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. A Nobel Prize winner would advance things beyond imagination.
Hell
Soon after I got back into the hobby in January, 2007 (near the bottom of the cycle) I discovered digital modes and, like a lot of us, ran a lot of PSK31 and RTTY. It was Hellschreiber that really grabbed my attention, and I soon became very involved in the Feld Hell Club (https://sites.google.com/site/feldhellclub/) managing the website, their monthly contests, and the awards program. I also 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 log.) The club still has monthly contests, so you might hear the chirping of Hellschreiber on one of the HF bands.
A screen shot of a Feld Hell QSO
Joe Taylor and Weak Signal modesA 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.
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...)
Software, developed by Joe, W6CQZ, for communicating in JT65. Download it here.
JT-9
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
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. I discovered FT8 in late December 2017 and was immediately hooked and began to collect states and countries, and within a few months had achieved my goal of 50/100. Thanks to all the patient hams (especially you, Dave, WA9ONY in Hawaii) who made the extra effort to get me in the log.
FT8 WAS States (Alphabetical)
Band Call Locator State Date 30m NL7S BP41 AK 2/2/2018 160m KX4X EM63 AL 12/26/2017 20m W5GOL EM25 AR 12/26/2017 20m AF7UT DM33 AZ 12/26/2017 20m K6BV CM87 CA 12/24/2017 20m N0GTO DM59 CO 12/26/2017 160m WA1NGH FN31 CT 12/24/2017 30m W3WTE FM28 DE 12/26/2017 20m N8MOE EL98 FL 12/26/2017 20m KS40T EM19fa GA 12/26/2017 20m WA9ONY/KH6 BL11bh HI 2/6/2018 160m K8OM EN42 IA 1/8/2018 40m KB7QFE DN13 ID 1/14/2018 160m KI9A EM58 IL 12/26/2017 20m KK9I EN60 IN 12/24/2017 40m KB0PPQ EM29 KS 12/28/2017 40m KI0EB EM88 KY 1/12/2018 20m KE5PCV EM31 LA 12/26/2017 160m N1UZ FN42 MA 12/24/2017 160m WC3N FM19 MD 12/24/2017 160m KB1VX FN43 ME 12/27/2017 20m NE8Z EN82 MI 12/24/2017 160m K0TT EN34 MN 12/24/2017 160m K8IRB EM28 MO 1/9/2018 20m W5WWJ EM50 MS 12/26/2017 20m K7YD DN45 MT 12/26/2017 20m KQ4BR FM05 NC 12/24/2017 20m K0HMZ DN88 ND 12/24/2017 20m W1CAM EN11 NE 12/24/2017 160m K1CF EM19fa NH 1/7/2018 80m N2OCS FN20 NJ 12/27/2017 20m N5KUC DM72 NM 12/26/2017 20m WA7UTM DM09 NV 12/28/2017 160m K2IAM FN02 NY 12/26/2017 20m WA6YDQ EN91 OH 12/24/2017 20m W5COV EM26 OK 12/26/2017 20m K4XU CN93 OR 12/24/2017 160m K0CZH FN21 PA 12/26/2017 160m K1QN FN41 RI 12/28/2017 20m W9DC EM84 SC 12/24/2017 17m W7UT EN04 SD 12/27/2017 160m AA4DD EM86 TN 12/24/2017 20m KG5HTH EM02 TX 12/24/2017 20m K7AF DN40 UT 12/26/2017 20m WA8AHZ FM18 VA 12/24/2017 80m W1HRG EM19fa VT 12/28/2017 20m K7GS DN17 WA 12/26/2017 20m WA9TBA EN42 WI 12/26/2017 30m WV8TIM EM99 WV 12/26/2017 15m N7MJ DN71 WY 12/27/2017
FT8 Countries (by QSO Date)
Band Call Country Date 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
143
160m
JW7QIA
Svalbard
12/13/2020
144
30m
HL5BLI
South Korea
1/3/2021
145
30m
YB1AR***
Indonesia
1/9/2021
146
10m
7Z1WW
Saudi Arabia
10/30/21
147
20m
C5C
The Gambia
11/5/2021
148
30m
8Q7RM
Maldives
11/5/2021
149
30m
SU1SK
Egypt
11/6/2021
150
30m
4S6NCH***
Sri Lanka
11/9/2021
151
20m
TL7M***
Cent. Africa
11/10/2021
152
20m
TZ1CE
Mali
11/29/2021
153
30m
V51LZ
Namibia
12/18/2021
154
30m
XT2AW
Burkina Faso
12/19/2021
155
10m
FK8HA
New Caledonia
3/4/2022
156
10m
3D2AG
Fiji
3/7/2022
157
12m
TX5N
Austral Island
4/28/2022
158
30m
OH0/SP1QY
Aaland Island
4/25/2022
159
10m
D2UY
Angola
9/18/2022
160
10m
S01WS
Western Sahara
11/27/2022
161
10m
FR8UA
Reunion Is.
