My Dad was a remarkable fellow. He was born the same week Charles Lindbergh made the first solo airplane flight from the United States to Europe. That was 1927 and the arc of his life from that point to the end included the Great Depression and his service in the US Navy during the Second World War. He witnessed broadcast radio as it became a viable enterprise then watched television do the same. He saw the assassination of one president and the resignation of another. Along the way he watched men walk on the Moon and then live in space. He built several homes, raised a family, then watched in horror as two towers turned to rubble. He died three weeks short of his 96th birthday — and mowed his own lawn that same week.

Dad was part of what history has declared, The Greatest Generation, and you would get no argument from me about that designation. I don’t know how or why our lives are dropped into a particular timeline, being born at the “right” time seems like mere accident of birth though where we enter the slipstream of time determines what we will witness and experience during our brief stay. I would suggest all the travails and achievements of mankind my Dad witnessed might well be the most amazing period in human history.

Members of the previous generation were similarly treated to innovation that included the horseless carriage, the wide adoption of home electrification and the telephone. Global pandemic and the First World War were witnessed as well. Key individuals of this generation invented radio creating intense interest in the new technology. Amateur enthusiasts began experimenting with the new medium in their attics, basements, garage workshops, and shacks. But spark-gap transmitters created such interference that change was inevitable. The transition from spark to continuous wave, or CW mode of transmission began in the early 1920s and by 1926 spark gap transmitters were made illegal on all amateur radio bands accelerating the migration.

There’s plenty of evidence to suggest this was much more a wrenching upheaval than a smooth transition from one mode to another. Devoted spark enthusiasts clung to what they knew and had become comfortable using while rejecting a more efficient and useful mode of communication.

It’s interesting to note this had nothing to do with Morse code as it was employed with both spark and CW. This particular perturbation wasn’t about language, it was about the technology used to generate signals, the mode used to convey intelligence across the aether.

Our generation has also witnessed continued advances in amateur radio, including those brought about by the advent of the Internet and its ability to rapidly disseminate information globally. We’ve watched the birth and maturation of software-defined radio (SDR), the miniaturization of electronics, improvements in battery technology and 3D printing.

Curiously, or perhaps inevitably, our generation has also seen the emergence of a new mode, FT8, and watched as it quickly became the most popular mode for ham radio enthusiasts — by a wide margin. I jumped on the bandwagon when it first appeared because it was new and I had missed the PSK31 wave some years earlier due to inattention to changes in the HF digital landscape. I was determined not to miss out on this one so when the software became available in the summer of 2017, I began making hundreds of contacts, including with the co-creators, Joe Taylor, K1JT and Steve Franke, K9AN the first week I used it.

It’s probably correct to say that FT8 has disrupted the hobby at least as profoundly as the transition from spark to CW, perhaps more so.

But there are some distinctions between these modes. For starters, spark and CW could also be conversational modes while FT8 was designed strictly for sport. The only intelligence it conveys is location and signal report, the barest minimum required to qualify as a valid radio contact. And that’s perfectly okay provided we admit our hobby is now mostly about collecting awards and wallpaper.

There’s no reason to deny this, it’s become self-evident; ham radio in the 21st century is less about conversation and more about filling the logbook. For this purpose, FT8 is superior to other modes. The software and computing horsepower can dig out signals below the noise floor in a way that opens the bands to activity when CW and Phone can’t. This democratizes the process of obtaining DXCC, Worked All States, and other contests and awards using modestly equipped HF stations.

Having logged thousands of FT8 contacts to date my use has evolved. I haven’t created a manifesto about it, but I do follow certain guidelines for myself. These having been born out of an internal struggle about a few of the things that seem a little unnatural to an old guy like me. For instance, the ease with which the software can be automated to the point that a control operator is mostly unnecessary while contacts are made and the logbook filled to overflowing.

Personally, I’m always at the keyboard when transmitting. Unattended operation is not for me, even if possible. I only use it when chasing DX on 80-10 meters. I no longer answer domestic calls using FT8. I don’t use other software with FT8 to facilitate the chase. Don’t get me wrong, assembling the software components to fully automate an HF digital station is a skill, it’s just not for me.

Beyond how I make use of this new miracle mode, I continue to harbor fears about what it has done to the hobby overall. Those of us of a certain age entered at a point when slowly spinning the VFO and listening to the atmosphere and observing certain operating practices was the norm. There is considerable wisdom and understanding to be gained by simply listening to the flutter of HF signals as they cross the poles.

I fear these other aspects could be lost as everyone has gone digital, turned down the volume, and now stare at a computer-generated waterfall imitating the radio spectrum. These digital cowboys are missing the magic of radio, in my opinion. But that’s based on fear of lost tradition, in the same way as those who opposed the transition from spark to CW a century ago.

Dad never complained about what the slipstream took from him. He was too busy marveling at what it brought.