Rob Fanfant N7QT Advanced FT8

[@Snarky_Radio]

Great info I have not heard elsewhere. Thank you.

[@LongFlowAdventures]

Fantastic presentation Rob, thanks!

[@arthurgumbus3969]

Great Job Learned quite a bit.... 73 Art W1SWL

[@Greatlefty300]

Super good info…thanks Rob !

[@michaelwalker718]

I watched your video and I want to mention some concerns regarding DT. I actually talked to Joe Taylor about how critical DT is and, well, it isn't. The time window for decoding FT8 contacts is +/- 2.5 seconds and +/- 1 second for FT4. Not my words, but the words of the author of the software. - The other part is long delays can also show up when using a slow computer to decode FT8 signals. WSJTx is hugely dependent on the speed of the computer. If you have a slow computer and you are decoding lots of signals, your DT times will increase. The DT time is calculated based on the clock and the time that the decode is completed. I have personally tested that theory on a slow laptop and you can quickly see DT values increase directly related to the number of stations in the passband. - When working another station, he may or may not choose the first station in the stock, but may first choose the station with the highest SNR so that that contact can be completed reliably and quickly. Please take some time and contact the author to confirm my comments on how critical DT isn't. 73, de va3mw

[@glwilburn]

Thank you Rob - lots of very good information that will help make FT8 more enjoyable. 73, W8VI

[@jimthompson7538]

Some gold nuggets of info here, thanks Rob!

[@mikekoffler7312]

Excellent presentation!

[@SpokaneDXAssociation]

Glad you liked it!

[@jameski5oeb668]

I Love the video good information. It is getting old already, Im on 2.6.0 as of Jan23 WSJT-x. Again super good video, very thorough!

[@JohnWallace74]

Thank you for this video and explanation. My thoughts on the Fox answering to FT8 responses multiple FT8 hound people in one FT8 15 second interval. This is not standard across all versions and FT8 packages. This causes confusion. Typically my IOS version of SmartSDR for my FlexRadio does not follow this FT8 convention. My request to the developer to add this Fox/Hound capability was rejected. I have to carefully watch to see when I get the RR73 and manually log as the software never does automatically, and I’m never sure if the FT8 Fox node has logged and completed too, until I see in whatever logging site the DXpedition is using. The thing I have liked about FT8 is the standard for the conversation, but there seems to be a loss of standards in using Fox mode by DXpedition teams. I do hope a standard can be conveyed to all of the FT8 forked versions and it made clear as to why this needs to be agreed upon my as many developers as possible… thanks again for this video. 73 all Merry Christmas and God be with you all.

[@barkermjb]

Very informative. I’m new to FT-8. I’m learning a lot and this video explained a few things I hadn’t heard yet. 73. AI6PD

[@SpokaneDXAssociation]

Glad it was helpful!

[@af4od02]

Excellent presentation.

[@SpokaneDXAssociation]

Glad you liked it!

[@jamescouture775]

I use a gps time server to set the time before I got it my time was always off due to the latency I had with satellite internet.

[@54Bouker]

I just exported my FT4 and FT8 Logs and have 20,523 contacts and not one time have I typed in a call sign. If they are calling CQ or transmitting in any way all you need to do is double click on the line in the right window and it will enter the call sign into the messages area. WSJT-X in the older versions by default used to say RRR and not RR73 unless you double-clicked on line 4. I'm not sure when they fixed that but it's possible some people have not upgraded. As far as not using your grid square I do that myself but the drawback is the person you are calling will not get a beam heading if they are using a beam such as I do above 30 meters. In those cases, I have to look up the call in QRZ and most of the time it's listed there but not transmitted unless they show the grid square.

[@rogerp5816]

For most callsigns if you just point your beam at the geographical center of the country you are good to go.

[@CliffFoxKU4GW]

I haven't installed v2.51.2 yet, still using v2.4.0 here. I always wait a while and read the posts from the groups io discussion group after the release of a new version and until I stop seeing reports of odd happenings and problems others are experiencing frequently with the newer versions I don't install them which brings me to what 30+ years of computing has taught me, unfortunately me learning the hard way a few times over the years and what I have learned is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

[@craigmaxey4334]

Regarding K0UA…I believe he wanted to stick to the weak signal macros in order so there is no second guessing. He received a RR73 before the dx station verified the report he sent. He was looking for R (Signal Report) on the transmission before RR73. K0UA considers this a no contact. In my mind, K0UA is correct.

[@eliekadi_OD5KU_KU5OD]

Thank you for this nice educating video, what do you think about JTSync

[@billperkins570]

I tend to ignore (CQ-None) those stations who start with signal report - ignoring sending their grid square. I routinely operate portable, no internet access usually, so I can't (don't want to) rely on a Internet connection to "complete" a QSO. After all, if your station DEPENDS on Internet why not just eliminate the radio part altogether?

[@jamesbrownmiller808]

Do you have a web link to the time products?

[@SpokaneDXAssociation]

You can find them all with simple google searches.

[@kevinmatthews2620]

set ur time program to resync every 15 mins from pc on simple set once and forget forever,tooooooooooooooooooooo many ops whos time is out, a lot of "extra" or "advanced" ops do this ??