FT8: The Mode, the opinions, and awards

Few amateur radio topics generate as much heated debate as FT8. Depending on who you ask, it's either the best thing to happen to HF in years or "computers talking to computers." The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in the middle.

I've been using FT8 since January 2024. For much of that time I was running no more than 10-15 watts into a mobile whip vertical antenna, so the mode opened doors that would have remained firmly closed on SSB. More recently I've upgraded the station, but FT8 remains one of the tools I regularly reach for.

Looking back over roughly 30 months of operating, one statistic genuinely surprised me. During that period I worked 171 DXCC entities on FT8. By comparison, in the same time period I worked 103 on CW, 69 on SSB and 32 on RTTY (operating approx. 60% FT8, 25% CW, 10% SSB and 5% RTTY).

Those figures certainly don't prove FT8 is "better" than other modes—they simply demonstrate what it was designed to do exceptionally well: reliably complete contacts under weak-signal conditions (or in my case, with low power and/or a compromised antenna setup).

The criticism usually isn't about the technology itself. Most operators accept FT8 as a perfectly legitimate digital mode, just as RTTY, PSK31 and JT65 were before it. The real objections tend to centre on automation. When software is left to make contacts with little or no operator involvement, many feel the human element—the very spirit of amateur radio—is diminished. A view I am totally aligned with.

But what about awards such as DXCC or WAZ? Is+ it now "too easy" to earn these rewards using FT8? Despite the occasional heated debate, the overwhelming view is straightforward: if a contact complies with the award rules, it counts. FT8 contacts are genuine radio contacts over genuine RF paths, and the challenge lies in mastering a different set of skills rather than proving superiority in one particular operating style.

3Y0K (Bouvet Island) 15m FT8 in March 2026

Does FT8 make awards easier? In my view and personal experience, absolutely yes, it does. It has undoubtedly lowered the barrier to achieving DXCC and working rare DX, especially for stations with modest antennas, limited power or difficult locations. But making amateur radio more accessible isn't necessarily a bad thing. If anything, FT8 has brought thousands of operators onto bands that might otherwise have been much quieter.

Personally, I still enjoy the excitement of a good CW contact or busting a pile-up. They offer a level of interaction and satisfaction that FT8 simply can't replicate. But neither do I see FT8 as somehow less "real." It's another mode, another challenge and another way of enjoying this wonderfully diverse hobby.

At the end of the day, amateur radio has always embraced innovation. Spark gave way to CW, AM gave way to SSB, valves gave way to transistors, and analogue gave way to digital. FT8 is simply the latest chapter in that story. Whether you love it or loathe it, one thing is beyond dispute—it has changed amateur radio forever.

Bouvet Island DXpedition (3Y0K)

Like many DXers, I’ve been keeping a close eye on activity from Bouvet Island. The pile-ups for 3Y0K have been immense, so getting through with modest power and a simple wire antenna (58ft of wire fed with a 9:1 unun with one elevated counterpoise wire of about 15ft) was always going to require a bit of patience—and more than a bit of luck!

The breakthrough came on the 15m band after several days of trying and failing to get through.

First came a CW contact at 08:12 UTC on March 10th. I had been monitoring the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) when I noticed that 3Y0K had moved to the 15m band. I moved quickly and called just 700Hz up from their transmit frequency. Amazingly, they came back to me on my second call. Bouvet Island was in the log with just 80w output power into a simple wire antenna.

Later in the morning I managed to work them again, this time on FT8 at 10:34 UTC, confirming the path was still open. In matter of fact, I have only heard them at all on 15m which seems to suggest my antenna favours, and works well on, this band.

Bouvet is one of the rarest places on earth in amateur radio terms, so getting it in the log—especially on both CW and FT8—was a particularly satisfying moment.

 

RTTY, resurrected.

I've long been a fan of the RTTY mode for HF communication and I've been wanting to start using this mode again for some time now. In fact, prior to 2026, my most recent RTTY contact was way back in March 2015 (NO2T on the 15m band).

RTTY signal

As I already had my radio (Yaesu FTdx3000) setup for audio based digital modes such as FT8 and FT4, I initially considered a move away from my favoured FSK mode to AFSK RTTY using the Airlink Express software. This was ultimately unsuccessful as I really didn't like the RTTY implementation so I reverted to FSK RTTY using an old favourite, MMTTY, which while old, is a tried and tested bit of RTTY software.

Having got the software and radio all setup for FSK RTTY I spotted myself on the DX cluster network and called CQ 30m band with the RTTY mode for the first time in 15 years and was very grateful to Spanish station EA2A for a nice short RTTY contact, soon followed up with a short contact with German station DL4DRG. 

