JS8 Call. Hmm...

I've downloaded the JS8Call package - which is a very nicely presented piece of software - a couple of times in the past year or so.  But I never advanced to using it, as (a) I was a bit unsure if I would want a messaging service and (b) I don't like messing about with CAT settings without very good cause!

 

Anyhow, prompted by PE4BAS and his working of a Finnish OHFF station this wekeend by JS8, I decided to have another go.

The software is really nice.  Very clearly laid-out, obviously with tablets and other such devices in mind.  It even responded well to CAT settings!

It's also nice to be able to send a command - the so-called 'Heartbeat' signal - such that others hearing you will send a SNR transmission in return.  That does pose a risk of some idiot one day sending Heartbeat requests endlessly, forcing others to transmit permanently. 

Very nice layout, but the message box text is pretty small. 

The JS8 mode is potentially attractive to newcomers to the hobby, as they will inevitably already be instantly familiar with the JT modes now forming most of ham radio activity.  So it is fairly easy to adopt JS8, which 'feels' much the same as JT modes.

Where I think JS8 fails, and won't stand the test of time, is in the fact that it's very limited indeed in its data rate and, therefore, takes a long time to send even very short messages - about a minute is typical.  If you want to introduce a small amount of personality into your messages, you will be waiting at least two minutes for each to be sent.  

Even with this glacial rate, sensitivity for JS8 is nowhere near as good as some alternatives.

Modest volume of users of JS8 last evening.

 

If you've ever used modes like OLIVIA, where the data rate can be adjusted from quite fast to pretty slow, according to conditions, or even something more arcane like Hellschreiber, then you quickly start wondering: what the hell is the point of JS8?  It's just not very good at all, other than as, I guess, a freetext beacon of sorts.  

I know some, like OH8STN, will defend JS8 precisely on that basis - a means to quickly send an 'I'm OK out here in the snow and wind in my tent!' message.  But let's be realistic: how many of us undertake that kind of activity, and would we really rely on a ham radio set if we were in trouble?  Maybe.  Or maybe our fingers would be so cold as to make using anything pretty much impossible. Yes, I've experienced that, many times!

So, although the novelty will hang around for a while longer, JS8 is the wrong and monumentally retrograde answer to the question of effective, efficient keyboard-to-keyboard radio.