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