How To Handle FT8 Pileups

What's The Best Way To Handle FT8 Pileups? What's That 2nd Tab In WSJT-X For Anyway? Can You Change The Coax On A Diamond K-400 Mount?
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[@kd3mad877]

Outstanding response on calling CQ and handling the pile up. Appreciate you taking on the question. 😄

[@BMCTackle]

Awesome great info & humor as always! Thank you for your assistance in choosing Messi & Paoloni coax & accessories. THAT IS SOME EXCELLENT QUALITY! Never seen such attention to detail and 100% satisfaction with Stefano & staff. I am very pleased with the coax and all the info I learn with all your shows. Louis WW7GBA

[@rodgerzeisler4046]

Pointing out that I can just keep cicking the "Enable TX" button after each successful log has been a gamechanger. So obvious, but I never thought of it. Thx. It make handling POTA and other pileups so much less confusing.

[@kb9jqu]

Mike I like your operating procedure for calling CQ in WSJT-X. Good rationale behind it and less stressful than keeping track of who called you.

[@truckinguy92]

SSB is sooo much simpler. It’s great you know your way around FT8 like you do to help others.

[@kj7iaz]

Haha ryan emailed me those same pics. I failed to notice that. Oops. Ryan, if you see this I am sorry. Haha. Great video Mike, these mailbag Monday videos are always entertaining.

[@N0RMJ]

All good. I caught the missing connection right after I sent the pics out. So that will be addressed. Not a lot of room to work with once the body of the vehicle is in place.

[@kevinmatthews2620]

mshv has the automated qso available in it, also going on working pileups EASIER, have your time sync program set to recheck every 15 mins,if difference greater than 2 seconds reset clock, the 15 mins cuts in from when your pc is turned on, even now there is still ops with bad time sync, if your time sync is 0.0 you will work/decode more dx as the lowest DT is always displayed first to the partner station :)

[@montantico]

Here ya go sir. Have this like I had on my tool bag :)

[@philliphumphrey5621]

When I don't get a 73 back, I firstly check if there is another stronger station on the same freq cutting them out. I use gridtacker to sort calls by freq to determine this. If so I call again. If the caller has moved to a different caller I check if the band dropped out on his last 15 sec cycle in which case he probably confirmed but I missed it. I then check eqsl or clublog and find alot of the time they logged my call. In that case I open up the wsjtx log file in notepad ++ and use find all against his callsign and check detailed. I then manually log post qso. Works very well for dxpeditions who often won't call you again.. 73 de m0eas

[@HAMFunko4pdi]

Good one Mike. Thanks. NOw to work FT4 on a Satellite, that's my next challange.

[@hamradiotube]

FT4 is exactly like FT8, just quicker. It doesn't decode quite as deep either but that's about it. Satellites on the other hand are a bit more of a challenge.

[@jackK5FIT]

Ham radio operators never read manuals. We know everything from conception. 😁 Good tips on WSJT-X thanks. Jack K5FIT

[@DellFargus]

If you're not the #1 guy answering in the pileup, the software will (usually) turn of your transmit when it sees the caller respond to someone else. So, the pileup will (usually) sort itself out. Totally unrelated... What software do you use to log? Both for FT8 and SSB. How do you get it into LoTW? Would ya mind giving us a demo? I see all these videos for radios, antennas, POTA, SOTA, etc., but noone ever gets really into logging.

[@hamradiotube]

Yes that should true if you're the one coming back to the station calling CQ and he's (or maybe she??) picked up another station first. As for logging, I'm on a Mac and I use RUMlogNG. kzbin.info/www/bejne/maebZ4B3hbipo9E For FT8, I don't do any automated uploads to my logging software. I export the .adif file manually, import it into a new log to check for dupes, delete the dupes, export that clean .adif file to my desktop and import it to my logging software. Then I use RUMlogNG to upload it to LOTW. It sounds like a lot of steps but it actually takes maybe a minute...Pretty sure I show it in the video.

[@DellFargus]

@@hamradiotube Thanks. I must have missed that video.

