New release of WSJT-X with FT4

According to Southgate News there is new release of this free software that includes FT4. I shall have to download it as I was waiting for the fully released version.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2019/july/new-wsjt-x-with-ft4-released.htm

WSPR-X 2.0 issue?

By accident, I found out that WSPR-X 2.0 was saving 8GB of wav files (even though I had ticked the box to save nothing!). I deleted all these from the "save" directory, but now all my 160m spots overnight failed to upload. The internet connection to PSKreporter seems fine. I shall de-install and re-install later to see if this fixes things. I am pretty sure that only those wav files were removed.

Later it said I experienced a sub-process error code 2, whatever that is. I deleted WSJT-X V2.0 and re-installed. I went on 40m and still no uploads!

Panic over! With the new install I have to tick the box saying "enable PSKreporter spots" or whatever it says. I had forgotten to do this! I seem to be getting plenty of 40m FT8 spots now and they all appear on PSKreporter.

WSJT-X

There is a lot of free software at this site for digital communication. WSJT-X is still in beta release with the full Rev 2.0 version due in December. If you want to try some digital modes, take a look.

See https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html .

New version of WSJT-X available (V2.0 rc1)

There is a new beta version of WSJT-X available. This is WSJT-X V2.0 rc1. I have yet to download it.  Apparently the decode sensitivity on FT8 is slightly better by about 1dB.

It may be worth waiting as I have been told there are some issues with this beta release (PCs freezing). When I tried to install it aborted saying it was missing a .dll .

See https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html .

New Software

I just downloaded WSJT-X V1.9 rc3 and it seems to work fine with stations spotted from all over Europe on 40m FT8 RX in the last 15 minutes.

WSJT-X V1.9 rc3

A look at the Princeton site shows there is a WSJT-X V1.9 rc3 available. I need to check more often!

See https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html

rc3 means "release candidate 3", so further changes are still possible before it is "officially" released.

More on WSJT-X V1.9.0

Southgate News has more information on the latest version of WSPR-X, free software available for download. The FT8 weak signal, narrowband, mode has really "taken off" and has amazed me. The software for this is in WSJT-X and is totally free. All you have to do is sit on a given USB dial frequency and watch the DX appear. QSOs are formulaic, but the mode allows low power to reach great distances. Yesterday for example my 2m 4W ERP was spotted in north Devon quite easily.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2018/february/wsjt-x-version-1-9-0.htm#.WpXVPkx2vIU

WSJT-X V1.8 now properly released

For some time various release candidate versions have crept out, but V1.8 is now formally released. I have just got this for my Windows 10 shack PC.

See http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html

Be sure to get V1.8 and not V1.7.

New Digital Mode from K1JT

Just got this from Bob G3WKW:
Steve (K9AN) and I have developed a potential new mode for WSJT-X. We're calling the mode "FT8" (Franke-Taylor design, 8-FSK modulation). FT8 is designed for situations like multi-hop Es where signals may be weak and fading, openings may be short, and you want fast completion of reliable, confirmable QSOs.

Important characteristics of FT8:

  - T/R sequence length: 15 s

  - Message length: 75 bits + 12-bit CRC

  - FEC code: LDPC(174,87)

  - Modulation: 8-FSK, keying rate = tone spacing = 5.86 Hz

  - Waveform: Continuous phase, constant envelope

  - Occupied bandwidth: 47 Hz

  - Synchronization: three 7x7 Costas arrays (start, middle, end of Tx)

  - Transmission duration: 79*2048/12000 = 13.48 s

  - Decoding threshold: -20 dB (perhaps -24 dB with AP decoding, TBD)

  - Operational behavior: similar to HF usage of JT9, JT65

  - Multi-decoder: finds and decodes all FT8 signals in passband

  - Auto-sequencing after manual start of QSO

*Comparison with slow modes JT9, JT65, QRA64:*  FT8 is a few dB less sensitive but allows completion of QSOs four times faster.  Bandwidth is greater than JT9, but about 1/4 of JT65A and less than 1/2 QRA64.

*Comparison with fast modes JT9E-H:*  FT8 is significantly more sensitive, has much smaller bandwidth, uses the vertical waterfall, and offers multi-decoding over the full displayed passband.

*Still to come, not yet implemented:*  We plan to implement signal subtraction, two-pass decoding, and use of "a priori" (already known) information as it accumulates during a QSO.

Three extra bits are available in the message payload, with uses yet tobe defined.  We  have in mind special message formats that might be used in contests, and the like.  Your considered suggestions for use of these bits are very welcome!

K1JT, K9AN, and G4WJS have conducted on-the-air tests of FT8 with excellent results.  We're now at a stage where tests under a wider range of conditions are desirable.  If you can build WSJT-X from source code revision r7750 or later, and would like to help, please do so and report your results to us!  Pre-built installation packages will be made available after further testing is completed.

Suggestions for FT8 setup and examples of use can be found in a screen shot posted here: http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/ft8.png

We look forward to receiving your feedback.

   -- 73, Joe, K1JT

It will help to have some initial frequency coordination among those
testing the new FT8 mode in WSJT-X v1.7.1.

