396 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
396 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
Fast Modes in WSJT-X
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--------------------
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#######################################################################
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IMPORTANT - IMPORTANT - IMPORTANT - IMPORTANT - IMPORTANT - IMPORTANT
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Third-party individuals (i.e., others not part of the WSJT development
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team) have been compiling WSJT-X from the open source code and making
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unauthorized "releases" of their builds. I do NOT reccommend use of
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unauthorized builds on the air. If a program revision has been released
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in an official way, you will see it listed here.
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If you operate with an unauthorized "rXXXX" code revisions in our
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experimental code branch you have no idea what you've got. Quite
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possibly, the program was built from an intermediate temporary "save"
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of various files, and was not even supposed to produce a usable
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program. Your observetions about what works or does not work are then
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worse than useless -- they waste your time and ours.
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So please, PLEASE, *PLEASE*: use *authorized*, "released* revisions
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of this still-in-development software, like the revisions described here.
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*ALSO:* If you choose to try an experimental release of JTMSK, please
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accept the responsibility of reporting on your results. You can send
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reports to the "wsjtgroup" reflector, wsjtgroup@yahoogroups.com, or
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email them directly to me. All suggestions for improvements are
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welcome!
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Bug reports should include details on how to reproduce the undesirable
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program behavior. Reports on decoding performance are especially
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useful when accompanied by example *.wav files with signals that
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you think should have decoded, but did not.
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#######################################################################
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September 18, 2015
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-----------------
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New alpha release of experimental WSJT-X v1.6.1, r5910
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------------------------------------------------------
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Changes since revision 5889 include the following:
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1. Improved behavior for auto-QSY with "CQ nnn ..." feature. (May not
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be exactly correct, yet, for all radios. Please report if you find
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problems with your rig.)
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2. Allow optional use of Wide Graph in fast modes.
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3. Add UTC labels to Fast Graph spectrograms.
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4. Display correct DXCC entiry for "CQ nnn ..." messages.
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5. Implement "Save Decoded" for fast modes.
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6. Select Tx6 when "CQ Rx nnn" is enabled.
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7. Fix bug in setting of TRperiod after switch to ISCAT mode.
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8. Display proper symbol '&' in Tx messages in JTMSK mode.
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To download this alpha release for Windows, paste the following link
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into your browser:
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http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/wsjtx-1.6.1-r5910-win32.exe
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-- 73, Joe, K1JT
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#######################################################################
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September 12, 2015
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-----------------
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New alpha release of experimental WSJT-X v1.6.1, r5889
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------------------------------------------------------
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A principal new feature in this release is designed to promote the use
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of an agreed "calling frequency" for transmissions of the form
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CQ 265 K1ABC FN42
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signifying that K1ABC will listen for replies on 50.265 (or 144.265,
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or whatever) and will complete the QSO there. The feature uses the
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rig-control features of WSJT-X to handle the necessary frequency
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switching.
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##########################################################################
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Changes since revision 5865 include the following:
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1. New features that allow automatic rig control when you transmit or
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respond to messages of the form "CQ 265 K1ABC FN42" on an agreed
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calling frequency. This feature should be especially useful for
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meteor scatter.
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2. Yellow-highlighted "Tx" messages in the right text window are now
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properly labeled with 6-digit UTC (hhmmss) in all fast modes.
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3. Fixed a bug (introduced in r5865) that inhibited transmitting in
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JT4 mode.
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4. Fixed a bug that caused Wide Graph to continue issuing green
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separator lines at short (e.g. 15 s) intervals after you have switched
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to a slow mode.
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5. Fixed several more GUI appearance bugs associated with changing
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modes or submodes.
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6. Fixed a bug in which double-clicking on the Fast Graph could cause
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program crashes.
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7. Fixed a bug that sometimes caused "high tones" to be emitted in
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JTMSK mode.
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#######################################################################
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Here's a brief description of how to use the "CQ nnn ..." features.
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1. On program startup, go to the Settings | General tab and tick the
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box labeled 'Rx frequency offset with "CQ nnn ..."'
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2. Select JTMSK mode and 50.280 (or your some other agreed calling
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frequency) from the drop-down band menu. Remember that this menu is
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not pre-populated with preferred frequencies for all modes on all
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bands. Use Settings | Frequencies to add your desired modes and
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frequencies to the list.
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3. Tick the unlabeled checkbox just under the "Report: spinner to
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activate the "CQ Rx nnn" spinner. Set this control to your desired
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QSO frequency in kHz above the nominal band edge. On 6 meters, for
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example, "265" means "50.265".
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4. Your transceiver dial frequency should now show 50.265. Changes to
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the "CQ Rx nnn" spinner value should be reflected immediately in the
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transceiver dial frequency, the displayed value on the WSJT-X main
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screen, and in Tx message #6, the "CQ nnn... " message.
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5. When you transmit the Tx6 message, the Tx frequency will be set at
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the calling frequency. Otherwise (when receiving, or when
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transmitting any of the messages Tx1 through Tx5) the offset frequency
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(50.265 in my example) will be used.
