FT4 is designed for contesting, particularly on the HF bands and 6
meters.  Compared with FT8 it is 3.5 dB less sensitive and requires
1.6 times the bandwidth, but it offers the potential for twice the QSO
rate.

.Main Window:
- Select *FT4* on the *Mode* menu.
- Double-click on *Erase* to clear both text windows.

.Wide Graph Settings:

- *Bins/Pixel* = 5, *Start* = 100 Hz, *N Avg* = 1
- Adjust the width of the Wide Graph window so that the upper
frequency limit is approximately 3300 Hz.

.Open a Wave File:

- Select *File | Open* and navigate to
+...\save\samples\FT4\200514_182053.wav+.  The waterfall and Band
Activity window should look something like the following screen shots.
This sample file was recorded during a practice contest test session, so
most of the decoded messages use the *RTTY Roundup* message formats.

[[X16]]
image::ft4_waterfall.png[align="left",alt="Wide Graph Decode FT4"]

image::ft4_decodes.png[align="left"]

- 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 the both colored 
markers and both spinner controls will follow your selections.

- Now double-click on any of the lines of decoded text in the Band
Activity window.  Any line will show similar behavior, setting
Rx frequency to that of the selected message and leaving Tx frequency
unchanged.  To change both Rx and Tx frequencies, hold *Ctrl* down
when double-clicking.

.Best S+P Button

The FT4 user interface includes a button labeled *Best S+P*.

image::Best_S+P.png[align="center"]

Clicking *Best S+P* during an Rx cycle arms the program to examine all
CQ messages decoded at the end of the Rx sequence.  The program will
select the best potential QSO partner (from a contesting perspective),
and treat it as if you had double-clicked on that line of decoded
text. Here "best potential QSO partner" means "New Multiplier" (1st
priority) or "New Call on Band" (2nd priority).  "New Multiplier" is
currently interpreted to mean "New DXCC"; a more broadly defined
multiplier category (for the ARRL RTTY Roundup rules) will be
implemented in due course.  We may provide additional priority
rankings, for example “New Grid on Band” (useful for North American
VHF contests), sorting by signal strength, etc.

*Best S+P* is a useful feature only if you have defined what "best" is
supposed to mean.  This is done by configuring suitable options on the
*Settings | Colors* tab.  Selection and ordering of color-highlighting
options determines what potential QSO partners will be chosen by the
"Best S+P" feature.  Optimum choices will be different for different
contests.  In a contest using RTTY Roundup rules we recommend
activating *My Call in message*, *New DXCC*, *New Call on Band*, *CQ
in message* and *Transmitted message*, reading from top to bottom.

TIP: Keyboard shortcuts *Shift+F11* and *Shift+F12* provide an easy
way to move your FT4 Tx frequency down or up in 90 Hz steps.

TIP: For easy keyboard control of transmitted messages, check
*Alternate F1–F6 bindings* on the Settings | General tab. In
contest-style operation you can then hit *F1* to solicit a QSO by
sending CQ.  Similarly, keys *F2* to *F5* will send the messages in
entry fields *Tx2* to *Tx5*.  More details on contest-style operation
can be found in {ft4_protocol}.

IMPORTANT: When finished with this Tutorial, don't forget to re-enter
your own callsign as *My Call* on the *Settings | General* tab.