12/13/2022
162
30m
3C3CA***
Equitorial Guinea
1/4/2023
163
20m
TN8K***
Rep. of Congo
1/7/2023
164
30m
FT8WW***
Crozet Island
1/9/20232
165
17m
4U1UN***
UN HQ NYC
2/17/23
166
30m
7X2ET
Algeria
2/21/23
167
30m
6Y5IB
Jordan
2/21/23
168
17m
9U5R***
Burundi
2/23/23
169 80m 3B7M*** Agalela & St. Brandon Is.
2/26/23 170
10m
VK9NT***
Norfolk Is.
3/20/23
171
30m
CY0S***
Sable Is.
3/21/23
172 15m 9X5RU*** Rawanda 3/21/23 173 12m E51WEG South Cook Is. 4/23/23 174
17m
4L1FL
Georgia
6/11/23
175
10m VP6A*** Ducie Is. 6/13/23 176 20m ET3AA*** Ethiopia 6/23/23 177
15m
3D2USU
Conway Reef
6/25/2023
178 15m 4W6RU*** Timor-Leste 7/1/2023
179
20m
FP/KV1J
St Pierre & Miquelon
7/2/2023
180
12m
E51D
North Cook Is
8/27/23
181
15m
FW1JG*** Wallis & Futuna Is.
8/30/23
182
10m
VK9DX
Norfolk Is.
9/25/23
183
17m
ZA/SV1EVG
Albania
9/26/23
184
10m
W8S*** Swain's Is.
10/9/23
185
15m
TO8FH*** Mayotte
10/15/23
186
17m A25R*** Botswana 10/30/23 187 12m PR0T*** Trinidade & Martin Vaz Is.
11/11/23 188 15m VK9XY*** Christmas Is. 11/19/23 189
12m
HB0WR
Liechtenstein
11/22/23
190
40m
VU7A***
Lakshadweep Islands
12/6/23
191 30m
V6EU*** Micronesia (Chuuk Is.)
12/11/23 192 20m XV9G*** Vietnam 2/7/24 193
160m
VP9GE
Bermuda
2/22/24
194 15m T88GF Palau 2/26/24 195 10m H40WA Temuto Prov.
3/1/24
*Worth mentioning he was also my 10,000th QSO
***First with that entity in any mode
In late 2018 Joe and his team released FT4. Where FT8 requires 15 seconds per transmission, FT4 requires only 7.5 seconds. Although intended for contesting, many hams (including me) used FT4 for everyday exchanges. My WAS and DXCC exchanges are listed below:
FT4 WAS (Alphabetically)
Band Call State Date 20m Wl7CG AK 12/14/2019 20m KF4RWA
AL 4/30/2019 40M
AF5AR AR 5/5/2019 20m K7DD
AZ 12/1/2019 20m AD6HF
CA 12/24/2017 40m K7SCX CO 11/30/2019 80m WJ1B CT 12/5/2019 40m 4U1WB DC 11/29/2019 40m N8NA DE 12/14/2019 20m K1DOW
FL 5/4/2019
20m K4MY GA 12/2/2019
20m WH6HI HI 5/22/2019 40M
K2DSW IA 5/10/2019 20M
K7JV ID 5/2/2019 80M
K9IJ IL 12/3/2019 20m AA9GR IN 5/2/2019 20M
KI6DY KS 5/12/2019 40m K7EK KY 5/3/2019 40m AA5AT LA 11/28/2019 20m AB1J MA 4/30/2019 40M
N3DRX MD 11/29/2019 80m W1ONE ME 12/4/2019 40M
K9QKY MI 5/4/2019 20M
K0QC MN 12/1/2019 40M
AD0FL MO 5/4/2019 20m AK5CT MS 12/14/2019 20m K7MT MT 12/3/2019 20m N24F
NC 5/5/2019 20m K0EA ND 12/3/2019 20m K0XU
NE 12/2/2019 20M
K1LO NH 5/12/2019 40m KD2NOM NJ 5/3/2019 20m N5NMX NM 5/2/2019 20m N7TR
NV 5/3/2019 40M
KD2HCE NY 5/9/2019
40M
AA8SW OH 5/5/2019 20m WD5G OK 11/29/2019 80M
AD7L OR 12/1/2019 80M
KA3CRC PA 12/3/2019 20M
W1YRC RI 5/12/2019 40m K3YGC SC 5/5/2019 20M
K0JV SD 5/2/2019 40M
N4ABT TN 12/5/2019 20M AA5AM TX 5/2/2019 20m W7CT
UT 11/30/2019 40M
K1HTV VA 5/5/2019 80M
K1LJL
VT 12/14/2019 20m KF4PBM WA 12/14/2019 20m N9ATD WI 5/30/2019 20m WV8DX WV 12/1/2019 20m N7MJ* WY 12/9/2019