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6. If you double-click on a received "CQ nnn ..." message on the
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calling frequency, your rig will QSY to specified response frequency,
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e.g. 50.265, for both Rx and Tx.
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7. To go back to listening on the calling frequency, uncheck the box
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that activated the "CQ Rx nnn" spinner.
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#######################################################################
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Fair warning: I have not yet tested all possible combinations of
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"Split Operation" configuration (i.e., "None", "Rig", and "Fake it").
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If you normally use Split operation, that should be OK for the "CQ
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nnn ..." feature.
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As always, please report any bugs that you find in r5889, including
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pertinent details on your settings and the exact series of steps
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required to reproduce the bug.
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To download this alpha release for Windows, paste the following link
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into your browser:
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http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/wsjtx-1.6.1-r5889-win32.exe
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-- 73, Joe, K1JT
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#######################################################################
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New alpha release of experimental WSJT-X v1.6.1, r5865
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------------------------------------------------------
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This alpha release of WSJT-X includes major improvements to the JTMSK
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decoder. Changes since revision 5823 include the following:
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1. On-screen controls labeled "Rx nnnn Hz" and "F Tol" (Rx frequency
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and tolerance) now function as expected in JTMSK mode. The frequency
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search range can be up to 500 Hz, but note that sensitivity is
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necessarily reduced for signals off frequency by more than about 250
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Hz. Normally you should leave Rx Freq set at 1500 Hz; suitable values
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for F Tol are 100 to 500 Hz.
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2. The JTMSK decoder now makes good use of strong, short pings (as
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short as 0.1 s) as well as weak pings several times longer.
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3. Improved calculation of S/N and frequency of decoded signals.
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4. Unified appearance of window titles on all non-modal windows.
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5. CW ID is disabled (for now, at least) when operating in any of the
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WSJT fast modes.
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6. In WSPR mode, display of "Receiving ... <band>" messages is
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disabled when band-hopping is not in use.
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7. Fixed several bugs affecting status and visibility of certain
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on-screen controls after changes in operating mode.
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8. Fixed a bug allowing display of duplicate decodes for the same
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signal.
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9. Fixed a bug preventing compilation on 64-bit systems, and cleaned
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up some harmless compiler warnings.
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#######################################################################
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Summary Description of JTMSK Protocol
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JTMSK uses the same standard message structure as slow modes JT4, JT9,
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and JT65. User information is "source encoded" to 72 bits. A 15-bit
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CRC is appended and a convolutional code with constraint length K=13
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and rate r=1/2 is applied, making a total of (72+15+12)*2 = 198
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information bits. Three copies of the "Barker-11" code and three
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even-parity bits are added for synchronization, making a total of
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198+33+3 = 234 channel symbols. Modulation uses a constant-envelope,
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continuous-phase "minimum-shift keying" (MSK) waveform, with tone
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frequencies of 1000 and 2000 Hz.
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#######################################################################
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To download this alpha release for Windows, paste the following link
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into your browser:
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http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/wsjtx-1.6.1-r5865-win32.exe
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-- 73, Joe, K1JT
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August 28, 2015
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---------------
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New release of experimental WSJT-X v1.6.1, r5823
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------------------------------------------------
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To download for Windows, paste the following link into your browser:
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http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/wsjtx-1.6.1-r5823-win32.exe
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This experimental version of WSJT-X introduces a new fast mode called
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JTMSK. The letters MS, of course, imply meteor scatter; the three
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letters MSK mean "Minimum Shift Keying", the modulation scheme used in
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this mode.
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Revision 5823 also includes a number of (mostly minor) bug fixes
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relative to r5789.
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IMPORTANT: If you choose to try JTMSK, please accept the
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responsibility of reporting on your results. You can send reports to
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the "wsjtgroup" reflector, wsjtgroup@yahoogroups.com or email them
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directly to me. All suggestions for improvements are welcome! Bug
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reports should include details on how to reproduce the undesirable
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program behavior.
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The present JTMSK decoder has been optimized for short pings. It does
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not yet do a wide search for proper frequency alignment; you and your
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QSO partner need to be "on frequency" to within +/- 100 Hz or better.
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The decoder does not (yet) attempt to make optimal use of weak, slowly
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varying signals. These and other characteristics may be improved in
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coming revisions.
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KNOWN BUG: At present you should use T/R sequence lengths 15 s in
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JTMSK mode. If you have a program crash, open Windows Task Manager,
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select the "Processes" tab, right-click on wsjtx.exe, and select "End
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Process Tree". Then restart the program.
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I view JTMSK as a candidate for replacing both FSK441 and JTMS for all
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meteor scatter work. JTMSK has the major advantage of including
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strong forward error correction (FEC), similar in usage to the schemes
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used for many years in JT4, JT9, and JT65. The structure of user
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messages and the format of minimal QSOs is also identical to those
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other modes. But JTMSK is very fast, transmitting its full encoded
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message content in 0.117 s, in a 2 kHz bandwidth. JTMSK therefore
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makes much better use of short pings than (for example) JT9H can do.
