In episode #489 of Linux in the Ham Shack, Russ, K5TUX, and Bill, NE4RD, comment on my blog post, Is this the beginning of the end for CW DXing? First of all, Bill didn’t quite get my point (which could be entirely my fault for not making my point more clearly). I was trying to raise the issue of some DXpeditions operating only FT-4 and FT-8, thereby leaving CW operators out in the cold.
Bill picked up on the second point, which is that it may be considered hypocritical for CW ops to complain about this. I wrote, “We CW operators often say that one reason for operating CW is that it’s easier to work DX on CW than phone. So, I guess it’s a bit hypocritical to bad mouth FT8 just because FT8 makes it even easier to work DX.”
Bill went on to speculate about the possibility of sending remotely-controlled stations to DX locations instead of sending people at all. I have written about this several times:
Frankly, I’m a little surprised that we haven’t seen this already. I guess it would be kind of difficult to put up a 160m antenna remotely. Assuming that hurdle could somehow be overcome, I say, “Why not?” Building some kind of remote station has got to be less expensive than sending a dozen or more hams to a rock in the middle of nowhere, and it could operate for longer than just a couple of weeks.
Russ then went off on a little bit of a tangent. He compared operating FT-4 and FT-8 to using computer-generated Morse Code during contests. In my mind, they’re not really comparable. I use N1MM and a WinKeyer during contests, but I still have to copy the code and log the contacts. All that can be automated with FT-4/8.
Russ then asked, “Would I want to work a piece of machinery that landed in a place and was spewing FT-8 and autocontesting?” His answer was definitely not. I’m not sure that’s the feeling of most DXers, though. I think that most hard-core DXers wouldn’t care at all. The thrill for them isn’t to make contact with the person at the other end, but rather to get a confirmation that their signal was heard in some far-away place.
I kinda wish that they’d had me on the show to discuss this idea. It was, however, one of their “short topic episodes,” so I understand completely why they didn’t. It’s an interesting idea, though.
Ed Woodrick says
Change, live with it, don’t fight it.
Bas PE4BAS says
Interesting article. I wrote about this a few times on my blog. I think technically it is possible. But the amateurradio community is not ready for it yet. Personally I would not care if I work a remote operated FT8 station on Bouvet Isl. on all bands or work a real life person. Just like you said, a DXer only gets a thrill when he is heard on the DXCC. It is a big questionmark to me why DXpeditions do not use FT8 robots (at least they say so!). Actually I think some of them do. By the way I worked VK9DX this weekend on CW, a new one for me. Do I care what mode I used? No, if it was any other mode I would be just as happy. 73, Bas
Bob K0NR says
The Northern CA DX Foundation is sponsoring a Radio In A Box concept for simple, remote deployment on environmentally sensitive DXCC entities. I am not sure if they’ve already deployed it or not. See https://ncdxc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/IDXC2021-15May-07-RIB.pdf