Guide to Getting Started with JS8 or JS8Call Quick Start 

Let me know if you guys have any questions!

Thanks, new to JS8call. Just tried to listen to S2Underground Ghost Net on Thursday night with RTL-SDR and MLA-30 active loop. Was a little confused. This helped. Thanks.

Excellent video! No BS, just right to the facts. I appreciate this kind of video that cuts out all the jibber jabber and gets right down to how to do something. Thank you very much and I look forward to seeing more videos just like this! See you OTA. 73, Casey KE8PFA

Thanks for going through an actual contact so we can see the flow. Just what I was looking for.

Thanks for information. I just finished my first JS8CALL QSO!

It's nice to see a 'level headed' explanation of FT8. A lot of FT8 fans really want to ram it down your throat with a vengeance and are astonishingly assertive (aggressive?) and defensive. A polite and sensible explanation is good to hear.

Modern Ham. THANK YOU for taking and making the time and effort to make this video. To make a good video is a major undertaking and yours is excellent. I've heard the difference between FT8 and JS8CALL described best as: FT8? Computer to Computer, with a bit of Human on the side. JS8CALL? Human to Human with a bit of Computer on the side. Unfortunately.... JS8CALL is much misunderstood. It has so many features that are never used, especially it's extensive MSG facilities. Sadly... most people never get further than their heartbeats and then give up. For JS8CALL to be successful, it needs people to understand it and USE it. When SSB came about first... you could have spent all day calling and calling and no one came back to you. JS8CALL is just past that stage, but not by a lot. Heartbeats are important and I take my hat off to the folks that keep their stations running to give them to us. It will tell you who is hearing you and who YOU can hear...this avoiding calling into the "blue Yonder". There are excellent RU-vid vids on the more advanced things JS8 can offer... two Finnish Hams in particular have done excellent ones. OH8STN (Julian) is one of 'em.... cannot remember the other Ham but his video is absolutely excellent too. Take care Chief and keep yr videos coming. THEY ARE APPRECIATED ! Albert EI7II.

Thanks for the video! I appreciate you just getting to it and talking about what it is. I don't have anything setup but looking to get it a whirl at some point! This was very helpful!

As a new HAM I truly find value in your videos and method of instruction, for those that are new. A lot of instructional videos, that I watch for the learning value, seem to be, almost presented in a way that assumes you are already familiar with the subject, which gets aggravating to say the least. Once again, Thanks!

This was helpful. Just dicovered this mode and was climbing the steep learning curve. Thanks for getting me over the hump!

Great job kid! I finally get it.

Great video. JS8CALL is my favorite digital mode. Wish more used it! Hope to catch you on there soon. 73 W4LLS

Tnx! Suggestion: please, in the future, for these types of videos consider enlarging the pointer and/or changing its color. It would make it easier for those with not so good eyesight to follow along.

Every time that I get on this mode the activity is dead. I’ll see an occasional heartbeat, but CQ will go unanswered no matter which band I try. I assume it's just occasional heartbeats from monitors that are on 24/7. The waterfall activity on my IC-7300 for the JS8Call frequency is pretty much nonexistent. Despite what I just said, I still check it out almost daily. Maybe the mode just hasn’t caught on in popularity quite yet, despite it being a couple of years old. I think it is going to be hard to overtake the popularity of FT8, which is still very active on all of the bands I work. PSK Reporter shows FT8 at a count of 2,015,393 in the past 2 hours compared to 2,238 for JS8Call in the same time period. I would love to see more action on JS8. Thanks for the video, Billy. 73. AE0IT

Nice video! I like the level of detail, you do a great job of explaining everything!

Awesome walkthrough video! Thanks, Billy

Thanks for the video digital HF has gotten my interest in Ham Radio again I have a tech license since 1990 maybe get my General since haven't been active for so many years.

Gr8 for my initial look at FT8 call, Tks BTU !!

I like the idea of JS8 over FT8. FT8 is a fun way to see your signal propagate but I like the idea of being able to exchange more info if wanted or needed. Unfortunately everyone is on FT8. About all I can get on JS8 are signal reports for my HB. I’ll keep trying and calling CQ but I eventually go back to FT8 or chasing POTA on SSB.

I'm going to give this a try soon.

Keep the great content coming. I got a very close friend near you in Richmond who is an aspiring HAM.

thank you for this information, regards from the UK.

Well done - excellent pesentation

Very helpful. Wonderful tutorial. thanks.

Great video, thanks, I’m all set up.

