Digital Modes

Is anyone running Digital modes on 11 meter freeband?

Curious if anyone has looked into running JS8Call or FT8?

...or any others

I have been looking around the internet, and it looks like 27.500 is the catch-all digi freq, and 27.700 for SSTV..

Anyone want to set a freq to try?

Upper or lower band...

I vote JS8Call, due to the ability to have "auto Answer" ability for Heartbeat calls, so I could leave my setup running while at work and see how it goes...

Thoughts, ideas, questions, statements of fact?

Have made a few contacts with JS8, actual contacts not auto replies and HB. Its a mixed bag though a lot of EU stations don't use callsigns, i wont reply to these and often will reply before you've even finished Tx ing. 27.246 USB leave your rig on there but so far nada for 2 Div Had a couple of decodes on a Belize station last weekend but no return so no contact. Keep an eye on PSKreporter for activity.

Ok...

Thanks for the frequency.

I have been running FT8 on the Ham bands, but I can leave the radio on 27.246 and JS8Call running when I'm at work tomorrow...

I'll have to make sure I have PSKReporter upload turned on... and make sure I change my Callsign... 

Anyone running FT8 on 11m?

Why do you Amateurs have come over to the CB bands or as you call it 11m and do your Amateurs stuff ie: digital mode ,slow scan TV transmissions and other stuff , you lot would soon get pissed off if CB users started blocking up your frequencies, you Amateurs have and been allocated frequencies to do your own things and now you want the 11m too why ? the only reasons I can see is that if you f**k up when your Amateur stuff on CB bands you don't get told off by your authorities because CB is not monitored or failing that your just greedy and all want the whole radio spectrum come be fare or perhaps more of us will start using your frequencies.

I was a CB operator and Freebander long before I picked up my Ham ticket 20 years ago... and I ha e more QSL cards from Freebanding...

I actually enjoy Freebanding more.

And the only reason I asked about digital modes is:
Propagation sucks
I have heard SSTV in the freeband when propagation was better, and thought it would still offer some experiments

If it came across as like I was moaning, in a way I was but not nasty if you get my drift , the only reason is that its bad enough for us in UK on CB bands with really terrible interference we get on the bands without Amateurs coming over on them to do stuff in which they have been allocated for the use of and causing more interference to CB users ,it seems over past years that alot of Amateurs are doing this all over the world TBH and nothing can be done about it because as you know in the UK CB is a unlicensed and unmonitored band but if a CB is caught going on to Amateurs band illegally there's a big problem and someone get reported which is unfair , just a observation I thought  well infact I know its illegal for Amateurs to use there equipment on 11m for anything.

NUBSTER wrote:

If it came across as like I was moaning, in a way I was but not nasty if you get my drift , the only reason is that its bad enough for us in UK on CB bands with really terrible interference we get on the bands without Amateurs coming over on them to do stuff in which they have been allocated for the use of and causing more interference to CB users ,it seems over past years that alot of Amateurs are doing this all over the world TBH and nothing can be done about it because as you know in the UK CB is a unlicensed and unmonitored band but if a CB is caught going on to Amateurs band illegally there's a big problem and someone get reported which is unfair , just a observation I thought  well infact I know its illegal for Amateurs to use there equipment on 11m for anything.

Haha you do make me laugh Martin. Yeah look ok Its not an amateur thing only its just radio. Im pretty sure Marconi wasn't a CB er from "back in the day good buddy" He just invented radio. Or did he ? Oh ffs don't go there. 

The very reason you speak of ref "terrible interference" is probably why digital modes are becoming more popular. You can make contacts of various questionability with them, below your noise floor even. Now the truth of JS8 i only use js8, is that it is such a narrow and low power mode that unless someone was parked up outside your house in Palmers Green you wouldn't likely even know they are there. Js8 is operated on 27.246 that's it for 11mtr.

Thanks Smudger...

That is how I view radio, something that should be used, experimented on, and played with.

I realize digital modes are not everyone's "thing", but I veiw it has making the best of poor propagation

I left my setup running on 27.246 JS8Call today. It should auto reply to any HB messages it recieves...

If you give it a shot, see if you can hit the Desert SW USA

Smudger wrote:

NUBSTER wrote:

If it came across as like I was moaning, in a way I was but not nasty if you get my drift , the only reason is that its bad enough for us in UK on CB bands with really terrible interference we get on the bands without Amateurs coming over on them to do stuff in which they have been allocated for the use of and causing more interference to CB users ,it seems over past years that alot of Amateurs are doing this all over the world TBH and nothing can be done about it because as you know in the UK CB is a unlicensed and unmonitored band but if a CB is caught going on to Amateurs band illegally there's a big problem and someone get reported which is unfair , just a observation I thought  well infact I know its illegal for Amateurs to use there equipment on 11m for anything.