FT4 DX (by date)
1
USA
W4UEF
4/30/2019
2
Puerto Rico
NP4TX
4/30/2019
3
Uraguay
C9AXU
4/30/2019
4
Cuba
CO8LY
4/30/2019
5
Netherlands
PC5W
4/30/2019
6
Paraguay
ZP6ARO
4/30/2019
7
England
G0UOC
4/30/2019
8
Portugal
CT2GQN
4/30/2019
9
Trinidad & Tobago
9Z4Y
4/30/2019
10
Sweden
SM0FLY
5/2/2019
11
Finland
OH5C
5/2/2019 12
Canary Islands
EA8DO
5/2/2019 13
Italy
IK0CHU
5/2/2019 14
Argentina
LU1JAO
5/3/2019 15
Canada
VE6LL
5/3/2019
16
Falkland Islands
VP8LP
5/3/2019
17
Chile
CE7VPQ
5/3/2019
18
Colombia
HK4FZ
5/3/2019
19
Sardinia
IS0GQX
5/4/2019
20
Croatia
9A7DA
5/4/2019
21
Jersey
GJ0KYZ
5/4/2019
22
France
F5SIB
5/5/2019
23
Ukraine
US8UA
5/5/2019
24
Switzerland
HB9FXW
5/5/2019
25
Slovenia
S51ZJ
5/5/2019
26
Northern Ireland
MI0OUT
5/5/2019
27
Suriname
PZ5RA
5/5/2019
28
Azores
CU3CC
5/5/2019
29
Sint Maartin
PJ7DH 5/5/2019
30
Germany
D:2HYH
5/6/2019
31
Poland
SP2WPN
5/6/2019
32
Hungary
HA0AA
5/6/2019
33
Brazil
PT2ZXR
5/6/2019
34
Norway
LA6CF
5/8/2019
35
Belgium
ON8SUB
5/8/2019
36
Spain
EA3FHP
5/8/2019
37
Denmark
OZ5GOL
5/8/2019
38
Haiti
HH2AA
5/9/2019
39
Guatamala
TG9ANF
5/9/2019
40
Bulgaria
LZ2JA
5/9/2019
41
Wales
GW0ARK
5/9/2019
42
Slovenia
S58N
5/9/2019
43
Romania
YO9HP
5/9/2019
44
Ireland
EI3CTB
5/9/2019
45
Turkey
TA4RC
5/9/2019
46
Denmark
5P6MJ
5/10/2019
47
Austria
OE2RL
5/15/2019
48
Belarus
EU2AV
5/16/2019
49
Asiatic Russia
RW0SR
5/23/2019
50
Slovak Republic
OM7OM
5/26/2019
51
Panama
HP1RY
5/26/2019
52
Venezuala
YV5JLO
5/31/2019
53
Iceland
TF3VS
6/6/2019
54
Mexico
XE2YWB
6/16/2019
55
European Russia
R6MK
11/28/2019
56
Sao Tome & Principe
S92HP
11/28/2019
57
Serbia
YU4DX
11/29/2019
58
Czech Republic
OK5CW
11/29/2019
59
Israel
4X5MZ
11/29/2019
60
Greece
SV1DZB
11/29/2019
61
Trinidad & Tobago
9Y4DG
11/30/2019
62
Ilse of Man
GD0TEP
11/30/2019
63
Spain
EB3JT
11/30/2019
64
St. Eustatius & Saba Isl
PJ5/SP6IXF
11/30/2019
65
South Africa
ZS6WN
11/30/2019
66
Austria
OE5DXA
11/30/2019
67
Austrailia
VK7AC
11/30/2019
68
Cyprus
C4XMAS
12/1/2019
69
Balearic Island
EA6AIU
12/1/2019
70
Andorra
C31CA
12/1/2019
71
Bulgaria
LZ2II
12/1/2019
72
Estonia
ES3AT
12/9/2019
73
Corsica
TKK5IH
12/11/2019
74
Ecuador
HC2TEP
12/11/2019
75
Poland
SQ9UM
12/11/2019
76
Barbados
8P2K
12/14/2019
77
Crete
SV9/KC8JNV
12/20/2019
78
Belarus
EW8W
12/20/2019
79
Dodecanese
SV5AZK
12/28/2019
80
Dominican Replublic
HI8S
1/19/2020
81
St. Helena
ZD7JC
1/19/2020
82
Aruba
P40AA
1/26/2020
83
Scotland
GM4FDM
2/14/2020
84
Japan
JA9BFN
2/14/2020
85
Guadaloupe
TO7D
2/15/2020
86
Tanzania
5H4WZ
2/15/2020
87
Bosnia-Herzegovina E77EE
2/16/2020
88
Costa Rica
TI5/AA1M
3/1/2020
89
Saint Lucia
J68HZ
4/18/2020
90
Ghana
9G1SD
11/24/2021
91
Central Kiribati
T31TT***
6/4/2023
92
Timor-Leste
4W8X
11/8/2023
93 Cambodia XU7GNY*** 2/29/2024
***First in that entity any mode
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