[@FatherMarty]

For some operators, some say that the RR73 means that the follow-up 73 from the other side of the contact isn't expected. So, as in POTA, it would be similar to answering a CQ with "K0XXX you are 59 TX K-9999, him responding "Roger, you are 59 IA enjoy!" and you saying (combined) "73 QRZ?" The FT-8 community could really benefit from some standardization around when a contact is complete - especially when 73 may not be sent. OK - a question now. I use JT-alert and am set up to log to DXLog and send to LoTW and eQSL. QRZ feeds from both sources. If I answer a CQ, but the other station doesn't hear me, and I go through the cycle and finally abandon the conversation, is there a way to clear the data elements in the logging chain? What ends up happening is the "start QSO" time doesn't change, and I end up with my next successful QSO being logged as a start time of the abandoned QSO and the end time of the current QSO, which may be 1 to 14 hours apart!

[@norrinradd8952]

I find that most operators follow the standard FT8 exchange, either intentionally or possibly just because they are allowing Auto Sequencing to do its thing. Just my experience, but I would say 99% follow the standard exchange. Every once in a while I get someone that instantly responds to my CQ with a signal report instead of a grid square. They get their signal report from me and then they split. I tend to not respond to those folks. If I do happen to respond but I don't get the grid square and acknowledgement, I don't log it. I'm not going to confirm a contact of someone that was too lazy to finish the QSO.

[@kevinmatthews2620]

mike ,your using a out of date version of wsjtx your on 2.6.0 , current version is 2.6.2 which i am using and there is 3 tabs not 2 thats in yours :), and as for pileup handling stretch the screen upwards on your laptop and have either smaller waterfall or a secondary small screen powered from your laptops hdmi socket,b btw i run numerous JA pileups when being a SES op 1 hr 15 mins of JA stns logged 150 ish :), and yes i have 50k worth of digital contacts

[@gregmihran8616]

For me, GridTracker software operating with WSJT-X is a must-have! Not only does it provide stunning graphics for QSO traffic (to alleviate FTx boredom), it automatically logs my WSJT-X QSOs into QRZ, LoTW, HRDLog, eQSL and ClubLog in real-time. And I use its intelligent QSOs queue (rather than WSJT-X) to track incoming POTA stations and DX countries I need by band. ... and keep up the Marvel thing at the end 😁 73 KJ6ER

[@KeepEvery1Guessing]

We need a rain cap for an SO-239 that looks like a Humvee tire.

[@N0RMJ]

I have plans to use a standard so239 rain/dust cap and attach a PVC cap on top of it. Then a piece of black shrink tubing over the top should give the look of a tire cover. Other improvements include a counterpoise connection through the gas cap. Others have suggested a small winch for the antenna instead of via the roof mount.

[@KeepEvery1Guessing]

@@N0RMJ Your rain/dust cap idea sounds good. A reasonable looking winch, however, would be hard pressed to store enough wire, and would probably be bending it too tightly to good longevity. Maybe dressed as a coil of serious rope stored on the roof? But whatever floats your boat. It's a neat project.

[@N0RMJ]

@@KeepEvery1Guessing I'm not sold on the winch idea either, but thanks for the feedback.

[@mxmike5]

The most efficient way to do it!

[@mxmike5]

FT8 Pro Tip: Look like a real pro to those that know! If CQ'ing and you get multiple callers, grab the pro that is answering and gives you your report first (He is calling you with TX2 not default TX1)! He knows how to eliminate the wasted time of 1 sequence. By the same token, if you are answering a CQ, call by using TX2 for your first call instead of the default TX1. Saves time, more contacts, snappy QSO's!

[@av3510]

Sir Mike!

[@lonewolfhamradio]

I say old chap congratulations on the correct pronouncing of “soldering” 😂

[@hamradiotube]

I solemnly swear to never pronounce the L again.

[@stater3]

Imagine having the torid core inside of a big toy lizard on your pole or on the ground.

[@denelson83]

Get it? "Matchbox"? And "RR73" is actually confusable with a valid grid square, albeit one that is up in the Arctic Ocean. So I would suggest using "TU73" instead of "RR73" in FT8 contacts, as "T" and "U" are never found in the first pair of letters in a grid square. 73 VE7NDE

[@hamradiotube]

That's not quite how that works. Your grid square isn't exchanged in that part of the qso.

[@Paulio91184]

1:49 embiggen is a perfectly cromulent word

[@CC-hk6vy]

WHAT! It's only ham radio! Isn't DX life or death take it personal and high noon at the OK corralled? 😅😅😅 de WO8USA🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@1shARyn3]

Modern men: "What? Me RTFM? Horrors. You Jest, Shirley"😂

[@arnasundraitisLY7K]

How handle FT8 pileups? You do not need to handle a pile-up on FT8. Computer does this for you. The computer makes all your QSOs :)