Haha you do make me laugh Martin. Yeah look ok Its not an amateur thing only its just radio. Im pretty sure Marconi wasn't a CB er from "back in the day good buddy" He just invented radio. Or did he ? Oh ffs don't go there. 

The very reason you speak of ref "terrible interference" is probably why digital modes are becoming more popular. You can make contacts of various questionability with them, below your noise floor even. Now the truth of JS8 i only use js8, is that it is such a narrow and low power mode that unless someone was parked up outside your house in Palmers Green you wouldn't likely even know they are there. Js8 is operated on 27.246 that's it for 11mtr.

Well sorry I'm not as knowledgeable about it as you are ,I  just thought its more interference to contend with thats all it wasn't a to start a war or anything , so how's Basildon ,still boring .

NUBSTER wrote:

Well sorry I'm not as knowledgeable about it as you are ,I  just thought its more interference to contend with thats all it wasn't a to start a war or anything , so how's Basildon ,still boring .

Lmao i wouldn't worry over it Martin, just made me laugh because for years you used to say the band was dead there was no one on even when there are nets still running with 50+ people weekly all over the country, well when were allowed out that i had to scratch my head when you mentioned its bad enough as if it was interfering with all those stations you cant hear. 

Is that Brasil Don the exotic part of Essex your referring too

Yeah sunny Brasil Don , where everyone seems to have the same surname as us lol
Been a long time since you've been on here

Oh by the way it is really is dead now on the radio down our way apart from one sort of network and that's  more like the Fred in the Shed Show its  on 305 USB

NUBSTER wrote:

Yeah sunny Brasil Don , where everyone seems to have the same surname as us lol
Been a long time since you've been on here

Oh by the way it is really is dead now on the radio down our way apart from one sort of network and that's  more like the Fred in the Shed Show its  on 305 USB

Haha yeah well that guys earing some good coin out of the others that call in. Don't get me started. Aint gonna bite lmao

Actually I wasn't hoping for you to bite , cos I don't think he gets any money for his vids like others who do he has no sponsors or anywhere just does it for the fun of it

Well, I haven't seem to heard anything on JS8Call... but I'll check it when I get home

So it looks like I got a Couple hits today...

No idea on who's call that is, doesn't look like an 11 meter DX call...

2TX240 wrote:

So it looks like I got a Couple hits today...

No idea on who's call that is, doesn't look like an 11 meter DX call...

No Maidenhead grid square in the messages to give a bit of a clue?

Nope, that was all that was on my screen... I left it running all day

2TX240 wrote:

Nope, that was all that was on my screen... I left it running all day

Its a low signal -20 but ive worked them as low as that before, but do you find with low signals you get corrupted decodes or just the proverbial .. ..... .... 

Or a mixture of both ?

Further to these posts, I live in France and am on JS8 most days (27.245 not 246) if the prop is there. We all have proper 11m callsigns but there a lot of very strange calls not originating in Europe which are a pain in the a**.
Today there are about 20 European stations all making contact with 43 div and we have been doing this for about 2 weeks now. In the afternoon this changes to the US as 43 div in bed!
Very few UK stations are on JS8, more's the pity, those that are do quite well.
So, guys, give it a whirl sometime.

Hi Ian,

I've noticed a lot of activity on 11m using JS8 when checking out PSK Reporter but so far have received nothing at my location. I've picked up some weird FT8 stuff at times but never really gave it much of a go.

Cheers for the heads up/reminder, I may have to try again some time.  

All the best,
Victor

JS8Call downloaded and probably working, any tips on using it? Slow, fast, normal & Turbo are some of the options!

I think I have some reading to do

Hi Victor
Tnx for the quick response. PSK Reporter at the moment only shows a few left since this morning. This will increase later (after lunch!) but the best time at the moment is from 0900 utc until 1300. I use a vertical for Europe but a Moxon for Asia/Pacific which works when the prop is there. My location is no good for the US unfortunately.
JS8 works very well on low power, 30w to 80w. Any more and it will distort your signal and it will be rejected by the receiver. No amps!
73 Ian

stormy wrote:

JS8 works very well on low power, 30w to 80w. Any more and it will distort your signal and it will be rejected by the receiver. No amps!
73 Ian

How can this be the case, ive never seen this an issue ? Where are you getting this info from ? If its a bad Tx signal or receiver is in close proximity maybe hard to decde, 30 to 80 watts low power on a digital mode ? Come to think of it, it isnt on any mode.

Cheers for the extra info there Ian.  

I shall definitely give 11m a try on digi-modes next time I'm playing about and see how I fare.

Definitely think the arguments concerning digital modes/power/IMD etc. have gone around the houses several times over but agree that's it's all about giving out a good clean signal whatever the power. Despite fixing things such as initial FT8 woes there's still some terribly distorted signals out there not only difficult to decode but hog bandwidth too!


73