JT65 on 10m

Does anyone here still use the mode?

I fully understand why it's an almost dead and buried mode, what with taking at least 5 minutes to complete a basic QSO (the same usual strings of characters you do with with FT8 & 4). But I can see benefits too, the primary one being that even weaker signals can be decoded. Examples being that I have had PSK reports in the US on 20m at -28 and -30.

Asking because I would like to try and get some contacts using it on 10m. I have not heard one station to date using it on that band.

If you would like to try and have a go with me, my intention is to put a few CQ calls out at 19:00 UTC (currently the same in UK 7pm) each day from today for a week, concluding at 19:10 (unless contacts has been made, then will go on longer). At that time there has still been skip running. Will re-assess after week if I will continue.

If there is no major skip, I will still put calls out. I am in Cirencester and often hit the Weston-s-Mare WebSDR at respectable signals with 10W FT8/4. So with 5W JT65 I am theorising that a similar distance line of sight / ground wave should be possible terrain depending.. about 50ish miles.

I will not be running any more than 5W, as with nearly a minute per transmission I am don't want to strain my transceiver finals. I will be running into the inverted V in the loft, so mostly horizontal polarized. I will transmit CQs on the even's, so if I am on time then the first one will be 19:00, then 19:02 etc. I will only be on the odds if I am answering a CQ.

If you have not used before and have WSJT-X setup running FT8 you have all you need for JT65, just select the mode from the drop down. Keep all settings as defaults, you will then be set the same as I will be.

Morning Neal.
Not sure what i am doing with Linda in hospital but if i am about i will give it a go.
Did try that mode some time ago but got nothing and to be honest with nothing happening it was like watching paint dry lol.
Not that it will be that busy but i still have your call on a post-it note on my monitor.

Thanks Alan. Health and family before radio fun is important, so no worries.

Attempt tonight resulted in 3 listening station spots in the US, plus 1 transmitting station NX0R. Out of the whole world that was all that showed up on PSK Reporter and I didn't see anything else on my waterfall.

NX0R became a successful confirmed contact though, so that was a win in my book. First JT65 contact for me on 10m.

I will try and do what I said I would, that is do the same at 7pm UK time for 10 minutes each evening for the coming week. Hope to catch someone from here on there, but fully prepared to watch paint dry as Alan put it lol

I will try and get on.

Hi Neal,

I haven't tried JT65 myself and the couple of occasions I've selected that mode with WJSTX I've never heard anything so assumed it was a 'dead' mode.

Unfortunately the station manager arrives home from work at 7pm so I've usually scuttled off from the shack before then. I'll see if I can have a listen over the weekend but again although I call her the 'station manager' she's off at the weekends and as much as I love my radio I do love her company more.
(If a cookery TV program comes on she wants to watch I'll soon shoot off though! )

If I don't catch you I wish you the best with it.  

73

Sorry Neal couldn't make it but will do my best to be on one of the 6 remaining nights.
Station manager was a slight bit better yesterday now they have sorted out what it is and given her some medication so fingers crossed i get her home soon.

I am on it now Neal well in a minute.

Nice. It's looking deader than yesterday at the moment. NX0R was on again earlier, but I haven't seen any other activity. I've just put the first CQ out and too monitoring stations in the US have picked up again, but nothing showing in the UK yet.

Same 2 stations picking me up here. (wx71 and w1nt-6)..
Nothing showing on my screen and i am on tx-odd.

Nothing here

Well we gave it ago m8.
Will do my best to try again when i can.

Yep Alan, 3 picking both of us up now. But nothing still showing UK and no one coming back to me. I think the distance between us and few mountains are just bit too much for ground wave, probably need a bit of short skip to connect us two.

Will try a couple more calls, then call it a night till tomorrow.

Thank you both Alan and Mike for trying.

Will try again another evening.

Even quieter this evening. Only been picked up by 2 of the US east coast monitoring stations this time. Not picked up by anyone again in UK.

Just over an hour ago, around our grey line time, I did manage another contact into the US, W3VAC in AL. Please with that. Probably a good time for those who want a better chance of making a contact with anyone. I can't usually make the earlier time myself though due to work, or walking home. Not to wish my life away, but the days will soon become longer and the grey line will be later.

10m has been open between Europe and VK a bit of late, so whilst I've never tried JT65, I'm happy to have a look...7pm UK time is too late for me there though, given we're GMT/UTC+8.  Mid-evening my time has seen UK come in on both 10m and 17m last few days.  I'm still trying to get Scotland, NI and Guernsey (Have them, but not confirmed) to help with my DXCC.

