This is a view from NASA of the sun today, October 9, 2018, and I am making 10m DX contacts one after another. Zero sunspots but working DX on FT8! Is FT8 creating a “tipping point” for amateur radio at the very bottom of the solar cycle?
Several years ago I was captivated by a book written by Malcolm Gladwell called, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Merriam-Webster defines tipping point as, “the critical point in a situation, process, or system beyond which a significant and often unstoppable effect or change takes place.” In his book, Gladwell describes how, “The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” He shows us how the phenomenon applies to everything from flu epidemics to the explosion of new technologies.
Does the FT8 mode included in WSJT-X software constitute a tipping point in ham radio for good or for harm? There are many ham radio opinion blogs on the Internet that strongly or sometimes sarcastically take one or the other stance. There is even an Internet poll asking, “Is FT8 damaging amateur radio?” At this moment it is 52% yes, 45% no and 3% undecided.[1] All of the articles and videos I have seen agree on one undeniable fact – FT8 has since its introduction in June of 2017 achieved “killer app” or tipping point status. Some think it will kill amateur radio and others believe that such innovations give the hobby new life…..READ MORE
Equipment
Introducing to Odyssey-2 (2017)
The new version of Odyssey TRX transceiver raises the bar of quality and capabilities, while remaining relatively cheap and simple, accessible for sel... Read more
CD-45II METERED ROTATOR W/FRICTION BRAKE 8.5 SF MT N TOWER
The CD-45II handles 8.5 sq. feet mounted inside a tower, or 5 sq. ft. with mast adapter. Low temperature grease good to -30 F degrees. Bell rotator de... Read more
New ! Kenwood TPZ-D553
Kenwood TPZ-D553 Product name TPZ-D553TPZ-D553SCH: lithium-ion battery KNB-74L (7.4V / 1100mAh) standard accessory TPZ-D553MCH: lithium-ion battery KN... Read more
USB micro KEYER III – MicroHam
MicroHam micro KEYER III™ is the world first and the only amateur radio USB interface featuring high dynamic range, 24-bit audio processing cha... Read more
ACOM 1010 160-10m amplifier
FEATURES Easy operation. The plate-load True Resistance Indicator (TRI) is an ACOM innovation that provides quick and precise tuning, typically... Read more
VHF
Yaesu FTM-7250DR – Overview – Features – Specification
Yaesu FTM-7250DR C4FM/FM 50W 144/ 430MHz Digital AMS The new Yaesu FTM-7250DR is a compact and ruggedly built C4FM/FM 144/430MHz Dual Band 50W Transc... Read more
How to Easily Add a Channel on the BaoFeng Handheld Radio (without a PC)
Walk-through steps for manually programming the BaoFeng handheld radios. Easily program your BaoFeng for Repeater or Simplex Channels along with addin... Read more
Yaesu announced two new radios are coming to the market! – Yaesu FTM-3207DR and FT-2980R
Yaesu FTM-3207DR and FT-2980R will be available late summer / early fall! Yaesu FT-2980R 80W FM 2M Mobile Transceiver As its model name suggests, the... Read more
Baofeng BF-UVB2 Plus VHF UHF Dual Band Two Way Radio Walkie Talkie
Baofeng BF-UVB2 Plus Two-way Radio Handheld Walkie Talkie VHF/ UHF DUAL-BAND TWO WAY RADIO . Dual-band handheld transceiver with display func... Read more
145 MHz Low Loss Bandpass Helical Filter
Low Loss Bandpass by Mile Kokotov Basic design of the filter is from RSGB VHF-UHF Manual, but I made some modifications. Both Inductors... Read more
Digital Modes
FT8 – Tipping Point for Ham Radio?
This is a view from NASA of the sun today, October 9, 2018, and I am making 10m DX contacts one after another. Zero sunspots but working DX on... Read more
JS8Call 0.9 Release notes
“Hi Folks, Thanks for staying patient with me on this one. Build servers were being weird today! Happy to bring you release with simple features... Read more
MFJ-1204 – USB TO RIG SC INTERFACE, W/8-PIN DIN,DATA/ACC PORT
MFJ-1204 Includes radio interface cable (8-PIN DIN) Sign up for the digital revolution and explore a whole new world of amateur radio excitement using... Read more
JS8Call 0.8 Released – Refinement, Group callsigns
JS8Call Download “Hi folks! Happy to announce 0.8 of JS8Call. This is a backwards incompatible release (which is the primary reason for it being... Read more
JS8Call 0.7 Released
J8Call “Howdy Folks, We’ve sure come a long way in the past few weeks. Thanks for sticking with me and enjoying the ride! This release is... Read more