I’ve been putting together a field kit for my QMX that I just got. I’m waiting on the SSB firmware (hopefully it happens) I figured I could start with JS8-call for now, I’d really like to use WinLink or VARA AC but need the firmware update. I’m not a fan of FT8 but JS8 seems like something I’d be in to, I like PSK31 (again firmware…) I have two QCX minis that I built and love so when the QMX was available I jumped on it, but I had mine built (80-20 version) Great video this will get me going with digital on my new QMX!

Excellent video tutorial. I’m just getting started. I’ve been able to get my js8call program to talk to my FTDx-10 via FLrig but not directly to the radio without FL-rig. I’m wondering what I’m doing wrong in my config . I’ve also been unable to get HRD to talk to the radio -but again all the FL programs seem to do just fine, I’d love a video instruction on configuring radio cat control via these different programs Thanks much John KD2ODE

Very helpful....Thanks!

Nice job!

great video. great content. thank you! have you thought of doing a video on using fldigi? i have it installed and it runs, but i don't know how to "use" it to do things. the interface is so confusing, i'm lost.

Thanks for the video. I’ve haven’t given digital modes a try yet. JS8 Call looks like fun. 73

very interesting!

Thanks a lot, very helpful. 73 good health.

Thanks for the starter guide! Headed out to the shack now to try the mode! 73, DE DAVE/AL2I

Nice intro. thanks

Great quality video. Very interested in JS8 since I'm getting bored with FT8 and can't find activity on other modes. Would like some more information on how JS8 compares with other modes in weak signal reception and in speed. Does it have error correction as good as FT8? From your video it looks like the time blocks are 10 sec each? And any transmission can continually use 10 sec blocks with no gaps until it's done? Finally a suggestion that if you made the text and cursor size much bigger it would make the vid easier to follow.

Love the shirt :)

Thanks, man. I just got into FT8, but have been looking for something like this that's more personal and allows longer messages. Welcome back to the chatrooms of the 90's, LOL. How does JS8 compare to PSK?

What do I need for a transceiver to join the fun? Does it have to be an expensive HF rig? I would want HF bands for sure

So we need to set offset to match others? Or, do we set it to a free slot, without activity on it?

Great video, no nonsense. It would have helped my old eyes if you'd used a lower resolution on the computer screen... I had to zoom in to read stuff and then pan around to keep up, but still very good! Thanks and 73 de KD7ZWV!

what about the JS8-frequencies on the different bands?

It's a very cool mode. I had been on JS8 since the early beta versions and believe it or not, early ops seemed more interested in making QSOs via the mode. Presently, maybe ops are interested in observing what multi station relays are available or just automating their IDs? I'm really not sure. Thanks!

How do you wire the radio to a computer? Is there a special cable?

a PC, handheld radio, vape juice and an ender 3? your table my friend looks way too similar as mine lol ✌

Just found your channel and saw your location is Richmond. I'm in Lexington. I just got my tech about a month ago and I'm studying for my general. Can't wait to check out all the modes hf has to offer. KW4JAD

HNY radio friend op.Billy...// Great job, very helpful..// All the best to you..// Thanks a lot from Athens Greece de SY1DHN ..// 73

Hi, you mention in this video the previous video you did on JS8Call settings, but don't mention the name of the video. I have gone through your video list, and don't see anything directly related to that in a title. Please point me to the video you were referring to? I'm struggling to get an audio signal out of an FT857D data plug to be received by the software. Transmit works, receive doesn't. What am I doing wrong? Thanks

Can JS8call run over UHF?

USB or LSB mode?

Technically could you be a non ham on Echo Charlie?

You said you are in and apartment. What antenna are you using. I am in a similar situation.

What did you mean by BTU? Can you explain the acronym in this context?

very good me being a bit deaf and not allowed a outdoor antenna maybe this is for me .. jeff

Thank you for the helpful video. I echo the sentiments already expressed re' making points with clarity. I'm just beginning JS8 Call so the section on audio settings will also be very helpful. 73 ZL2JED

2 years on. Only had 3 qsos. Tried again the other day. A few stations appeared , just Beacons. Been trying varac, only one qso in a year. They are all on FT8 , it's so crammed with ft8 signals plus ft4 now , it's almost hopeless. Been interesting looking at different software. Years ago it was hardware we built, now it's software replacement hardware.

JS8Call is pretty cool, but man it is soooo slooooow.. it takes over a minute to send a sentence? I used to use FSQCall which is much faster, can send and receive images, and has "sounding" which is similar to the heartbeat feature.. I've been monitoring 40m FSQ freq (7104mHz) but no sigs there anymore. Pretty sure people suffer through the slowness of JS8Call just so they can be part of the whole FT8 crowd.

Love your videos! 73 2E0FNM

UGG, people can we just pronounce the eight as an EIGHT and not an “A”???

Very helpful. Thanks VE6GK

Nice, straight and to the point. 73 KB9OKB