How good is FT8? What you need to know

FT8 is a brand new digital mode that many hams are trying out. Is it worthy of the hype?
The answer is a resounding - YES!

I am testing out FT8 on my Flex 6300 SDR.
Without going into all of the details, FT8 is similar to its elder siblings, JT9 and JT65-HF. Stations take “turns” sending and receiving. The big difference in FT8 is that the turns are only 15 seconds long instead of a minute, meaning that FT8 QSOs run at around four times the speed of the older modes'. The “Even” turns are the ones that start at :00 and :30 past each minute, while the “Odd” turns are the ones starting at :15 or :45 past the minute. This rigid schedule is one of the mode's powerful features: It mostly assures that you and the station you are contacting are using opposite time slots instead of transmitting at the same time! (This rigidity also means that you need to set your computer clock carefully: Aim for within 1 second of UTC time from WWV or GPS.)

“Band,” by the way, has a special meaning in FT8. When we think of “Band,” we're usually talking about, say, the 40M band, or, at least, the cw, data or voice portions of it. But FT8 is an extremely narrowband mode, around 50 Hz wide. In the case of 40M, you set your radio to upper sideband (yes, upper, even on 40M and 80M) and tune it to 7074 kHz. After that, you never touch the tuning knob again. ALL FT8 activity (well, practically) happens in the 3 kHz or so bandwidth of a typical SSB QSO. In other words, a dozen or more FT8 QSOs can easily operate in the space occupied by one SSB signal. The WSJT-X software remembers the normal operating frequencies on 160M through 6M, so you can leave the radio dial set on each band if you like. My tuning knob is getting dusty!

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[Scott_AIEF]

Once I got the setup right with my TS-570D(G), I'm finally having a blast with FT8.

[madducmonza]

Hi Hobbyist thank you for the feed back. Do you think the IC 7610 transceiver will have a main receiver more sensitive than the 7300? Or will their be two 7300 receivers inside it?

[buzzsah]

I haven't had a chance to try it. Will do soon.

[peterrod]

my opinion on FT8 if i had a big gun antenna maybe a good location i would not give these digital modes a second look.
however i don't, so yes ft8, jt65, jt9 is my favorite mode so far FT8 hands down i been having a great time with my wire antenna out the window hung to a back yard tree 20 ft up, and 20 watts out. 88 countries and 1, 350 contacts in 6 months doing radio weekends only. with propagation at all time low these modes will get the little guy out. my advice if you working with a indoor antenna ft8 probably won't help you much. give jt9 a shot with indoor antenna.

[Backjack]

Can you type any text in ft8 comms? If not which digital one is best for that?

[madducmonza]

Hello Hobbyist in your opinion what is a overall better transceiver the IC-7300 vs. FTDX 3000? Welcome back love your videos their QUALITY!!!

[peterrod]

ft8 has its place but after 2500 contacts i'm really getting bore my pc is having a ball. looking now for a keyboard mode maybe olivia or psk3. ill hit ft8 when the bands are really dead.

[johndeere]

Unfortunately, I think its a popular mode because its quick and a lazy mode. I have operated it and its good for some contacts. I really like psk31 better, but its hard to find operators. I even tried JS8 as its a little more operator controlled, less automated, and some free form text. If you like it great, ham radio has lots of aspects and thats the draw. Something for everyone. Its about whats fun for you.

[robertchambers]

What is the error correction with this new digital mode.

[argonautnz]

Hello, yes love FT8. Thank you for a great video. Mike ZL1MRC

[bradenglettkdzm]

Nice video, but I have not found any difficulty at all finding cw ops on the bands (17, 20, 30, 40 meters). So I'm surprised at that comment. 73

[loctitems]

Ok.  So other than demonstrating you can make a connection, what can you do with it?  Can it work for emergency communications?  Have an actual conversation?

[arctos]

Hmmm, I can understand that looking for an alterantive to the usual modes is appealing in this disappointing Cycle 24. I began operarions on HF in 1966 and I have never seen propagation this bad. However, although I can see the enthusiasm for making contacts worldwide with minimal power I don't think I could maintain any enthusiam for substituting quick contacts where the merest amount of info is exchanged, for a real QSO. So, I will not be using FT8. That said, I also see an analogy between how ham radio has been eagerly changing over to this mode with the rise and near unbiquitous presence of so-called "social media" in the general population. Again, I prefer something more substantial than just "hooking up" with someone or signing up for Facebook (recently disgraced) and finding out a few days later that I have hundreds of new "friends". And, no, I am not some digruntled olf fart who only gets on AM with my Johnson Ranger and NC-183D. I recenty purchased an Icom 7300 and I love using it to have conversations with people when I can.

73,
Bruce K6RQR

[NLRB]

I don't get the appeal of FT8. You can't have a QSO with it. It's just two computers talking to each other via RF. I find the mode much to do about nothing. That people think they are accomplishing anything is beyond me.