Now that 6m is in full swing once again, many of you will be operating FT8 on 6m for the first time! Things are a little different on 6m compared to operating FT8 on HF and here are a few things for newcomers that might help to keep you out of the naughty corner! (originally published in 2020 but still important today)
Today’s blog is directed to those that may be new to 6m or new to using FT8 on
6m. Some of the things discussed will make your experience on the magic band
better for you and better for your neighbors.
Unlike using FT8 on the HF
bands, 6m presents some different challenges, especially if you operate in a
region where there may be a lot of other locals also using the band at the same
time.
Although the weak-signal capability of FT8 has made it possible for
many smaller stations or those with makeshift antennas to take advantage of the
unique propagation 6m has to offer, it also can create problems for other users
of the band when used inappropriately. In regions of dense population, even
small stations can create very high local signal levels, often making it
impossible for their neighbors to hear weak signals. This is not
deliberately-caused QRM but arises when some operators operate 'against the
flow’ and transmit on the opposite ‘sequence’ to everyone else in their local
area.
On HF, one can transmit or listen on whatever time sequence they
wish. Choosing ‘TX 1st’ or ‘TX 2nd’ is usually determined by who you hear
calling CQ or who you wish to work. On 6m however, in a densely-populated region of
local operators, chosing to transmit whenever you want to is a luxury that can
create big problems for your neighbor who may be trying to hear that weak DX signal
while you are transmitting!
These problem will not occur if everybody in
the region uses and follows the same transmit-receive periods, so that everyone
is listening or everyone is transmitting at the same time ... one or the other.
Unfortunately, this ‘ideal’ system falls apart easily when one or more of your neighbors is not using the same sequence as everyone else.
For the past
few years, a protocol that seeks to alleviate this problem has become popular
and well accepted by those familiar with it. Those new to 6m may not know about
it or understand the reasoning behind it.
Above all, I would urge new users of
the band, or to the FT8 mode, to first listen carefully for a few minutes,
before beginning operation, to determine what the majority of stations in their
local region are using for sequencing. If they are using ‘TX 1st’, then your
choice of ‘TX 2nd’ will likely cause hearing difficulty for many others, as well as for yourself.
Although there are no strict rules, there is a very successful and
well-practiced protocol, and that is that the ‘easternmost’ station transmits on ‘1st’ while
the ‘western end’ goes 2nd’. This is why you will hear most eastern stations in
the morning hours transmitting ‘2nd’, as they are usually calling or looking for
Europeans to their east, who are transmitting ‘1st’. By the same token, you will
also hear western stations transmitting on '2nd', who are also looking for Europe to their east, transmitting on
‘1st’.
This sequencing protocol usually reverses later in the day when
signals from Asia become a possibility, and all North Americans then become the
‘easternmost’ stations and will transmit on the ‘1st’ sequence ... unlike in the
morning. I can easily see how newcomers to the band could become confused, when
they hear both sequences being used! The best thing, once again, is to listen
carefully first and then ‘go with the flow’.
You can read about the UK's Six Metre Group's initiatives regarding these protocols HERE.
OK... so you’re not
interested in EU or Asia? Then it shouldn’t matter to you which sequence
that you use and best operating practice would again be to ‘go with the
flow’ in consideration of other users.
A
few days ago I saw a prime example of exactly what not to do, in too many
respects. I made a posting on the ON4KST 6m chat page that VE1SKY in NS (Nova
Scotia) was being decoded here, mainly to alert others in my region that
European signals might be coming next, as hearing the VE1s in BC is often an
indicator that the European path is building.
In less than a minute, an
S9+ local began calling ‘CQ NS’ on the exact opposite sequence of all others ...
effectively blocking the waterfall and any possible hope of hearing weak EU
signals. I’m sorry, but this is just terrible operating procedure, with almost
zero chance of success, while showing no consideration for nearby users.
Just like working DX on CW or on phone, the best
way, as it always has been, is to ‘listen, listen and then listen some more’.
You will work FAR more DX by listening and calling at the right time, than you
will by calling CQ.
I also see some local stations everyday, calling
endless CQs, often for over 60 minutes straight and often with many
replies that go unnoticed. With FT8, one can check ‘work 1st’, go
away, and return later to see who they might have ‘worked’. Perhaps this
is what
these operators are doing, but they should understand that they are also
creating
non-stop QRM for other users ... those that choose to listen carefully
to the band
rather than to endlessly CQ. Once again, this is just poor practice.
You may
argue that if nobody called CQ, then there would be no contacts made. There is
nothing wrong with a few CQs but CQing for an hour? And don’t worry, there will
always be other stations CQing endlessly for you to hear, even if it’s not a
great way to operate.
With a little pre-planning for sequencing and
consideration for your neighbors, everyone can and should be able to enjoy 6m
FT8 with very few problems ... and that is my hope for all of us.
After forty-eight
summers of CW and phone on 6m and two summers on FT8, these are some of my
initial thoughts on how to best operate for maximum success and consideration for other
band-users.
The latter is part of the basic framework upon which amateur radio was
originally established, when back in 1914, the ARRL described in their
'Code of Conduct' for amateurs ... "The
Amateur is Gentlemanly. He never knowingly uses the air for his own
amusement in such a way as to lessen the pleasure of others."
Now, let the magic, and the pleasure, continue!