To help get things started, we suggest using the following frequencies:

Band    MHz
-------------
 160   1.841
  80   3.579
  40   7.079
  30  10.141
  20  14.079
  17  18.105
  15  21.079
  12  24.920
  10  28.079
   6  50.313
   4  70.094
-------------

Most of these suggestions follow a simple guideline: add 3 kHz to the
commonly used JT65 dial frequency.

For 6 meters we suggest using 50.313, which should be consistent with
band plans in all IARU Regions.  (Six meter activity that's now on
50.276, world-wide, might be moved to 50.310.)

We are very much open to suggestions for changes in the above table.

   -- 73, Joe, K1JT

Weak signal modes compared

My old work colleague Bob G3WKW kindly sent me this link knowing I'd be interested. It compares the decode capabilities of various weak signal modes.

See http://destevez.net/2016/10/simulating-jt-modes-how-low-can-they-get/ .

JT, WSPR and similar - just how low can these work?

Reading Amateur Radio Weekly there was a nice posting of a blog analysing weak signal modes trying to see just how weak a signal the various modes can decode.

See http://destevez.net/2016/10/simulating-jt-modes-how-low-can-they-get/?utm_source=amateur-radio-weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

There are some modes here I have yet to try.

WSJT-X v1.7

There is a new version of WSJT-X available in pre-release. Quite a few stations are using it. It was announced on a Yahoo group a few days ago. I am still using V1.6, but may upgrade and give it a try. WSJT-X brings together WSPR with JT modes. V1.7 I believe is better still and adds some more modes I think.

JT65 issue

I "think" I may have a faulty cable from my SignaLink unit to my FT817. I shall get a new one to see if this makes it better. The PC sees the SignaLink unit, I have TX enabled, and the FT817 works fine on USB so the FT817 PA is OK. In days gone by I'd have tried to fix the lead, but not these days as I am still unable to manage fine motor skills as a result of my stroke. I do not think this is a Windows 10 issue as I can hear the TX if I select the PC's own speakers.

Luckily I am still able to be on 10m WSPR with the stand alone beacon.

Knowing my luck 6m will be wide open across the Atlantic these next few days!

UPDATE 0948z: New lead ordered from W and S. Should be here later this week.

2016 challenge

With my voice still poor (stroke) and still the same few reappearing night after night on 472kHz, I think my challenge for 2016 will be to work as many countries as possible using JT65 and JT9-1 on HF. I have tried these modes before but as it is now integrated with WSPR in WSJT-X I really should give it a go.

More test results with WSJT-X V1.6

This came in earlier from Alan G8LCO. It seems that WSJT-X V1.6 is definitely the way to go.

Jan found out that his misleading results were due to having two programs on the same PC, now he sees the improvement on 1.60

David did a 8.5 Hour test and saw 23.7%  more spots on 1.60

I have posted a note of my test results on the LF group so the story is out now! The improvement is staggering!  And I do like the way that the facilities have been put together. The Hopping Scheduler is a very nice way of making clean band changes without the "Wrong Band" risk as well as being a great tool in it's own way. You also don't need to run a spec anl as well to see what is happening.

It seems to be a very nice package all around  with the JT modes as well. But it will take a bit longer to explore all of the possabilities.  Open Source software can really be fantastic when it is done well.

This was the very detailed analysis Alan G8LCO posted on the RSGB LF group:

WSPR is now included in the WSJT package as an alternate mode alongside JT65 and JT9. I loaded the free software just before Christmas running into some issues because I had not changed the audio settings. After changing to the settings in the instructons everything worked.

The WSPR mode use is a little different, band hopping is available so instead of manually having to change bands waiting for decoding to end etc etc you can now preset the next band(s) making the band change quick and certain. If every user picked up on this feature the "Wrong Band" issue which messes up the logs could be a past issue! that would be a very significant "WIN" for the WSPR database users!

The decoding now uses a two pass process, strong signals are processed then removed allowing weaker signals to be decoded. This makes a very substantial difference!

On Dec 27 I ran a comparison, I used my normal antenna and Rx to produce audio which then went to two seperate Rx's, a laptop running WSPR 2.12 which was a known good performer and another PC running WSJT-X 1.60. I chose to listen to 160m as it was busier than 620m at that time. There is also the prospect of TA spots.  The test was run overnight.

It was quickly evident that the two pass decoder was producing more spots than the stand alone WSPR 2.12

In some time slots 1.60 produced 6 decodes to 2.12's  3 decodes !  The main reason was that when two signals were close the old decoder only  found the stronger signal wheras the two pass decoder seemed to decode all of the signals visible on the spectral display. I had decodes of signals 2 Hz apart with 20dB amplitude differences whereas 2.12 lost weaker signals 5Hz apart. Some -10dB signals decoded  1 in 6 times on 2.12 but every time on 1.60. SNR's were broadly the same however a few signals decoded 1,2 or 3 dB higher on 1.60.

One feature of WSPR 2.12 is that high level signals seem to top out around +13dB so very strong signals peg at +13dB or so. The 1.60 software has produced SNR numbers up to +20dB so we can better see crocs blasting away. Hitherto I have run Spectrum Lab alongside WSPR so I am well aware of the levels of some stations!