PM me a callsign if you like, and I'll add it to Ham Alert and if I see a spot from PSK Reporter or similar, I'll jump on.

SangueG wrote:

Does anyone here still use the mode?

I fully understand why it's an almost dead and buried mode, what with taking at least 5 minutes to complete a basic QSO (the same usual strings of characters you do with with FT8 & 4). But I can see benefits too, the primary one being that even weaker signals can be decoded. Examples being that I have had PSK reports in the US on 20m at -28 and -30.

Asking because I would like to try and get some contacts using it on 10m. I have not heard one station to date using it on that band.

If you would like to try and have a go with me, my intention is to put a few CQ calls out at 19:00 UTC (currently the same in UK 7pm) each day from today for a week, concluding at 19:10 (unless contacts has been made, then will go on longer). At that time there has still been skip running. Will re-assess after week if I will continue.

If there is no major skip, I will still put calls out. I am in Cirencester and often hit the Weston-s-Mare WebSDR at respectable signals with 10W FT8/4. So with 5W JT65 I am theorising that a similar distance line of sight / ground wave should be possible terrain depending.. about 50ish miles.

I will not be running any more than 5W, as with nearly a minute per transmission I am don't want to strain my transceiver finals. I will be running into the inverted V in the loft, so mostly horizontal polarized. I will transmit CQs on the even's, so if I am on time then the first one will be 19:00, then 19:02 etc. I will only be on the odds if I am answering a CQ.

If you have not used before and have WSJT-X setup running FT8 you have all you need for JT65, just select the mode from the drop down. Keep all settings as defaults, you will then be set the same as I will be.

FT8, FT4, JT65, and JT9 are all very much alive and well. Most activity is FT8 and FT4 these days but it's always very active!

Had a listen Sunday, nothing again but not surprising.

Back from work only just in time this evening. Quietest night so far. Only one signal seen / heard on 28.076, and it wasn't a JT65 or JT9 one. Only one spot by a monitoring station in the US, and again no spots in the UK or anywhere else in the world.

Jeff, my ham callsign is in my profile if you want to add to Ham alert. I will try when I can earlier in my day, but mostly only weekends I can do earlier times.

David, FT8 & FT4 are very much alive over here. Even right now an hour and half after sun down there's a lot coming through from South America. FT65 on 10m, well... not so much, from my listenings anyway. That's why I was trying to drum up a bit of action so some of us can get some contacts on different modes in the log. I can only but try. JT9 I think is going to be a similar situation, but will try proper after doing this week of evening calls on JT65. I only have 1x JT9 10m contact in my log and that was from this Saturday just gone.

Mike, thanks for listening out. As I just wrote, we can only but try. If we don't, then for certain no contacts will be made.

28.500 25.800 (mistake sorry) some mornings can hear the DNK radio
Currently in Greece this time at 28.077 can hear something usb ... all below with tecsun pl-990x are usb unknown could be an interface in my location
28.134 very weak...28.287 very weak...28.317 very weak...28.490 very weak...28.562 very weak...28.622 very weak... 28.683 very weak ... 29.095 not bad...29.252 not bad

Need to install again fldigi the pl-990 was working ok with it but only with strong signals ... it decoded local navtex 518

The 10m amateur band starts at 28.000 to 28.700 do not operate in this range.

Station manager home last night so will get back to normal soon.
Got a load of washing to get sorted now lol.

Hope she's feeling better Alan.

Thank you to anyone who tried listening and calling. Not much to summarize, as anyone who read through thread thus far will determine there has not been a lot of activity. Wednesday night saw me getting spotted by 4 monitoring stations in the US, and last night night back to 3. I made no more contacts, the only ones being NX0R and W3VAC earlier in the week. That's 2 more 10m JT65 contacts than I have ever had previously, so although no CT members, that's a partial win for me.

Week over, so that's it for my regular evening tries, at least for now. If anyone wants to try JT65 on 10m again at some point, do post up and if the time works for me then I will of course give it a go again and hopefully others will too. Same goes for any other less commonly used or obscure modes, I am up for experimenting with any modes that appear to be gathering dust, so speak up if anyone wants to try something a little different.

It was worth a try m8.
I did give it a go a couple of years ago but got nothing.
It got the better of me in no time it's a long time transmitting and so on prefer ft4.