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    • Scollay Square
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  • Home
  • Scollay Square
  • Number 5 Club
  • Little Mister Victory
  • Building Route 128
  • Inseparable
  • Book a talk

Digital

Our great hobby affords us many different ways to communicate. When I earned my first license back in 1972 most of us had rigs with voice and CW. Slow Scan TV and RTTY signals were rare. Both required special hardware (cameras or teletype machines) and skills with circuit design and construction. Computers changed all that. For a while it seemed like everyone was running PSK31, RTTY, Olivia/MFSK and other modes through their PCs.

PSK

That PSK no longer dominates the bands is not from lack of effort and creativity from the PODXS club.  Like PSK Golf, in which the world is divided into 18 "holes" of golf                       using Grid Squares. The object is to QSO with someone in these 18 "holes." As you can see I got 15 "holes" but missed out on (11, 13, and 17) which were the ones most                             players missed - and it's easy to see why. 

Hell

Of all the digital modes I found when I got back in the hobby in 2007, it was Hellschreiber that really grabbed my attention. For a few years I was very involved in the Feld Hell Club managing the website, their monthly contests, and the awards program. The club still has monthly contests, so you might hear the chirping of Hellschreiber on one of the HF bands.

  I completed Hell WAS in 2010. I was the third ham to achieve this goal, but I believe I am the only one to also have Washington, DC in my Hell log.  

Joe Taylor and Weak Signal Modes

A Nobel Prize-winner in Physics, Joe (K1JT) is also an avid ham radio operator who has developed a series of digital protocols for weak-signal digital communication such as meteor scatter, ionospheric scatter, and EME (moonbounce) at VHF/UHF frequencies.  Joe's website has details on all the weak-signal modes he has developed.  But almost immediately hams found that these modes useful on HF skywave, especially during long downturns in the susnspot activity, and most especially for those of us operating low power and wire antennas. 


On a purely personal note, it tickles me to have Joe in my logbook. It is as close to a Nobel Prize as I'll ever get - except maybe when I watch The Big Bang Theory.)

JT65

Without JT65 I don't know if I could have completed 8BWAS, as it provided a way to QSO with Vermont on 10 meters and Hawaii on 80 (near the nadir of the sunspot cycle, with under 100 watts and a dipole.)  I also completed JT65 WAS in 2010.  (Hams being the tinkerers that we are, W6CQZ developed his own version of software for JT65 which I found a bit easier to use...)

JT9

Not content to rest on his laurels, Joe developed a weak-signal mode specifically for HF, called JT-9, along with software that is true "plug and play."  As Joe explains on his website: "JT9 is optimized for the LF, MF, and HF bands.  It  is about 2 dB more sensitive than JT65 while using less than 10% of the bandwidth."  In January 2013 I completed JT9 WAS thanks, in great measure, to VK3AMA's terrific web-based Hamspots..

FT8 (and FT4)

Thanks to the ingenuity of Dr. Joe Taylor (K1JT) and a team of dedicated collaborators, in 2017 ham radio operators got a new toy to play with, a weak signal digital mode they called FT8 (you can download the software on Joe's site here.)  Faster than JT65 (which takes a minute per transmission cycle) FT8 takes only 15 seconds, yet possesses much of the power to pull and decode weak signals of its older brother.  FT4 is similar to FT8, except with a wider bandwidth and a transmission cycle of 7.5 seconds,


I have WAS in both FT8 and FT4, as well as over 200 DXCC with FT8 and over 100 entities with FT4.

FT8 DX exchanges (*** means first with that entity)