For those used to 2.12 WSPR the new version takes a bit of getting used to as there are significant differences  and many new facilities that extend the way we can use the software.

The spectral display has seperate gain and bright controls with the waterfall having it's own controls. There are several pallets and display widths to select and an early decode option that displays the decode earlier than 2.12 does. There is also a 2 min "thermometer" style display at the lower edge indicating the time in the slot cycle  and a box giving the  progression of the four time periods in the Hopping Shedule, night, dawn grey line, day and sunset grey line. That I found very useful.

For me the package seems to work outstandingly well, decoding is better than ever and quicker, the spectral display and waterfall are flexible without over complication and the very clumsy old style band changing is now very quick, risk free and certain. The development people and the testers have done a very good job.

However decoding weak signals is not simple, different people have different equipment, noise levels and operating practices. I would advise against running different decode software at the same time on one machine, there is a possibility of misleading results. I would like to thank Jan, David and Roger for helping clarify matters and their independent testing.

Alan

G8LCO 

LA3EQ 472kHz RX experiment

There seems to be some issues with the newly released WSJT-X V1.6 software (combines JT65, JT9 and WSPR2 and WSPR15 into a single package) compared with some earlier releases of dedicated WSPR software, with WSJT-X 1.6 not reporting to WSPRnet all that is received. It looks as if this is not a WSPRnet issue, even though WSPRnet has not been so reliable of late. LA3EQ did a "side by side" comparison and the older versions reported more stations. Maybe there is a bug that V1.7 will correct?

WSJT-X V1.6 decode sensitivity

For many months I had been using V4 of the dedicated WSPR software After about a day of use I do not think WSJT-X V1.6 has demonstrably better sensitivity.  On spots of EA5DOM and PA3ABK/2 the S/N of decodes seems very similar in S/N terms. It is possible this not widely release version decoded at a similar level to WSJT-X V1.6. Certainly the QSB makes making a clear picture far from easy. What I mean is the signals vary far more with fades than the difference in sensitivity between packages. At the moment I am not using the preamp.

WSJT-X - V1.6 works

I am currently using WSJT-X V1.6 on 472kHz WSPR.  It seems to work "right out of the tin" for me and I have both uploaded WSPR spots and been spotted on WSPRnet using the new software. As yet, because of family and Christmas, I have not yet tried it on JT65 or JT9-1 2-way modes. It is too early to tell how much better it is than the older WSPR packages, but others have reported better MF sensitivity with it.

New version of WSJT-X

A new version of WSJT-X has been released.. See http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/wsjtx.html  .   As the webpage says:

WSJT-X implements JT9, a new mode designed especially for the LF, MF, and HF bands, as well as the popular mode JT65.  Both modes were designed for making reliable, confirmed QSOs under extreme weak-signal conditions.  They use nearly identical message structure and source encoding.  JT65 was designed for EME (“moonbounce”) on the VHF/UHF bands and has also proved very effective for worldwide QRP communication at HF; in contrast, JT9 is optimized for HF and lower frequencies.  JT9 is about 2 dB more sensitive than JT65A while using less than 10% of the bandwidth.  World-wide QSOs are possible with power levels of a few watts and compromise antennas.  A 2 kHz slice of spectrum is essentially full when occupied by ten JT65 signals.  As many as 100 JT9 signals can fit into the same space, without overlap. WSJT-X offers a "bi-lingual" operating mode in which you can transmit and receive JT65 and JT9 signals, switching between modes automatically as needed.  Displayed bandwidth can be as large as 5 kHz.  If your receiver has as upper-sideband filter at least 4 kHz wide, you can have all the typical JT65 and JT9 activity on screen at once, available for making QSOs with a click of the mouse.  Even with standard SSB-width IF filters, switching between JT65 and JT9 modes is quick and convenient.  Be sure to read the online WSJT-X User's Guide.

Future plans
Plans call for future versions of WSJT-X to include the other popular modes from WSJT: JT4, ISCAT, and FSK441.

JT9 mode on HF

Julian G4ILO has been having some good success on HF with JT9 mode, so I am encouraged to have a go too. This afternoon I'll be firing up on HF, probably 20m.

Results with this mode on MF were very encouraging giving me my first international 2-way QSO (as opposed to WSPR report) some months back. The slower JT9 modes are similar to WSPR in terms of weak signal performance, but allow basic real 2-way QSOs similar to JT65 mode QSOs.

PSK reporter now shows JT9 spots, so it is possible to see where your signal is reaching even if a QSO does not result from a CQ call.  The new JT9 Yahoo group is rapidly gaining members and is worth joining if interested in this new mode.

Recommended JT9 mode frequencies are:

10m  28.078MHz
15m 21.078
17m  18.104
20m 14.078
30m 10.130
40m 7.078
60m 5.2872
80m 3.578
160m 1.838

JT9 software can be downloaded from http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/ As updates are still occurring it is best to check the site for later versions regularly.  The user guide for all WSJT modes is worth reading.