WSJT-X/doc/user_guide/en/measurement_tools.adoc

=== Frequency Calibration

Many _WSJT-X_ capabilities depend on signal-detection bandwidths no
more than a few Hz.  Frequency accuracy and stability are therefore
unusually important.  We provide tools to enable accurate frequency
calibration of your radio, as well as precise frequency measurement of
on-the-air signals.  The calibration procedure works by automatically
cycling your CAT-controlled radio through a series of preset
frequencies of carrier-based signals at reliably known frequencies,
measuring the error in dial frequency for each signal.

You will probably find it convenient to define and use a special
<<CONFIG-MENU,Configuration>> dedicated to frequency calibration.
Then complete the following steps, as appropriate for your system.

- Switch to FreqCal mode

- In the _Working Frequencies_ box on the *Settings -> Frequencies*
tab, delete any default frequencies for *FreqCal* mode that are not
relevant for your location.  You may want to replace some of them with
reliably known frequencies receivable at your location.

TIP: We find major-city AM broadcast stations generally serve well as
frequency calibrators at the low frequency end of the spectrum.  In
North America we also use the standard time-and-frequency broadcasts
of WWV at 2.500, 5.000, 10.000, 15.000, and 20.000 MHz, and CHU at
3.330, 7.850, and 14.670 MHz.  Similar shortwave signals are available
in other parts of the world.

- To cycle automatically through your chosen list of calibration
frequencies, check *Execute frequency calibration cycle* on the
*Tools* menu.  _WSJT-X_ will spend 30 seconds at each frequency,
writing its measurements to the file `fmt.all` in the directory
where your log files are kept.

- During the calibration procedure, the radio's USB dial frequency is
offset 1500 Hz below each *FreqCal* entry in the default frequencies
list.  As shown in the screen shot below, detected signal carriers
therefore appear at about 1500 Hz in the _WSJT-X_ waterfall.

image::FreqCal.png[align="left",alt="FreqCal"]

With modern synthesized radios, small measured offsets from 1500 Hz
will exhibit a straight-line dependence on frequency.  You can
approximate the calibration of your radio by simply dividing the
measured frequency offset (in Hz) at the highest reliable frequency by
the nominal frequency itself (in MHz).  For example, the 20 MHz
measurement for WWV shown above produced a measured tone offset of
24.6 Hz, displayed in the _WSJT-X_ decoded text window.  The resulting
calibration constant is 24.6/20=1.23 parts per million.  This number
may be entered as *Slope* on the *settings -> Frequencies* tab.

A more precise calibration can be effected by fitting the intercept
and slope of a straight line to the whole sequence of calibration
measurements, as shown for these measurements in the graph plotted
below.  Software tools for completing this task are included with the
_WSJT-X_ installation, and detailed instructions for their use are
available at https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/FMT_User.pdf.
Using these tools and no specialized hardware beyond your
CAT-interfaced radio, you can calibrate the radio to better than 1 Hz
and compete very effectively in the ARRL's periodic Frequency
Measuring Tests.

image::FreqCal_Graph.png[align="left",alt="FreqCal_Graph"]

=== Reference Spectrum

_WSJT-X_ provides a tool that can be used to determine the detailed
shape of your receiver's passband.  Disconnect your antenna or tune to
a quiet frequency with no signals.  With WSJT-X running in one of the
slow modes, select *Measure reference spectrum* from the *Tools* menu.
Wait for about a minute and then hit the *Stop* button.  A file named
`refspec.dat` will appear in your log directory.  

 [ ... TBD ... ]

=== Phase Response and Equalization

*Measure phase response* under the *Tools* menu is for advanced MSK144
users. Phase equalization is used to compensate for group-delay
variation across the passband of receiver filters. Careful application
of this facility can reduce intersymbol interference, resulting in
improved decoding sensitivity.  If you use a software-defined receiver
with linear-phase filters there is no need to apply phase
equalization.