  1. 20m WA8AHZ United States 12/24/2017
  2. 160m CF3FF Canada 12/26/2017
  3. 20m 9Z4DZ Trinidad & Tobago 12/26/2017
  4. 17m        CO8LY Cuba 12/28/2017
  5. 30m RI1ANO South Shetland Is. 12/29/2017
  6. 17m      MI0OBC Northern Ireland 12/30/2017
  7. 17m       RN1ON European Russia 12/30/2017
  8. 30m NP2Q US Virgin Is. 12/30/2017
  9. 15m     ZF1EJ Cayman Islands 12/31/2017
  10. 40m HK3JHT Colombia 12/31/2017
  11. 20m YV8JET Venezuela 1/1/2018
  12. 20m TG9IIN Guatemala 1/1/2018
  13. 40m LU1ECO Argentina 1/2/2018
  14. 40m TI2VLM Costa Rica 1/3/2018
  15. 40m HI8DAR Dominican Rep. 1/4/2018
  16. 40m HP1RY Panama 1/5/2018
  17. 20m MW3FLI Wales 1/7/2018
  18. 20m F5OHM France 1/7/2018
  19. 20m HB9HFN Switzerland 1/7/2018
  20. 30m JO7WXN Japan 1/7/2018
  21. 40m OE3UKW Austria 1/12/2018
  22. 20m IW0EWI Italy 1/13/2018
  23. 20m EI7HDB Ireland 1/13/2018
  24. 20m ZS6JES South Africa 1/13/2018
  25. 20m NP3DM Puerto Rico 1/13/2018
  26. 40m EA4MD Spain 1/13/2018
  27. 40m CT1EGW Portugal 1/13/2018
  28. 40m FG5BZ Guadeloupe 1/13/2018
  29. 20m 9A2NA Croatia 1/14/2018
  30. 20m M0VSE England 1/14/2018
  31. 20m TR8CA Gabon 1/14/2018
  32. 30m PZ5RA Suriname 1/14/2018
  33. 20m XE2NBL Mexico 1/15/2018
  34. 20m S58M Slovenia 1/17/2018
  35. 20m HA1RB Hungary 1/20/2018
  36. 20m RN2F Kaliningrad 1/20/2018
  37. 17m        OM2GM Slovak Republic 1/20/2018
  38. 80m LA1KUA Norway 1/21/2018
  39. 20m OH1TP Finland 1/21/2018
  40. 20m 6Y6J Jamaica 1/21/2018
  41. 17m      EA8/DL9XJ Canary Is. 1/21/2018
  42. 40m FM1HN Martinique 1/21/2018
  43. 40m PJ4NX Bonaire Is. 1/21/2018
  44. 40m VK2EHQ Australia 1/24/2018
  45. 20m EA9ACD Ceuta & Melilla 1/25/2018
  46. 20m EU1U Belarus 1/27/2018
  47. 20m CU3AN Azores 1/28/2018
  48. 20m 5T2AI Mauritania 1/28/2018
  49. 30m VP8EME Falkland Is. 1/28/2018
  50. 20m VU3UPZ India 1/30/2018
  51. 20m C6ANM Bahamas 1/31/2018
  52. 20m YL3ID Latvia 2/1/2018
  53. 20m LX1HD Luxembourg 2/2/2018
  54. 20m WA9ONY/KH6 Hawaii 2/6/2018
  55. 40m PJ2DD Curacao Is. 2/11/2018
  56. 40m YN1ECF Nicaragua 2/17/2018
  57. 40m V26PE Antigua & Barbuda 2/19/2018
  58. 17m     3B9FR Rodrigues Is. 2/19/2018
  59. 17m       LY3W Lithuania 2/21/2018
  60. 40m ZP5DNB Paraguay 2/25/2018
  61. 17m         IS0DSW Sardinia 2/26/2018
  62. 17m         SP9RM Poland 2/28/2018
  63. 20m OK2QA Czech Republic 3/2/2018
  64. 20m OZ5D Denmark 3/2/2018
  65. 20m R9XM Asiatic Russia 3/3/2018
  66. 20m PA3GPS Netherlands 3/3/2018
  67. 20m PY2DFE Brazil 3/3/2018
  68. 20m GJ0KYZ Jersey 3/4/2018
  69. 20m ON7ZV Belgium 3/4/2018
  70. 20m DK3UD Germany 3/4/2018
  71. 17m        HC1PE Ecuador 3/4/2018
  72. 17m        EA6VQ Balearic Is. 3/7/2018
  73. 20m Z61AS Kosovo 3/7/2018
