Field Day stations

[mtindor]

It absolutely is a huge mistake. There is no incentive to get out in the field, which is what the event is all about. When 3/4 of the participants (that's about what it's up to currently, BTW) are sitting at home, kinda defeats the purpose of Field Day, does it not? Might as well just change it to Home Day and have everybody sit at home, like every other contest. There's no way you are going to convince me that 3/4 of the participants are not able to get out and about. That's utter nonsense.

Not sure how you run FT8, but our FT8 station was manned all 24 hours, with a minimum of 2 people, usually 3. No different than banging out CW or working SSB as far as I'm concerned. And in fact, it takes considerably longer to make a QSO.

Just to correct myself, most of my FT# contacts were FT4 (which admittedly is a little more tolerable than watching paint dry). But, there were just so many FD stations on the FT4/FT8 subbands that I couldn't ignore them all. It still is a zombie mode. Click with the mouse once, make a QSO, rinse & repeat. Or, if one wants to cheat and use the forked version that supports it, you can set it to automatic mode and not even man the station. BTW, if you were smart enough to have run FT4 (and from what i saw only stations on 20m were smart enough to do that), you could potentially have made ~120-180 Qs per hour with FT4. As far as it being no different than CW or SSB -- SSB on a packed band is extremely difficult, even with the best of radios and QRM-busting techniques, not to mention the fact that SSB requires a much better SNR to reliably work a station. SSB actually requires some verbal human interaction, which is nice. CW requires more human interfaction than FT8 even though it's not a verbal mode. And it requires a better SNR to make a CW Q than it does to make an FT8 Q (I think CW and FT4 are about the same as far as SNR requirements).

FT8 station manned 24/7 by 2-3 people? What was that cadre doing for the 23+ hours that they weren't required to touch the mouse?

A lot more brain power goes into working CW or SSB versus FT4/8.

And, perhaps more people were running D-stations since Covid, but a large number of people have always run D-stations during FD for as long as I can remember. The only difference was they couldn't get points for working other D-stations. I imagine the rules will eventually revert back, and I won't bark about it. I'll still run 1D if the only other option is not running Field Day at all. You have to remember that 1D stations do serve at least one purpose -- and that is to provide many many more possibilties for contacts for those stations that are out in the field, running emergency power, etc. So it seems to me your only justifiable beef is that [currently] D-stations can get points for working other D-stations. And I would say that I'd work FD as a D-station even if I didn't get any points, if D was the only option I had.

 

[mtindor]

During the post FD discussions on the club repeater an "operator" came up saying how he used CW for the first time since taking his test 30 years ago, bragging about making hundreds of CW contacts by watching the computer decode the signals then pressing the appropriate F1-4 keys to have the computer send the pre-programmed canned message in reply. Same skill set as using FT8. Should those contacts be allowed for contest credit?

I'd say it was doubtful. Sure there are decoders, but in general CW decoders do a mediocre job. You really would have to babysit a decoder and most certianly would be required to either ask for fills often or be listening with your ear and copying to account for the cases where the decoder failed. Especially true on noisy bands or heavily packed CW subbands. The operator was probably an actual CW-hater who wanted to stir some controversy.

 

[alcahuete]

FT8 station manned 24/7 by 2-3 people? What was that cadre doing for the 23+ hours that they weren't required to touch the mouse?

Beats the heck out of me. I spent my time running SSB and CW, oh yeah, and 2 FM contacts on 2m, just because I got tired of the guy calling CQ with no response every time I walked by the VHF station, returning with a new margarita. The FT4/FT8 actually wasn't even our GOTA station. I think it was more eating and drinking than anything. No clue what 3 people would be doing there.

And, perhaps more people were running D-stations since Covid, but a large number of people have always run D-stations during FD for as long as I can remember. The only difference was they couldn't get points for working other D-stations.

Correct, and that's my beef. If you operated Class D in the past, you actively had to seek out stations in the field, if you wanted to do well. Now you just don't have to care. The biggest overwhelming complaint in 2021 was that big Class D stations simply worked each other, while the folks in the field couldn't get a word in edgewise. The ARRL's response (which was actually a good one) was to limit everybody to 100W. That helped, but there should still be the penalty for not participating in the spirit of the event. If you want to work Class D, great, but you aren't going to get points for working others who also aren't participating in the spirit of the event.

I imagine the rules will eventually revert back, and I won't bark about it.

The ARRL made the Class D rule a permanent one. Doesn't mean it won't change in the future, but at least for now, it's pernanent. Class D can work Class D to their heart's content.

 

[mtindor]

Correct, and that's my beef. If you operated Class D in the past, you actively had to seek out stations in the field, if you wanted to do well.

Funny you should say that. Certainly I can recall working D pre-Covid and purposefully seeking out the non-D stations. Never even came to my mind that I wasn't doing that now. Good point you have there.

The ARRL made the Class D rule a permanent one. Doesn't mean it won't change in the future, but at least for now, it's pernanent. Class D can work Class D to their heart's content.

Next year I'll have to mix it up a little. Maybe I'll work QRP on battery off the front porch with a simple EFHW thrown up. I'm in a less-than-stellar location these days. The non-"forest" property of mine is 50-100 ft lower in elevation than the highest parts of my property. Working QRP, I'd have a really really rough time of it. Wish I could get something put up on the hill, but that's about 300 ft away and densely populated with trees - a real nightmare [for me personally] to get a permanent antenna installation up there.

 

[Lauri-CoyoteFrostbite]

....................................Lauri



.