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The Tx waveform of JTMSK has been carefully designed to have a number
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of desirable features. All messages are exactly the same length: 72
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bits of user information are followed by a 15-bit CRC and encoded into
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198 channel bits with a convolutional code (constraint length K=13,
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rate r=1/2). Three sequences of the "Barker-11" code are added, along
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with three parity bits, making a total of 234 channel bits in each
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message. The MSK symbols for these bits are transmitted at 2000 baud,
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and the full encoded message is repeated every 117 ms.
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A summary description of modulation parameters for all WSJT(-X) modes
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is shown in a table posted here:
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http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/wsjt_modes.txt and
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illustrated graphically here:
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http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/wsjt_modes.pdf
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-- 73, Joe, K1jT
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August 15, 2015
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---------------
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New release of experimental WSJT-X v1.6.1, r5789
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Changes since WSJT-X v1.6.1, revision 5779:
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1. Major speedup (5x) of fast-JT9 decoder.
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2. Corrected logic for Auto-Sequencing operation.
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3. Stop after sending 73 five times in auto-sequence mode.
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4. Add an "Auto-Level" control to Fast Graph window.
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5. Send fast-mode decodes to PSKreporter web site.
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6. Support automatic logging via JTAlert-X.
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7. Send fast-mode output to file ALL.TXT.
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8. Better definition of dB levels for fast-JT9 signals.
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9. Rationalize the GUI behavior when changing mode, submode, fast/slow
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status, and T/R period.
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10. Correct a flaw in the display of multiple decodes in a single
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fast-JT9 sequence.
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11. Fix minor bugs reported by G3WDG, ND0B, OZ1PIF, and others.
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To download for Windows, paste the following link into your browser:
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http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/wsjtx-1.6.1-r5789-win32.exe
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Please keep in mind that this is an experimental version of WSJT-X.
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Bug reports and other feedback will be much appreciated, and will help
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to make the program better!
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-- 73, Joe, K1JT
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August 11, 2015
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---------------
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Since its origin in the dark ages (ca. 2001) WSJT has supported "fast"
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modes (designed for meteor scatter, etc.) and "slow" modes (optimized
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for EME and other weak-signal propagation types). The most recent new
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mode, JT9, now has *both* fast and slow submodes.
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JT9A (the "original" JT9) is like JT65 and JT4: its T/R sequences are
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one minute long, and its primary goal is best possible sensitivity for
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very weak, approximately steady signals. The new experimental JT9
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submodes use the same message structure, encoding, and modulation type
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(9-tone FSK) as JT9A, but wider tone spacing and (optionally) faster
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keying rates.
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You can download an experimental version of WSJT-X (v1.6.1, r5779) here:
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http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/wsjtx-1.6.1-r5779-win32.exe
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The fast submodes currently being tested, JT9E - JT9H, have been found
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highly effective for meteors and ionoscatter propagation on 6 and 10
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meters. Sensitivity is similar to ISCAT, or slightly better.
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Decoding is much more reliable, because the JT9 protocol includes
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strong forward error correction. Decoding results are like those for
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all the WSJT "slow" modes: you should see messages exactly as they
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were transmitted, or nothing at all. A potential side benefit is
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automatic reporting of decodes to PSKreporter.
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For details on the modulation parameters of the JT9 submodes, see the
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table posted at
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http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/wsjt_modes.txt.
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WSJT-X v1.6.1 r5779 has the following changes from r5769:
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1. Numerous bug fixes
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2. Double-click on decoded message now behaves properly
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3. Faster decoding (further optimization still to come)
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4. Decoded text is highlighted as in WSJT-X slow modes
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5. Optional auto-sequencing
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Fair warning: auto-sequencing is basically functional, but scarcely
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tested. Please watch what it is doing, and tell us how you think it
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should be improved!
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If you use WSJT-X also for other modes and other purposes, you may
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want to save several different sets of configuration settings. In
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that case it's convenient to use the "-r xxx" option and start the
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program from a command-prompt window. For example:
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C:\Users\joe> cd \wsjt\wsjtx\bin
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C:\WSJT\wsjtx\bin> wsjtx -r xxx
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... where "xxx" can be anything you like, for example "ISCAT",
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"FAST9", etc.
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Proper configuration for the JT9 fast modes includes the following
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settings:
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On the Settings | General tab:
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- check "Enable VHF/UHF/Microwave features"
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Main window settings:
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- Mode JT9
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- Tx 700 Hz
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- Rx 700 Hz
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- Sync 0
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- Submode G ... or E, F, and H (H not legal in US on 10m)
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- Tick "Fast"
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- T/R 30 s (also 5, 10, 15 s)
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- FTol 500
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Please keep in mind that this is an experimental version of WSJT-X.
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It still has some rough edges, and no doubt some bugs. Your feedback
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will be much appreciated, and will help to make the program better!
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-- 73, Joe, K1JT
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