  74. 20m CX4ACH Uruguay 3/7/2018
  75. 20m J73WA Dominica 3/7/2018
  76. 20m E74DO Bosnia-Herzegovina 3/16/2018
  77. 20m MM0ULL Scotland 3/16/2018
  78. 30m SV1FJF Greece 3/16/2018
  79. 30m 6W/IV3FSG Senegal 3/16/2018
  80. 20m WL7CG Alaska 3/30/2018
  81. 20m LZ1YE Bulgaria 4/5/2018
  82. 40m YO5LD Romania 4/7/2018
  83. 30m UT7HA Ukraine 4/8/2018
  84. 17m       VP2EME Anguilla 4/8/2018
  85. 40m CP4MG Bolivia 4/9/2018
  86. 20m YT3PL Serbia 4/14/2018
  87. 30m SM2SUM Sweden 4/15/2018
  88. 30m EK4GK Armenia 4/15/2018
  89. 30m CE1OEB Chile 4/18/2018
  90. 17m        ZL1BDW New Zealand 4/25/2018
  91. 20m FJ/N0KV Saint Barthelemy 4/26/2018
  92. 20m YS1CJA El Salvador 4/27/2018
  93. 40m 4Z5ML Israel 4/28/2018
  94. 160m TF3DT Iceland 5/1/2018
  95. 40m HH6/N3BNA Haiti 5/4/2018
  96. 20m VP5/AK5Q Turks & Caicos Is. 5/11/2018
  97. 40m ER1OO Moldova 5/19/2018
  98. 17m       XP3A Greenland 5/20/2018
  99. 17m      5B4AMX Cyprus 5/20/2018
  100. 17m Z32ZM Macedonia 5/22/2018
  101. 160m J68GU Saint Lucia 11/15/2018
  102. 40m 5W1SA* Samoa 11/21/2018
  103. 40m V31MA Belize 11/21/2018
  104. 40m VP2MSA Monteserrat 12/3/2018
  105. 40m PJ7/IZ5KID Sint Maarten 12/24/2018
  106. 20m HR1LW Hondouras 1/1/2019
  107. 160m P49X Aruba 1/2/2019
  108. 20m ES5QA Estonia 1/15/2019
  109. 160m CN2CO Morocco 1/30/2019
  110. 17m ZB2R Gibraltar 2/11/2019
  111. 17m ZB7GB St. Helena Island 2/11/2019
  112. 160m V47KA St. Nevis & Kitts Isl 2/17/19
  113. 30m MU0FAL Guernsey Island 2/19/2019
  114. 160m SV9CVY Crete 2/20/2019
  115. 20m OD5ZZ Lebanon 2/21/2019
  116. 160m RN1ANL Antarctica 2/21/2019
  117. 30m TK5IH Corsica 2/24/2019
  118. 40m A45XR Oman 2/24/2019
  119. 40m HD8M Galapagos Island 3/5/2019
  120. 20m C31CT Andorra 3/7/2019
  121. 30m KG4SC Guantanamo Bay 3/8/2019
  122. 20m 5X3E** Uganda 3/15/2019
  123. 30m FO5QB French Polynesia 3/15/2019
  124. 20m 5V7EI Togo 3/17/2019
  125. 20m GD0TEP Isle of Man 3/19/2019
  126. 30m ZF2LC Cayman Islands 3/21/2019
  127. 20m 9H1ET Malta 4/4/2019
  128. 30m 4J3DJ Azerbaijan 4/6/2019
  129. 40m 4O7TC Montenegro 4/7/2019
  130. 20m BD0AAI China 4/28/2019
  131. 20m UN7JO Kazakhstan 4/28/2019
  132. 40m EU2AV Belarus 5/16/2019
  133. 17m A61EK UAE 6/16/2019
  134. 30m TA3AHJ Turkey 11/27/2019
  135. 30m 8P2K Barbados 12/15/2019
  136. 30m 9G2HO Ghana 12/20/2019
  137. 160m J35X Granada 12/25/2019
  138. 20m PJ2/KB7Q Curacao 1/18/2020
  139. 20m OA4/EA7TN Peru 1/18/2020
  140. 160m FS/VA7XV St. Martin 2/14/2020
  141. 30m T77BL San Marino 10/27/2020
  142. 30m 9K2BM Kuwait 10/31/2020
  143. 30m 5Z4VJ*** Kenya 12/10/2020
  144. 160m JW7QIA Svalbard 12/13/2020
  145. 30m HL5BLI South Korea 1/3/2021
  146. 30m YB1AR*** Indonesia 1/9/2021
