Or: Don’t Hate on FT8

One of the great things about amateur radio is that there are so many different modes to explore and avenues to pursue. It is an amazingly diverse technical hobby. There is something for everyone, and FT8 has become that something for many amateur operators, much to the chagrin of a few curdmudgeons.

Without giving air to the critics, I wanted to share why I like to use FT8 (and FT4).

Reason 1:

In February 2023 I was diagnosed with cancer. After two surgeries and six weeks of radiation treatment, I am currently cancer free. But during the diagnosis and treatment time, I needed a distraction – something that was fun, but intellectually stimulating. One can only play so many word games on their phone. I had cut back on work and was spending a lot of time at home to recover. I had never used WSJT-X before then, but decided to get my Xiegu X6100 on the air and try these new-to-me digital modes. So I set up the radio with an EFHW (End Fed Half Wave) and got it configured to do FT8. This also forced me to figure out a logging solution (I ended up using N3FJP ACLog on Windows, along with Logbook of the World, QRZ logbook, eQSL, etc). I also set it up so that I could remotely access the PC interfaced with the radio, and use my Android tablet while I was stuck in bed. I’ve also set up FT8 on my Android devices using the FT8CN app, which is pretty fun to use. This whole thing proved to be great fun to set up, tune, and refine. And it was fun to operate while I was recovering. I made hundreds of contacts and learned a lot about propagation and my antennas during this time. Which brings me to the second reason I love FT8.

Reason 2:

Once I was up and about more, and had more time, I began to experiment with different antenna solutions. I have a small backyard with no tall trees, and can’t really erect a permanent antenna. So I bought a couple of different telescoping poles (this one and this one). I started playing with different setups for the EFHW (sloper, inverted L, vertical). A great way to assess and compare the performance of each configuration was to change it, then call CQ on FT8 on a band of interest, and examine the spots from PSKreporter. It is really amazing how much this helps understand an antenna’s performance. I spent a lot of time doing this with the EFHW, a G5RV, and some dipoles. I now have a very good idea of how each of my antenna setups will perform on a given band, within ionospheric conditions and constraints, of course. This has really helped me to understand practical RF propagation and my available antenna solutions.

Reason 3:

The third reason I love FT8 is that it is like theraputic operating. And this realization came to me while recovering from surgery or when I was too tired from radiation treatment to do anything else. One can be very casual or very concentrated when operating FT8. But seeing those grid squares fill in and then get confirmed (I use GridTracker) is very satisfying. And I don’t mean satisfying from a contest standpoint (at least not for me), but from a sort of puzzle-solving standpoint. It’s pretty cool to me to see a real-time map of all the contacts you have made on a mode by band.

I operate a lot of other HF modes as well (Olivia, PSK, VarAC, JS8Call, packet, and even SSB!) but I still like FT8 and FT4. At the end of the day, it is a hobby and it is all about having fun. Do what you enjoy and strive to be good at it. What do you like about operating FT8?

Like many amateur operators, I have far too many handie talkies (HTs). I’ve cycled through many, and sold or given away many that I was done with. Some of those I wish I hadn’t sold (like the Kenwood TH-D74), but others I was glad to be rid of. I thought I would take a few paragraphs to talk about what I use day to day, and what I like and don’t like about these radios. I should note that I won’t discuss the HTs that I use in wildland fire communications as that is an entirely different purpose and topic.

On a regular basis and in addition to analog FM, I use DMR and Yaesu C4FM. To a lesser extent, I use P25 on amateur networks. Rarely do I ever use D-STAR any more, and then only via DVswitch and the mobile app on the phone.

I like using DMR. I’ve always liked the networks (specifically Brandmeister) and the architecture. I know, the digital audio is totally different than the richness of analog, but it’s still fun. And DMR was where I really learned about bridging and how I got into XLX reflectors.

For DMR, I mainly use the Anytone 878UV Plus II. I also use a Radioddity GD77 with the OpenGD77 firmware, and a Motorola XPR7550e. Of these three, I think the 878 is probably the best everyday choice. Yes, the 878 has its weird quirks, and the CPS (Customer Programming Software) is pretty bad, but the radio is fairly solid and easy to operate. And it sounds very good, both on receive and transmit. I also like the form factor and feel in the hand when operating. The OpenGD77 firmware is probably the most ham-friendly DMR firmware in existence, and is a pleasure to operate. But the hardware (Radioddity GD77) isn’t nearly as nice as the Anytone. I do like this radio as well, and keep one in the shed and use it while I’m out working in the yard. These radios as so inexpensive that you can have a couple and not worry about beating them up. In addition, both the 878 and the GD77 work very well with the Mobilinkd TNC4 for packet.

I don’t use the Motorola XPR7550e as much. It is a good solid radio, but is lacking a lot of the ham friendly features (like direct TG entry and persistence). I use it mostly on the Rocky Mountain Ham Radio region-wide DMR network where I am usually parked on one repeater/TG (Talkgroup) or roaming on a single TG.

For Yaesu C4FM (commonly referred to as “Fusion”), I use the FT-5DR. I also have an older FT-2DR, but it is relegated to my PDN (Personal Digital Node). The FT-5DR is a decent radio, and has a lot of APRS features. But to me, it feels pretty cheap. Indeed, mine has develoepd the dreaded case crack (or “mold line” as Yaesu likes to call it). It also goes through batteries very quickly. I always carry 2 extra batteries for this radio. I think my main gripes about this radio are the audio quality and the form factor. It does not sound very good, probably owing to the tiny size and small speaker. And it feels uncomfortable to hold an operate. I mostly use Yaesu C4FM because it is becoming more and more popular in our area, but I will admit that I am a bit of a reluctant user.

In my opinion, the Kenwood TH-D74 was the best APRS HT that I have ever owned. I should not have sold that. Kenwood’s APRS implementation and UI are much better than Yaesu’s, and the receiver in the Kenwood radios is much, much better than the Yaesu. I just wish Kenwood hadn’t gone with D-STAR as their digital mode of choice.

Finally, I use P25 a bit over a hotspot on amateur radio. For that I use a UHF Motorola XTS2500. I said I wouldn’t talk about wildland fire radios in this post, but I did it anyway. I also use this radio on fires, as it is one of the NIFC (National Interagency Fire Center) approved radios. This is a very solid older radio with great audio. The CPS is a real bear to deal with (read: it is horrible and not ham friendly), but the radio is awesome. On fires, I use it with a very large AA batttery clamshell that holds 12 batteries, but around the house I use an old rechargeable battery.

Anyway, as you can see I like HTs Maybe in a future post I will discuss some others, and talk about what we use in wildland fire.