After a received frame is decoded *Measure phase response* generates
an undistorted waveform whose Fourier transform is used as a
frequency-dependent phase reference to compare with the phase of the
received frame's Fourier coefficients.  Phase differences between the
reference and the received waveform include contributions from the
originating station's transmit filter, the propagation channel, and
filters in the receiver. If the received frame originates from a
station known to transmit signals having little phase distortion (say,
a station known to use a properly adjusted
software-defined-transceiver) and if the received signal is relatively
free from multipath distortion so that the channel phase is close to
linear, the measured phase differences will be representative of the
local receiver's phase response.

Complete the following steps to generate a phase equalization curve:

- Record a number of wav files that contain decodable signals from
your chosen reference station. Best results will be obtained when the
SNR of the reference signals is at least 9 dB.

- Enter the callsign of the reference station in the DX Call box.

- Select *Measure phase response* from the *Tools* menu, and process
the wav files. The mode character will change from `&` to `^` while
_WSJT-X_ is measuring the phase response and it will change back to
`&` after the measurement is completed. The program needs to average a
number of high-SNR frames to accurately estimate the phase, so it may
be necessary to process several wav files. The measurement can be
aborted at any time by selecting *Measure phase response* again to
toggle the phase measurement off.

+

When the measurement is complete _WSJT-X_ will save the measured
phase response in the *Log directory*, in a file with suffix
".pcoeff". The filename will contain the callsign of the reference
station and a timestamp.  For example: K0TPP_170923_112027.pcoeff

- Select *Equalization tools ...* under the *Tools* menu and click the
*Phase ...* button to view the contents of the *Log directory*. Select
the desired pcoeff file. The measured phase values will be plotted as
discrete circles along with a fitted curve labeled "Proposed". This is
the proposed phase equalization curve. It's a good idea to repeat the
phase measurement several times, using different wav files for each
measurement, to ensure that your measurements are repeatable.

- Once you are satisfied with a fitted curve, push the *Apply* button
to save the proposed response. The red curve will be replaced with a
light green curve labeled "Current" to indicate that the phase
equalization curve is now being applied to the received data. Another
curve labeled "Group Delay" will appear. The "Group Delay" curve shows
the group delay variation across the passband, in ms. Push the
*Discard* button to remove the captured data, leaving only the applied
phase equalization curve and corresponding group delay curve.

- To revert to no phase equalization, push the *Restore Defaults*
button followed by the *Apply* button.

The three numbers that are printed at the end of each MSK144 decode line
can be used to assess the improvement provided by equalization. These numbers
`N` `H` `E` are:
 `N` - Number of frames averaged,
 `H` - Number of bit errors corrected,
 `E` - Size of MSK eye diagram opening. 

Here is a decode of K0TPP obtained while *Measure phase response* was measuring
the phase response:

  103900  17  6.5 1493 ^  WA8CLT K0TPP +07       1  0  1.2

The "^" symbol indicates that a phase measurement is being accumulated. The 
three numbers at the end of the line indicate that one frame was
used to obtain the decode, there were no bit errors, and the 
eye-opening was 1.2. Here's how the same decode looks after phase equalization:

  103900  17  6.5 1493 &  WA8CLT K0TPP +07       1  0  1.6

In this case, equalization has increased the eye opening from 1.2 to 1.6.
Larger eye openings are associated with reduced likelihood of bit errors and
higher likelihood that a frame will be successfully decoded. 
In this case, the larger eye-opening 
tells us that phase equalization was successful, but it is important to note
that this test does not tell us whether the applied phase equalization curve
is going to improve decoding of signals other than those from the reference 
station, K0TPP! 

We strongly advise you to carry out before and after comparisons 
using a large number of saved wav files with signals from many different 
stations to decide whether or not the equalization curve improves decoding for most 
signals. When doing before and after comparisons, keep in mind that 
equalization may cause _WSJT-X_ to successfully decode a frame 
that was not decoded before equalization was applied.  
For this reason, be sure that the time "T" of
the two decodes are the same before comparing their end-of-line quality numbers.

When comparing before and after decodes having the same "T", keep in mind
that a smaller first number means that decoding has improved, even if the 
second and third numbers appear to be "worse". For example, suppose that the quality
numbers before equalization are "2 0  0.2" and after equalization 
"1 5 -0.5". These numbers show improved decoding because 
the decode was obtained using only a single
frame after equalization whereas a 2-frame average was needed before equalization.