Hi Andy and JT65 HF users Andy great work on your guide as it will surely get more operators on the mode!
With the moon hiding in Sagittarius A, I've been poking around on JT65 HF and have noticed alot of new users on the bands! However, QSO procedures seem very strange at times suggesting many are unfamiliar with the JT65 protocol. I would suggest that users of JT65 read the WJST user's guide as there is much information in there on QSO protocols and procedures. This manual is available in many languages in the WSJT website's documentation section: http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/Documentation.htm Another document that's a must read is 'The JT65 Communications Protocol' also found at the above website. Here Joe explains the inner workings of the protocol and provides many tidbits on why things do what they do... These two documents should provide the JT65 user with most of the info they need to know, and a step by step tutorial to introduce them to JT65 and the other modes the software offers... As a suggestion, users should stick to the suggested basic format of a QSO so as to not needlessly prolong an exchange and maximize their chances to work the DX. This works well on EME and should work great on HF, if everyone learns and follows the protocol. Hit F5 and a reminder can be had in the heat of battle. This format follows what traditionally is considered a minimum QSO. A basic QSO using shorthand BLUE messages looks something like this: CQ DX1AA ON99 (Type 1 message) DX1AA FB2ZZ FB00 (Type 1 message) FB2ZZ DX1AA ON99 OOO (Type 1 message w/ sync reversed to indicate OOO!) RO (shorthand message) RRR (shorthand message) 73 (shorthand message, optional not required for valid QSO) Note that JT65 can also use a couple of other 'type 1' YELLOW messages to shorten the QSO but more S/N is required. This isn't done off the moon much but should work great on HF as everyone could keep track of who's working who and we have S/N to burn usually: DX1AA FB2ZZ -24 (Type 1 message) FB2ZZ DX1AA R-18 (Type 1 message) DX1AA FB2ZZ RRR (Type 1 message) FB2ZZ DX1AA 73 (Type 1 message,optional) NOTE: These are NOT text messages (RED) in JT65 but rather special messages like QRZ DX1AA ON99 or CQ DX1AA ON99. The trick here is WSJT is more sensitive when using type 1 messages than when using a raw text message... A plain text message is a RED message and has the least chance of being decoded. A Type 1 message (YELLOW) is decoded easier then a test message and finally shorthand messages (BLUE) are the easiest to detect... Therefore, you can see a knowledge of the message structure and the correct composition of a message is critical to get the most out of JT65, couple this with good operating practice any you'll be working stations down to -33! If you're wondering what all the colour is about note the colour WSJT turns when you send a message... Read the docs and Andy's work and all will become clear that the mode was made to be used a certain way to take maximum advantage of its truly awesome capabilities... 73 es good JT65 DX on HF! Scott - VE7TIL PS - Tnx to Tetsu JE5FLM for popularizing this and calling CQ so often we finally called back.
