog post. :)
Jeff, KE9V says
Creating a fully-autonomous station is technically plausible, and as some suggest, has probably already happened. You may already have contacts in your station log from a robot. The ARRL will eventually embrace this because the story of the inflatable equipment container with a self-deploying antenna being dropped on some deserted island by helicopter that proceeds to make 200,000 contacts until the batteries die will be too compelling to NOT publish it in QST – and they will then brag about the technical prowess of amateur radio…
The bigger question is why would anyone want to do this?
Ham radio is an activity in which humans participate and engage with each other. What’s the point of having a “hobby” that you don’t take part in? It would be like deciding to take up archery and then discovering that you can buy a machine that shoots arrows automatically and always hits the bullseye — then declaring yourself an “expert” archer.
Or better yet, why not fully automate a church where the lights come on at 9am on Sunday morning while recorded worship music begins to play for 30 minutes followed by a 45-minute pre-recorded sermon, followed by with another 15 minutes of music. Your offerings would be automatically withdrawn from your bank account, and then the lights go off and the place goes silent. Meanwhile, all the parishioners get to stay home and sleep, while earning a “perfect attendance award” for Sunday School.
Whenever I mention the threat to our radio hobby posed by FT8/4/X most reply with the tired, old “we heard the same thing when we moved from Spark to CW or AM to SSB”. That’s an ignorant response. The move from AM to SSB still required a person to TALK and one to LISTEN. The move from Spark to CW still required a person to tap on a Morse key and to decode it…
This inaudible digital nonsense that can be fully-automated is a clear and present danger to our hobby because it obviates the need for any of us to participate beyond bringing Frankenstein to life. We are reaching a point where those of us not interested in setting up clusters of computers for the purpose of having them exchange telemetry data with each other will abandon the hobby and search for other, more compelling interests.
I’m thinking about crafting a robot that will climb Mt. Everest while I knock golf balls into the sea from the back of a cruise ship and later accepting kudos for having conquered one of the big ones!
73, Jeff KE9V
Dave New, N8SBE says
RS-10 and RS-12 robot mode. Been there, done that. And no one decried the imminent demise of ham radio.
I welcome our robot overlords.
Jeff KE9V says
Your station didn’t work RS10 or RS12 while you were out bowling…big difference.
James Cook, KM4RGZ says
I find it rather ironic that the same people who cry that FT8 or what ever other digital mode is “killing” ham radio then wonder why the number of hams is declining.
I live in a subdivision which does not allow outside antennas. The house are close and being a consider neighbor I restrict my operating power to reduce the chances of RFI. I’ll never have a legal limit am, a tower, or even a YAGI. Add to that a high noise level and the solar minimum and if it were not for mode like FT8 I would probably abandon the hobby.
If I can make a suggestion, if you don’t like FT8 or any other mode, please don’t use it., but don’t be a bully and try to make other people not use it.
I also wonder how many people have “automated” their SSB or CW using the recorder on their radios to call CQ. I doubt it would take much to create a computer program to “listen” to the response from an automated CQ call and generate replies to complete the exchange.
I prefer to believe that most people are honest. If the ARRL say you need to be operating your radio when doing an exchange than most people will. Will there be some that don’t? Sure while I believe most people are honest, I know some are not. What do the dishonest people gain? a certificate that broke the rules to get? how much is that worth?
I have used FT8 to earn a WAC and WAS awards. As I already mentioned if I could not use FT8 for such awards I probably would not be active in the hobby.
Amateur radio is a multifaceted hobby. Find what part you enjoy and do it. If you don’t enjoy part of it, don’t do that part.
Some like restoring and operating older equipment, so called boat anchors. I have not interest in doing that, but I certainly am not going to try and stop others who do enjoy to from doing so.
We should define what is acceptable as far as operating practices, but that goes beyond FT8 and even beyond “automation”. Part of our charter is to “advance the art”. I embrace new technology and want to see what we can do with it.
I’ll save the critics some time. I’ve only been licensed for 3 or 4 years. I am a no code ham. If you look on ARRL LOTW and eQSL the only contacts I have reported are FT8 or FT4. So you may not consider me to be a “real” ham.
Dan KB6NU says
Hey…you’re a real ham in my book!
John says
I have a question. This is aimed at anyone that can answer. I’m fairly new to ham radio, got my tech about a year and a half ago. I live in a neighborhood where I can’t have antenna’s so I use a small stand up one on my floor. Would FT-8 allow me to make distant contacts without the outdoor antenna?
I have almost given up on the hobby simply because I am unable to travel far for meetups and my local Elmers meet up to have dinner and not really talk about ham radio. What radio could I get to get started? I’ve also been interested in CW and I think this digital packet stuff might just be my ticket to finally have fun with the hobby! :)
Bill WK2X says
1910s: vacuum tubes are gonna be the end of ham radio!
1920s: AM is gonna be the end of ham radio!
1930s: FM is gonna be the end of ham radio!
1940s: SSB is gonna be the end of ham radio!
1970s: repeaters are gonna be the end of ham radio!
1980s: packet is gonna be the end of ham radio!
1990s: getting rid of morse testing is gonna be the end of ham radio!
2010s: FT8 is gonna be the end of ham radio!
2020s: Remote operation is gonna be the end of ham radio!
I’m sensing a theme here….