RTTY had been successfully resurrected at amateur radio station G0RIF. I am now looking forward to some RTTY contests to see what levels of activity remains with this old, and some might say original, digital mode.

G0RIF/p out in the sun!

Simple setup with the Yaesu FT-857

Just a quick one following an enjoyable 5 hours out in the sun working mostly 20m SSB portable from Barr Beacon. Myself (G0RIF), Richard (M0SNR) and Luke (M3VVB) took the usual assortment of wires, cables and poles to see what we could throw up & see how it worked.

As is often the case the Par End Fedz 20m dipole was pressed into service in a vertical orientation, suspended on a 10m pole - this also supported a quick & dirty 15m dipole hastily constructed from the remnants of the broadside doublet previously tested.

You may recall a previous post in which I’d had a less than fulfilling time with the doublet so for now it’s back to resonant antennas and coax feedlines. Todays results suggest that the 15m dipole works well, although the 15m band wasn’t particularly busy so only a few stations were worked.

On 20m the vertical performed as expected, which is to say, pretty well. Nothing particularly exotic but worked DX both east (RV9LM) and west (W1OP) with a good selection of European stations, many of which were participating in the Portugal Day contest. A contact of particular interest was with Geoff (G8BPN) working 20m mobile while on a driving holiday in France, logged as F/G8BPN/M. 

Originally posted on 'The wet string chronicles' in June 2009. 

POTA activation of GB-1257, Dinas Bran Castle in Wales

The first day of June, 2025, and a fine morning in Llangollen for my ascent of the hill atop which sit the remains of Dinas Bran castle at elevation 1054ft above sea level. Arriving at the summit I found a spot that afforded some shelter from the stiff breeze and setup my station comprising my Xiegu G90, a 6Ah battery and a 9:1 unun with 53ft radiating element and a 16ft counterpoise.

With my antenna in an inverted-L configuration and operating as GW0RIF, I logged 12 contacts on the 20m band, including one Park-2-Park in the form of Steve (M0YCQ), at GB-2131 in Ellesmere, a distance of only a little over 12 miles as the crow flies.

Antenna: 9:1 unun with 53ft, inverted-L

Operating position with my Xiegu G90

The castle ruins and view from the top

An interesting QSL card received in the post

Originally posted on 'The wet string chronicles' in January 2010. 

I like to confirm as many of my amateur radio contacts as possible by traditional paper QSL cards. It’s always good to receive them back direct from another amateur radio operator and the card that arrived today (seen below) from Andy, KB1KYN on Nantucket Island, was a particularly nice surprise.

This QSL card confirms a contact mentioned earlier in this blog back in September 2009 when operating portable from Barr Beacon. The location is seen in this picture taken on the day of the contact in question. Running about 80w SSB on 17m into a vertical dipole antenna from a battery powered Yaesu FT-857.

This is the view (see below) to the south overlooking Oldbury and West Bromwich. These picnic tables make for ideal operating positions and there is lots of space for erecting antennas. While I tend to operate HF from this location other operators enjoy working VHF, UHF and microwave bands from this lofty position.

On a nice sunny summers day this is a very enjoyable way of getting on the bands with a modest radio and a simple wire antenna and seeing what DX can be worked while you enjoy the view.

I’d like to thank Andy for the card and for the contact back in September last year.

CQ VK6 for WAZ

I discovered recently while browsing the awards section of the LoTW website that I have confirmed contacts for all CQ zones with the exception of zone 29. Now all I have to do to qualify for the WAZ (Mixed) award is work someone in western Australia and get that contact confirmed. Hence CQ VK6!

CQ Zone 29

As you can see from the map here, CQ zone 29 also includes Christmas Island (VK9X), the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (VK9C), but very little else, so I'm pinning my hopes on snagging a VK6 or VK8 contact over either of those relatively rare entities.

In terms of optimising my chances I am thinking that the best bands will probably be 20m and up around times of optimal long-path propagation early in the morning or late in the evening (UK time).

As I am power-limited (20w maximum output) I will most likely focus my efforts on CW and FT8. 

I'll be paying particular to all Australian stations I hear in future as I have previously not been aware that I just need a VK6 for WAZ.

Despite also being a little bit antenna constrained, I do expect that my simple quarter-wave vertical antennas for the higher bands will be beneficial in terms of working DX stations such as VK6.

E4X winding down and soon QRT

Originally posted on 'The wet string chronicles' in June 2010.