  147. 10m 7Z1WW Saudi Arabia 10/30/21
  148. 20m C5C The Gambia 11/5/2021
  149. 30m 8Q7RM Maldives 11/5/2021
  150. 30m SU1SK Egypt 11/6/2021
  151. 30m 4S6NCH*** Sri Lanka 11/9/2021
  152. 20m TL7M*** Cent. Africa 11/10/2021
  153. 20m TZ1CE Mali 11/29/2021
  154. 30m V51LZ Namibia 12/18/2021
  155. 30m XT2AW Burkina Faso 12/19/2021
  156. 10m FK8HA New Caledonia 3/4/2022
  157. 10m 3D2AG Fiji 3/7/2022
  158. 12m TX5N Austral Island 4/28/2022
  159. 30m OH0/SP1QY Aaland Island 4/25/2022
  160. 10m D2UY Angola 9/18/2022
  161. 10m S01WS Western Sahara 11/27/2022
  162. 10m FR8UA Reunion Is. 12/13/2022
  163. 30m 3C3CA*** Equitorial Guinea 1/4/2023
  164. 20m TN8K*** Rep. of Congo 1/7/2023
  165. 30m FT8WW*** Crozet Island 1/9/2022 
  166. 17m 4U1UN*** UN HQ NYC 2/17/23
  167. 30m 7X2ET Algeria 2/21/23
  168. 30m 6Y5IB Jordan 2/21/23
  169. 17m 9U5R*** Burundi 2/23/23
  170. 80m 3B7M*** Agalela & St. Brandon Is. 2/26/23
  171. 10m VK9NT*** Norfolk Is. 3/20/23
  172. 30m CY0S*** Sable Is. 3/21/23
  173. 15m        9X5RU*** Rawanda 3/21/23
  174. 12m E51WEG South Cook Is. 4/23/23
  175. 17m 4L1FL Georgia 6/11/23
  176. 10m VP6A*** Ducie Is. 6/13/23
  177. 20m ET3AA*** Ethiopia 6/23/23
  178. 15m 3D2USU Conway Reef 6/25/2023
  179. 15m       4W6RU*** Timor-Leste 7/1/2023
  180. 20m FP/KV1J St Pierre & Miquelon 7/2/2023
  181. 12m E51D North Cook Is 8/27/23
  182. 15m FW1JG*** Wallis & Futuna Is. 8/30/23
  183. 10m VK9DX Norfolk Is. 9/25/23
  184. 17m ZA/SV1EVG Albania 9/26/23
  185. 10m W8S*** Swain's Is. 10/9/23
  186. 15m TO8FH*** Mayotte 10/15/23
  187. 17m       A25R*** Botswana 10/30/23
  188. 12m     PR0T*** Trinidade & Martin Vaz Is. 11/11/23
  189. 15m       VK9XY*** Christmas Is. 11/19/23
  190. 12m HB0WR Liechtenstein 11/22/23
  191. 40m VU7A*** Lakshadweep Islands 12/6/23
  192. 30m V6EU*** Micronesia (Chuuk Is.) 12/11/23
  193. 20m XV9G*** Vietnam 2/7/24
  194. 160m VP9GE Bermuda 2/22/24
  195. 15m T88GF*** Palau 2/26/24
  196. 10m H40WA*** Temuto Prov. 3/1/24
  197. 15m        5U5K*** Niger 6/9/24
  198. 15m A71UN Qatar 6/22/24
  199. 15m DU1KID*** Philippines 6/22/24
  200. 15m BV5OS*** Taiwan 7/6/24
  201. 15m A92AB Bahrain 7/6/24
  202. 30m N5J Jarvis Is. 8/17/24 
  203. 30m        VU4A***     Andaman & Nicobar  12/5/2024
  204. 10m        TL8ES*** Central Africa 12/5/2024
  205. 30m        SV1GA***   Athos Island  1/26/2025
  206. 12m         5N9DTG  Nigeria  2/26/25

Copyright © 2024 David Kruh - All Rights Reserved. 

These are links to some non-literary interests and experiences:

  • Curse is Reversed Musical
  • WB2HTO
  • 1510 WRAN, Dover NJ
  • King Kruh
  • Moosylvania
  • Where Bobby got whacked
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