I joined FT8DMC - the FT8 Digital Mode Club

I finally joined the FT8 Digital Mode Club, given the amount of FT8 that I've done.

Going through their awards process, I installed the UltimateAAC software that they require and uploaded the most recent ADIF file from DX Keeper given it talks to my eQSL and QRZ,com logs. 

From there, I realised that I was eligible for at least 4 awards and I'm close to another 2.

Once they're confirmed, I'll consider posting them. 

I also recently become a member of the Indonesian Space Explorer group - it's really not that serious but I'm all for supporting younger folks getting into the hobby and it's relationship with space programs. This was the stuff of my childhood and it lead to the sense of wonder, curiosity and amazement that I carry with me to this day. So yes, it's a bit of fluff, but it shows some people taking an interest and it might help appeal to those minds who will benefit from it, so why not?

It's all just a bit of fun. 

Going back to FT8 - it's becoming a hard slog on 40m for me now. The uncanny ability I had to throw a signal that would land everywhere but VK is now fading as I'm lucky to get out of VK, then I may get a random report from somewhere around the planet. The CQ calls will largely go ignored.

Mornings are woeful, evenings are better, but the traffic can be challenging running so low power in between some pretty hefty signals. 

15m by far has been my friend, but even that isn't quite what it is. The easy DX wins are now fewer and far between.

There's a lot going on, but it's a lot going on a long, long way away....

I've never had much luck getting into the middle of this in the mornings - I seem to be heard by the same handful of stations in North America and in Asia. In the evenings I've had some luck on occasion, but it's a constant battle to find a hole when you're so far south that everything is north, and you're pushing 10 watts. 

Still, there'd be no challenge if I could throw a signal that would trample over everyone else. Frustrating though to receive so much Europe - a region that I find very, very difficult to DX. 

There was a local HF net on last night - I didn't listen. I had a nice chunk of noise washing over it  and a few kHz either side. The net before it was audible but the noise was annoying. I tried 80m FT8 earlier and noticed a stack of noise floating around there too. 

My tinnitus is aggravated this week - I took a work van on a 200km trip, and the excessive road noise and the poor quality audio system that I needed to run stupidly loud to drown it out has done little for my ears. I also discovered the hard way that it's speedo was 7km/hr under on the freeway - I determined this as a B Double decided to attempt pushing me off the road by overtaking me as my lane was merging on a highway section of the goat track we call the Western Highway. My return trip on the freeway though was much more comfortable with the cruise control set to 117km/hr. I'd understand if the van was a rusted out junker, but a relatively new VW. 

I've no doubt that the pencil pushing types at work who a few years ago tried to create a policy that required us to be courteous drivers and expected us to travel 5 km/hr below the posted speed limit would have been happy with this.  I dunno about those idiots - I don't find anyone driving 5km/hr below any speed limit for no good reason (towing a trailer, heavy rain or ice) to be courteous. I find people doing the speed limit courteous. I find people stuck in groups on the freeway adding a few extra km/hr to break the group up and find some clean air courteous.   

It's far safer to have accurate speedos (at least with 2km/hr - if you can't drive within that, then hand back your damned license) and a little more tolerance to people using a little extra speed to over take and create gaps on the road than it is to have these bunched up cars going at speed, in each others way, causing additional distraction in having to be constantly aware of what is around you, all because everyone is too scared to pick up an extra 5km/hr to break it up... because well, there's a speeding fine if you happen to get your picture taken. 

I fail to see how briefly adding a few km/hr is so incredibly dangerous in modern motorcars driven by competent drivers on what should be reasonable roads, compared to having 5 or 6 cars all banked up, in each others way, because the first car is slow, the second is too scared to over take and has a gap too short to pass into, and too long for a conscientious driver to pass both cars from behind without significant speed.  Get half a dozen cars in front of you all scared of each others shadows, and it becomes the stuff of road rage. I'm the guy that's going to clean up the lot of them as soon as there is adequate safe space on the road to do so if the conditions permit. I'm far safer at speed than I am frustrated sitting up someones clacker because they're too scared to pass and don't have enough consideration of opening up the gap between themselves and the car in front of them for the faster cars to jump into to help facilitate breaking up Ms' Daisy's convoy.