Statement of Need:
VarAC is different from every other form of HF ham radio communication due to the ability to copy with 100% accuracy. This leads to the possibility of long QSOs in varying band conditions. There is often a mismatch in the desired QSO length between someone calling CQ and the answering station. There is no means of knowing how long the CQing station would like to chat.
In other forms of digital HF communication, it's expected that a QSO is basically name, QTH, and signal report. Weather and operating conditions turn it into a "long" QSO. Certainly, no one is surprised after trading this information that one of the two stations will send 73 at that point.
I believe it is likely that VarAC stations are less likely to respond to a CQ or CQ themselves unless they're willing to commit themselves to perhaps a 40 minute chat when all they really want is to make a few "long" QSOs. My suspicion is that stations sending beacons might be more willing to answer CQs that don't commit them to long chats (assuming the operator is in the shack, of course.)
Conversely, it's annoying when you've read a station's QRZ.com page and have a few items in your mind you'd like to chat about and they say "gotta go" after sending their INFO and maybe their working conditions. Desired Benefit:
More stations sending and answering CQs because their expectations of QSO length with the partner station will be similar.
Examples of possible solutions:
Add new Request data tag <QSO> which returns "Typical time available for a QSO" in minutes.
Add new column to CQ calls window which displays <QSO>
Add TIMER box to VarAC screen that counts from <QSO> down from Start Time and sends alert at zero. In this instance, <QSO> would need to be sent as part of INFO or requested as a Request data tag.
Add MY QSO box to VarAC screen that displays the value of my <QSO> setting that can be edited based on my current desire. The user should send this as part of INFO
Add clock GESTURE EMOJI such as QSO! sends ⏲️<QSO> where QSO is my QSO setting.
Add clock GESTURE EMOJI such as QSO?! sends ⏲️HW LONG? which asks how long the partner station would like to continue chatting.
Demetre, while I fully agree with you.... i do sometimes wonder about the benefit of IRAD's ARQ mode. VARAC will only give you perfect text. But that comes at the cost of many retries, unless i am wrong. In JS8... Jordan decodes what he can and for the missing bits gives you a couple of ..... Usually, you can still make out what the other party wants to say to you. Both methods have their pro's and con's. Am I alone in my thingking on this matter ? Would love to see what others thing about this. For critical emergecy traffic, ARQ a la Irad is it. No doubt about it. For casual ragchewing... I am not so sure ?
Albert. EI7II.
Hi,
I personally find what you are proposing too complicated and unnecessary when all you need to do is to create a "TKS QSO, HPECUAGN, QSL INFO @ QRZ, 73" kind of CANNED MESSAGE when you desire to go QRT. The operator at the other end of the QSO should respect this and send you the same greetings and your short QSO is over and probaly the other end is happy he/she had a QSO. If you would like to continue, you could just continue ragchewing and don't be the 1st one to send the 73 CANNED MESSAGE. Wait for the other guy to send his 73 CANNED MESSAGE and you are in the long QSO bussiness alright.
If the other end does not like this, then tough luck, tough ..., we can't please them all!
Hi hi hi!!!