G4NSJ – FT8 love it or hate it.

Audio Introduction:

FT8 is rather like Marmite, or Vegemite if you’re in Australia, you either love it or hate it. I used to be firmly in the hate it camp, probably because I didn’t understand it. But, now I’ve taken the time to look into it, I find myself sitting on the fence.

On the downside, FT8 can make operating feel somewhat passive. In many cases, you just sit there while your computer handles everything. No microphone, no keyboard, just watch the screen as ‘QSOs’ roll in. It can feel more like monitoring than communicating which, to me, takes away some of the fun and skill from the hobby. If you want keyboard to keyboard comms, check out JS8 Call. 

On the plus side, FT8 is good for checking propagation. That said, I believe WSPR is better suited for that purpose. Another advantage is that FT8 doesn’t require a great deal of power or large antennas, making it useful for operators with limited setups or in restrictive environments.

I’ve recently had several FT8 contacts. Or, I should say, my computer has had several FT8 contacts. I have to admit that I prefer RTTY, PSK31, Olivia and the many other digital modes. All of which seem to have fallen by the wayside of late.

Running 20 watts, I ‘worked’ a station in Lebanon on 15 metres and a few stations in Italy on 6 metres. It was fun but I don’t think I could sit at the computer for too long watching the screen. For me, it doesn’t feel hands-on. What I will say at this point is, FT8 is obviously here to stay and it’s very popular. As the saying goes, millions can’t be wrong. Can they?

Update 8/7/25:

I’ve just tried FT8 on 10 metres. Results weren’t too good as the band has been in poor condition for several months now. However, I did manage contacts in Portugal, Italy, Spain and Croatia. The sad thing is, no RTTY, PSK31, Olivia…

Update 9/7/25:

The 10 metre band was quite good. I had contacts in Brazil and South Africa on FT8. I called CQ on the RTTY, PSK31 and Olivia frequencies… absolutely nothing. Has FT8 killed all other digital modes? Perhaps not, check this out JS8 Call.

S Points to SNR chart:

HF Digital frequencies:

Digital frequency list.