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The FT8 decoder in WSJT-X (and also those in derivative programs like JTDX) could not exist without that extensive work. Now, with FT8, I have real comparisons and can surely see a 5 - 10 db difference for most contacts. It is calculated as the ratio of signal power to the noise power. WHAT IS FT8 •A FT8 contact is designed to exchange the bare minimum information needed to qualify as a “QSO” • Call Signs • Signal Reports • Grid Squares • Optional: 13 character “message” •Auto Sequencing is typically used to complete the QSO •A special Dxpedition mode has been developed that allows Use the the letter C to indicate a chirp on the signal. FT-8: The numeral designates the mode’s 8-frequency shift keying format. About FT8 Operating Guide - Weak signal HF DXing The resource is currently listed in dxzone.com in a single category. Wells explained it this way. If nothing else sticks from … The WSJT-X software used for making FT8 contacts has IARU Steps 1, 2, and 3 embedded into its communication protocol. How is the reported signal strength determined in FT-8, JT-65, FT-9, et. My receive is quiet enough I am giving +10 or higher reports by s2 on some bands. (higher band occupancy), reduced power per signal and a more frantic operator at the DX end. clicks are handily explained on the screen by pressing F5 to Display special mouse commands2. Without getting complicated what does this all mean, is there a scale , say a minus 12 report is the same as a 529 or similar. WSPR signals can be decoded by a signal to noise ratio of -28 dB. This link is listed in our web site directory since Sunday Jun 2 2019, and till today "FT8 Operating Guide - Weak signal HF DXing" has been followed for a total … shift/alt/control keys and clicks are handily explained on the screen by pressing F5 to ^Display special mouse commands _ (commands for special mice): 3. The multi-QSO facility does not work in contest mode (thankfully!) To enable reporting, you need to enter the following information into the settings or preferences panel. I haven’t figured this one out yet. 73, Willie N1JBJ. It includes integration with PSK reporter. “On any given day [the graph shows] the percentage of QSOs logged with a particular mode, plotted for a year,” he told ARRL. It's not a rag chew mode. That means that you need your clock to be accurate to the precise second. Signal-to-noise ratio (abbreviated SNR or S/N) is a measure used in science and engineering that compares the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. The definitive latest English version is ... shift, alt or control keys and clicks are handily explained on the screen by pressing F5 to Display special mouse commands. First number is for Readability (R), the second is for Strength (S), and the last one is for Tone (T) when representing CW signals. Summary of FT8 •FT8 is named after its developers, Steven Franke, K9AN, and Joe Taylor, K1JT. RF in the shack or just extremely overdriven? The PSK31 signal must be 8 to 16 times stronger than the noise. Even at 25 W, my signal reports are more often than not not as good as the signal reports I’m handing out. A computer’s onboard clock can be notorious for drifting off, and FT8 needs to transmit at very specific times to work. Some tips were inspired by suggestions from other FT8 users and by the WSJT-X developers. The mode is a modification of the JT9 & JT65 weak-signal modes that have been around for nearly ten years, an eternity in the digital world. Using shorthand in the form of numbers to represent the tone of a CW signal or voice transmission of a transmitting station's signal at the receiving station's location (QTH). Only thing I dont really understand is how the signal reporting works. Someone here recently pointed out that FT8 and others are 'weak signal' modes, not nessesarily 'low power' modes. A very bad FT8 signal on 80m. RST Reports: An RST report is a report from a receiving station on the quality and strength of the transmitted signal. JT65, JT9, FT8 SNR Explained : KC5RUO: on 4/2/17: JT65, JT9, FT8 SNR Explained Have you ever wondered why JT65 reports a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) typically in the range -30 dB to -1 dB? What is FT8? I am running a full 100W into my radio. FT8 – Franke Taylor , 8 FSK Modulation. Most times the 599, is abbreviated as 5NN for CW only … •Tones are spaced at 6.25 Hz, and an FT8 signal occupies just 50 Hz. SNR is defined as the ratio of … By far the most useful weirdness is to shift-click on the waterfall to put your TX signal there (think of it as shift my TX). The tone is only used for CW (Continuous Wave aka Morse Code) transmissions. and should not be used in the normal FT8 subbbands. WSJT-X This is the client that most people use for decoding FT8. FT8 is one of the many digital modes often referred to as sound card modes (SCM) because they utilize a computer’s sound card to bring in audio from your radio to be processed by software to decode the information embedded in the signal. Your computer’s clock does have to be spot on with FT8. Many years back WSJT7 had a contact mode for Wspr. signal conditions. In the case of FT8, the noise bandwidth that impacts the FT8 software’s ability to decode data, 6.250 Hz. Introducton. Here is what it means: That said, these are just tips, pragmatic suggestions aimed at making FT8 easier and more effective to use on the HF bands. Hence, the FT8 SNRFSKFT8 is: SNRFSKFT8 = SNRreportedFT8 + (10 x LOG (2500 Hz/6.250 Hz)) SNRFSKFT8= SNRreportedFT8 + (10 x LOG (400)) SNRFSKFT8 = SNRreportedFT8 + 26 dB. Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) is a figure of merit that compares the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. The usage of “other” undefined modes declined dramatically after the introduction of FT8. For loud signals you can roughly calculate SNR off the S-meter. By far the most useful combination is to shift-click on the waterfall to put your Tx signal there (think of it as ‘shift my Tx’). This runs in the background and keeps your clock in-sync by resetting the … When your report has a signal to noise ratio of -8 dB, the signal can be reduced by 20 dB or 100x in power. • Received FT8, JT65 and JT9 signal reports are … And a certain amount of confusion all round. This R-S-T sequence of numbers becomes the RST signal report. A +12 signal at times says more about the other persons low noise floor than whether you maybe a strong signal. If the signal has the characteristic stability of crystal control, the letter X may be added to the end of the RST report. Just some information about Ham radio mode FT8 and signal quality. From the 2018 TAPR Digital Communications Conference, we learn about a true measurement of signal to noise ratio on some of the most popular HF Digital modes. On Dec 28, 2020, at 8:51 PM, ... My mentors explained how a QSO works: Special message formats support a few popular radio contests, and arbitrary text can also be conveyed, though only in small quantities. For example what is the equivalent in comparison to RST. 4. I made 4 contacts at that time. FT8 Operating Guide Weak signal HF DXing for technophiles by Gary Hinson ZL2iFB Version 2.37 Note: this document is occasionally updated. All of them draw on my 30 years of HF DXing. FT8 is intended to work well under weak-signal conditions, so the software implements a rigorous use of information exchange. Many address Frequently Asked Questions on the WSJT-X reflector which I recommend joining. So, briefly - FT8 is a digital "sound card" mode jointly developed by two really smart people - Joe Taylor, K1JT and Steve Franke, K9AN. In that case on HF you get still good S/N values at reception as both signal and noise are attenuated equally, but signal is still well above your receiver noise (noise figure is low enough). I use the Dimension 4 for keeping my clock accurate. Transmissions are 4X shorter than JT-65 (full QSO takes less than 2 minutes instead of 5-6min). EME is a single letter O and nothing else than a single letter O. FT-8 is 100% key down for 15 seconds every 15 seconds and JT-9 it’s a full minute. The same applies to FT8 communications. The signal report in 2m. FT8. FT8 addresses this by being extremely narrow in its bandwidth requirement, allowing very long range communications with very low transmitter power and less-than-the-best antennas. FT-8 stands for Franke-Taylor design, 8-FSK modulation. I always thought, its likely because of a quiet location, a good radio (6600M) and maybe others running more power. This letter is often printed on QSL cards between quotation marks (like "O" ) in order to clearly indicate that it's a letter O and not a zero. Why is it that many of the signals that report within -10 to +whatever in reported signal strength can be easily heard through the speaker with absolutely no processing embodied within the WSFT applications? • Logging programs (such as Logger32 and N1MM+) can interface to FT8 programs, effectively •The “8” denotes mode's 8-frequency shift keying format. The data being gathered also includes more than just PSK spots, it include JT65 and FT8 -- with FT8 the overwhelming majority at the moment. The main category is Operating FT8 Mode that is about Operating the K1JT FT8 amateur radio digital mode. FT8 and Ghost Decodes. • You may receive a negative FT8, JT65, or JT9 digital HF communications mode Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) report in the range of -27 dB to -1dB –Recall , a negative SNR report implies the signal is below the noise floor •In reality, this is not the case, the Frequency Shift Key (FSK) tones are well above the noise floor. Most WSPR signals are 5 watt or less and have been received wordldwide. Information exchanged in a minimal two-station contact typically consists of call signs, four-character Maidenhead locators, signal reports, and acknowledgments. The FT8 digital mode that Joe, K1JT, and company rolled out a little over a year ago has become a game changer in ham radio. ... not much different from today, though signal reports would be 10dB higher in general, and you'd get more QSOs. FT8 was introduced I think FT8 is not a weak signal mode. For SSB phone or CW for most of us, it is about 40 watts average with occasional 100-watt peaks. will transmit one message within a 15 second time-frame, then wait for another 15 seconds to receive any incoming replies (then transmit again, then wait again, in a cycle that exchanges messages until the conversation is completed). Nice! •Unlike JT65 or JT9, transmit and receive cycles in FT8 each last about 15 seconds. The RST reporting system is represented in three numbers for CW and two numbers for Phone. Although the real Noise bandwidths for modes like JT9, JT65, and FT8 are approximately 1.7, 2.7, and 6.2 Hz respectively, for the sake of simplicity let us assume the mode in our example has a noise bandwidth of 2.5 Hz. One can optionally send a short message (13 characters) but the mode really isn't for this. I have seen a few posts that are operating with nearly 100 watts. I noticed for a while that I can hear better than I am being heard. The only file we NEED is the PSKRpts.txt as it contains a list of just the date, time, callsign, S/N report, mode (eg FT8), grid locator and country name of the stations that have reported hearing your transmissions. If nothing else, remember to shift-click . In the database, also a reception report is displayed as signal to noise ration. Use the letter K for key clicks. A +12 signal does not say you are over driving. This is the file that is shown on screen when the selector box shows 'Last signal reports' - the startup mode of the software. 73, Willie N1JBJ. On the other hand you have multiple antennas and most probably multiple feed lines as well. Instead, it provides basic QSOs exchanging grid squares and signal reports. Tones are spaced at 6.25 Hz, and an FT8 signal occupies just 50 Hz. If you set the power at 100 watts the FT-8 output is 100 watts average, and also peak, for 15 seconds straight. Without further information all it says is the other person has a good SNR with your signal. Al.? SNR is expressed in dB (decibles). I note that most stations exchange minus figures in reports. See tip 5 and others. FT8 signal report Sent/Rcv consistent difference.