This does not cover how to set up WSJT-X, only what is on the screen, what it all means and how to do a QSO. I have received a comment about the input volume and agree it should be no more than half way.
looked and did not see the drivers for Mac. I looked on the Icom website before posting this and did not see it. I saw the drivers for Windows but not Mac.
WSJT-X does not user Drivers. Only the USB cable to your radio or sound device will need them. So you need a USB cable with drivers compatible with Mac.
I want to send CQ for a specific Country. I have tried creating a macro, or just enter in one of the 6 lines on the bottom right. When I do this I get this symbol "" with CQ_XXX in between the brackets. I can't seen to find any info in how do you do this correctly. I can see others who are doing it on my screen. I will give you the exact example. Give me an example how to type in CQ P43 xxxx FN41 xxxx would be callsign Thanks, Ken
I'm sure you have the answer by now but just incase not, you just need to type in the country letters in between CQ and your callsign in Tx 6, e.g. CQ NA G1ZHD IO92 for North America. However, if the combination of your callsign the extra country characters and the locator are too long for the display screen then it will just show as < >. It should still be sending the correct letters.
@@adamg1zhd I appreciate your post. When I do that It transmits mycall FN41 Note the brackets and the underscore. Someone else told me it could not be done with a letter and number. no good with P4 either, what works is just the letter "P" I have tried it with 4 letters and it works. If I use 5 letters I get the brackets.
Question. I went in and set the items I wanted to follow by color. It only shows the cq, transmit and incoming call but none of the other colors like new grid, country or other items I checked. Any idea what the heck I am doing wrong? Great video thank you..Kb6lqv
Hi Ray, I have all the 'Decode Highlighting' items ticked accept for 'LoTW User' and 'CQ in message'. Are you saying you aren't receiving anything but CQs and incoming items, or that they are they only ones highlighted? If they are the only items then do you have the 'CQ only' box ticked above the recieving signal strength meter?
Setting up WSJT-x is a special art that only a few people can do. Just getting the mysterious drivers in the right place takes time and you can experience loads of frustration. Maybe that's why I can't find a video that slow walks you through the setup. If I ever figure it out, I just might do a video on it.
I keep tell myself I need to do one but haven't got around to it. Really it needs a PC or VM that is a new install before you start, but also, it does differ slightly dependant on what transciever you are using and if a seperate interface/soundcard is required. With newer ICOMs, even as late back as the 7600 and 7100, it's pretty straight forward, if you know how. I might just try and creat a 10 minute video on how mine is setup, may would be a start, for sure.
@@larrychristensen5917 Sound Settings, input, chose the device (USB.. ), select Device properties. You can also rename the device there to RX Input for example.
I had hoped to do FT8 with software only but apparently still require the interface hardware to my Yaesu radio for anything to work. I am really disappointed as I thought it is computer to computer communication?
What radio are you using? So are you receiving signals and have you selected the right com port for the audio. Also check the figure in DT. If more than +/- 1.5 you will need to syncronise you PC clock to the net.
John, I've had a look at mine and I can't see any settings that would allow you to switch the Country on/off. They only way I can do it is to reduce the width of the window, so you just can't see it. Also, Country only shows on CQ calls, and only once you have already contacted the DXCC and ITU zone in which a Country exists. I will keep looking and let you know if I find any other possible reasons.
The cables you use for radio control and sound I/O. WSJT-X only links to the COM ports and Sound Ports avaialble to it. The Drivers for the USB cable, for example, set up the ports.
If I understand your question correctly, all I do is in the Colour Settings, I deselect the option to highlight in green "CQ in message...." and "LoTW user", that way the callsigns I've already in my WSJT logbook are not highlighted.
If I understand correctly, the purpose of the software is only to display transmitter statistics? I think it would be more practical to also view broadcasted info or conversations. If I happen to receive from a transmitter in Ukraine, for example I'd be more interested in the broadcast and not so much transmitter statistics. I don' think this program is useful to me. But yes, thanks for the video. Neither thumbs up or down.
Sorry Steve, I'm not sure what you mean by Transmitted and Broadcast stats. The purpose of the SW is to work the FT8 mode. The purpose of the video is to simply shows how the SW works in regards to FT8. I do not have anything to do with the FT8 or WSJT-X design, I think you should feed your comments back to the originators.
@@adamg1zhd Hi Adam. I've been a casual SW DX'er for about 50 years but only recently recently got a good quality receiver (PL990) which opened the door to SSB. I've been messing with the SSB for about 4 months now. I noticed folks like to participate in the distance competitions. I'm a complete noob to digital comm. I first used PSK31 and enjoyed monitoring conversations. I came across the FT8 in my research and the WSJT-X is very popular so I tried it. All I could get regarding messages was station ID (Call sign, location etc). All the info I could find anywhere about the WSJT-X shows it only displaying station ID, which leads me to the possibility that it is exclusively used for the DX competitions. I understand the fun the distance competitions are to operators, but I personally am not as interested in them as a RX only. Hope that makes sense. I came across the software js8call which works with the FT8 mode and displays the conversations. You have a well produced video and "Thank you" for publishing it, and I give you the thumbs up that it deserves. My original reply wasn't meant to be criticism, sorry if I came off that way. 👍👍
@@SirSteveFury I understand now Steve, thanks for the message. Yes FT8 isn't so interesting for SWLing, as it is a fixed set of messages, not a conversation as you get with other modes such as JS8call. It's more used for Grid chasing rather than DX but I have worked Aus and NZ using mode, as well as many UK squares.
You need to adjust the input of the USB volume through device settings in Windows. Open Sound Settings, select the USB input device, Device Properties and adjust the volume.
Short answer, 30w. Long answer: I know it's not useful but the right answer is 'as low as possible'. You somewhat need to guage the power for the day and difficulty in getting the QSO. Of course propagation, antenna, location, receiver conditions, all have a big impact, as in any other mode. I personally normally operate between 30w and 100w, but this is often too much for any QSOs, especially when using my beam. For the beam 6m-20m I would typically use about 30w but for the wire 30m-160m I often use 100w. However, I have made many contacts on 10w or even less. My recommendation would be to start at 10w, after 3 no replies try 30w and keep increasing until you get there. With FT8 it's often better to TX on a different Hz if you are struggling, just in case of a pile up, rather than increasing the power. Often with FT8 it's a matter of patience rather than power. I certainly would avoid QRO in FT8, even for distance, all it does is spread the BW and upsets people.
