2017-07-12 15:32:17 -04:00
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// Status=review
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.Main Window:
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- Click the *Stop* button on the main window to halt any data acquisition.
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- Select *FT8* from the *Mode* menu and *Deep* from the *Decode* menu.
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- Double-click on *Erase* to clear both text windows.
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.Open a Wave File:
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- Select *File | Open log directory* and navigate to
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+...\save\samples\FT8\210703_133430.wav+. The waterfall and Band
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Activity/Rx Frequency windows should look something like the following screen shots:
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- You may want to pretend you are K1JT
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by entering that callsign temporarily as *My Call* on the
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*Settings | General* tab. Your results should then be identical to
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those shown in the screen shot below. Don't forget to change *My Call*
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back to your own call when you are done!
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2017-07-14 11:33:27 -04:00
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[[X15]]
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image::FT8_waterfall.png[align="left",alt="Wide Graph Decode 210703_133430"]
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image::ft8_decodes.png[align="left"]
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.Decoding Overview
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Decoding takes place at the end of a receive sequence. With *Decode* set
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to *Deep*, three decoding passes will be done and the *Decode* button on the
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mainwindow will illuminate three times, once for each pass.
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The first decoding attempt in each decoding pass is done at the selected Rx frequency,
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indicated by the U-shaped green marker on the waterfall frequency
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scale. All decodes appear in the left (*Band Activity*) window. The right
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(*Rx Frequency*) text window displays any decodes obtained at the current
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Rx frequency along with any decodes addressed to *My Call* (K1JT in this case).
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The red marker on the waterfall scale indicates your
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Tx frequency.
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Twenty one FT8 signals are decoded from the example file. The number
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of decodes is shown in a box at the bottom of the main window.
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When this file was recorded HA5WA was finishing a QSO with K1JT, and
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his 73 message is shown in red because it is addressed to *My Call* (in this case K1JT).
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By default, lines containing `CQ`
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are highlighted in green, and lines with *My Call* (K1JT)
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in red. Notice that K1JT has two callers; HA0DU and EA3AGB.
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[[X13]]
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.Decoding Controls
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To gain some feeling for controls frequently used when making QSOs,
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try double-clicking with the mouse on the decoded text lines and on the
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waterfall spectral display. You should be able to confirm the
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following behavior:
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- Double-click on one of the decoded *CQ* messages highlighted in
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green. These actions produce the following results:
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** Callsign and locator of the station calling CQ are copied to the *DX
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Call* and *DX Grid* entry fields.
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** Messages are generated for a standard minimal QSO.
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** The *Tx even* box is checked or cleared appropriately, so that you
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will transmit in the proper (odd or even) minutes.
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** The Rx frequency marker is moved to the frequency of the CQing
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station.
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** You can modify the double-click behavior by holding down the
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*Shift* key to move only the Tx frequency or the *Ctrl* key to move
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both Rx and Tx frequencies. (On a Mac computer, use the *command* key
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instead of *Ctrl*).
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** In addition, if *Double-click on call sets Tx enable* is checked on the
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*Settings | General* tab then *Enable Tx* will be activated
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so that a transmission will start automatically at the proper time.
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+
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NOTE: You can prevent your Tx frequency from being changed by checking the
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box *Hold Tx Freq*.
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- Double-click on the decoded message `K1JT HA0DU KN07`, highlighted
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in red. Results will be similar to those in the previous step. The Tx
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frequency (red marker) is not moved unless *Shift* or *Ctrl* is held
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down. Messages highlighted in red are usually in response to your own
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CQ or from a tail-ender, and you probably want your Tx frequency to
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stay where it was.
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2017-08-02 15:23:42 -04:00
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- Click with the mouse anywhere on the waterfall display. The green Rx
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frequency marker will jump to your selected frequency, and the Rx
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frequency control on the main window will be updated accordingly.
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- Do the same thing with the *Shift* key held down. Now the red Tx
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frequency marker and its associated control on the main window will
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follow your frequency selections.
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- Do the same thing with the *Ctrl* key held down. Now both colored
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markers and both spinner controls will follow your selections.
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- Double-clicking at any frequency on the waterfall does all the
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things just described and also invokes the decoder in a small range
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around the Rx frequency. To decode a particular signal, double-click
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near the left edge of its waterfall trace.
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- Ctrl-double-click on a signal to set both Rx and Tx frequencies and
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decode at the new frequency.
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- Click *Erase* to clear the right window.
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- Double-click *Erase* to clear both text windows.
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2020-05-14 14:46:57 -04:00
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TIP: To avoid QRM from competing callers, it is usually best
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to answer a CQ on a different frequency from that of the CQing
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station. The same is true when you tail-end another QSO. Choose a Tx
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frequency that appears to be not in use. You might want to check the
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box *Hold Tx Freq*.
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2018-12-06 20:44:19 -05:00
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TIP: Keyboard shortcuts *Shift+F11* and *Shift+F12* provide an easy
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way to move your Tx frequency down or up in 60 Hz steps.
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TIP: Sliders and spinner controls respond to *Arrow* key presses
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and *Page Up/Down* key presses, with the *Page* keys moving the
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controls in larger steps. You can also type numbers directly into
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the spinner controls or use the mouse wheel.
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2020-05-14 14:46:57 -04:00
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TIP: An online {ft8_tips} by ZL2IFB offers many additional tips on
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operating procedures.
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2018-02-06 16:24:57 -05:00
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.FT8 DXpedition Mode:
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This special operating mode enables DXpeditions to make FT8 QSOs at
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very high rates. Both stations must use _WSJT-X_ Version 1.9 or
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later. Detailed operating instructions for {ft8_DXped} are available
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online. Do not try to use DXpedition mode without reading these
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instructions carefully!
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IMPORTANT: FT8 DXpedition mode is intended for use by rare-entity
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DXpeditions and other unusual circumstances in which sustained QSO
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rates well above 100/hour are expected. Do not use the multi-signal
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capability unless you satisfy this requirement, and do not use
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DXpedition Mode in the conventional FT8 sub-bands. If you are
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contemplating operation as Fox using DXpedition Mode, find a suitable
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dial frequency consistent with regional band plans and publicize it
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for the operators you hope to work. Remember that on-the-air signal
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frequencies will be higher than the dial frequency by up to 4 kHz.
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2017-08-03 14:18:34 -04:00
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IMPORTANT: When finished with this Tutorial, don't forget to re-enter
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your own callsign as *My Call* on the *Settings | General* tab.
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