Approaching 75,000 QSO’s in their log and less than 12 hours before they go QRT. The E4X operation will soon be a thing of the past.

Pushing 80 watts into my bit of wet string I managed to snag them twice - 20m RTTY and 30m CW on two separate evenings. The RTTY contact was plain sailing but the CW contact was a bit hairy.

Conditions were never really great and there was some fading (QSB) on 30m on the night of my QSO. I’d been calling in the pile for a while before operator Bernard (F9IE) came back to me with ‘RIF?” to which I replied ‘G0RIF”, hoping he’d confirm my call, give me my report and I’d just send the usual ‘5nn tu‘ and log him.  As luck would have it though the fading coincided with his confirming my call and although I thought he’d got it right I wasn’t 100% sure of the last character. Had I heard an F‘…or a U‘, an R…or something else?

I erred on the side of caution, just in case he still didn’t have the call entirely correct, and sent ‘de G0RIF 5nn tu‘ only to hear the back end of his ‘tu‘ call as my TX dropped out. Did he have my call correct or not? A slightly nervy wait to see if I was in the log but it was all okay in the end.

The E4X ops seem to have done a good job of working band/mode combinations. I see that some stations have as many as 23 band/mode contacts logged, quite an achievement!

I’m pleased with my 2 contacts though, so much so I didn’t even bother chasing a 20m CW contact when they were loud with me on Saturday, having worked them on 20m previously for my RTTY contact and with CW in the bag by virtue of my 30m contact.

DX ahoy!

Originally posted on 'The wet string chronicles' in April 2010.

I like chasing DX and I’m always interested to see what DXpeditions are planned for the months ahead. A good resource for this information is provided by Bill Feidt, NG3K, on his website. The ‘Announced DX Operations’ page lists most of the scheduled DXpeditions.

I regularly scan the listed operations to see if there are any scheduled to DXCC entities I need. There usually are! I then break this down into those I ‘expect’ to be able to work and those I don’t expect to be able to work, based on my setup and my experience of relative strength (or absence of) signals heard from those parts of the world.

I then also consider which modes the respective operations prefer because I know I’m unlikely to work many on SSB, due in large part to my operating mostly at night when the rest of the house is asleep, but also due to my relatively poor signal. I find that CW really is my best option most of the time!

Armed with this information I will then look out for those callsigns on DX spotting clusters and also listen for those stations on the bands. By this means I can usually work a few new ones that I might otherwise not have.

For instance, as it stands today, I hope to be able to work the following listed operations (in what would be new DXCC entities for me).

• 5Z4/LA9PF - Kenya
• 8Q7NA + 8Q7IA - Maldives
• FR/F5UOW + FR/F4EGZ - Reunion
• 3B8MM - Mauritius
• TT8PK - Chad
• E4X - Palestine
• VK9CLH - Lord Howe Island

There are many more but as I said previously, I’m mindful of which of all those listed I might actually hear. I’ll usually listen for those I see spotted but I’m more often than not, not at all surprised when I can’t hear them on my antenna!

I’ll be happy to snag any 5 of the 7 entities listed and, things being what they are, hopefully a few not listed. Good DX! 

A brief foray onto 40m - FT8 and a mobile whip antenna

Mindful of the impending CQ World Wide DX competitions, and particularly the CW contest in late November, I wanted to deploy an antenna for the CW portion of the 40m band, to which end I purchased a humble mobile whip (I have severe antenna restrictions at my current QTH) and set about tuning it for the low end of 40m. At the same time I thought it would be a good idea to see what daytime FT8 activity there was on this band having only previously used this mode on the higher HF bands (20m thru 10m).

FT8 activity on 40m 2024-10-20

Using my Xiegu G90 and the mobile whip antenna I was pleased to see just how much activity there was on 40m. Granted it was pretty much all local to me but I did see several signals from north American stations, although I was unable to work any of these DX stations. 

I did however work plenty of the closer-in stations over a brief period of operation and was pleased to receive some decent signal reports for my 12w output.

40m spots 2024-10-20 

I also checked on PSKReporter to see where I'd been spotted and this confirmed my operating experience - lots of fairly local spots with a few outliers into eastern Europe, the Baltic states and Scandinavia.

All things considered I was pleased to see that the mobile whip antenna did allow me to get out on 40m and I will look forward to seeing what DX I might be able to work during the CW contest in November. 

I fully recognise that this is a compromise antenna but in my circumstances it's about the best I can do and I will enjoy being able to work some late night CW on 40m with it.