Hey all,
I've been having a blast with WSJT-X and a KX3 that I was recently gifted
by my wonderful wife. Most of the operation has been portable and while
lugging my laptop around isn't a huge burden I was wondering if there was
any interest in an Android variant of WSJT-X?
I an attempt to respect what's come before I'd love to hear from the WSJT
community, I've seen a couple cursory requests for it and I know there's a
JT65 only app but it would seem to me that an Android device + KX3/2 +
WSJT-X would be a lovely combination. There's already a pretty extensive
thread on the SOTA reflector about JT8 so it seems like there's some
initial interest.
Ideally this would be something that is mobile operation focused. I know
there's been some complaints on the SOTA reflector about shift/alt/ctrl
keys not being very compatible with windows tablets in the field.
Totally would love to start a conversation about what makes sense, to kick
things off here's my thoughts on what it could look like:
1. Start small, include maybe one or two modes(JT8+WSPR?) to get something
off the ground.
2. Build the UI from scratch with a focus on Phone + Tablet operation. This
would mean that none of the QT UI would need to be touched and I could pull
the underlying protocol implementation from ./lib.
3. HW Requirements:
- Most newer Android devices natively support 48KHz sample+output. I've
verified this on my OnePlus 3t.
- Those that don't have a 48KHz source could still use external USB Audio
devices via OTG cable(Android L+). My Nexus 7 falls into the category and
works fine with the same soundcard I use for my PC.
- GPS gives a nice synchronized clock.
- VOX should work for keying up transceiver.
- Android supports Bluetooth Serial Port Profile which may allow CAT
control down the line(Mobilinkd uses this to do APRS for Android).
4. Porting:
- Use the NDK to link existing implementation of WSJT protocols. Fortran
makes it tricky(and I have no experience with Fortran) but there's been
some support for it via https://github.com/buffer51/android-gfortran . I
still need to verify that this works and I can do clean FFI from Fortran ->
C -> Java.
5. Ideally I'd love to contribute this back to WSJT-X but totally
understand if this needs to be a separate effort.
I'm still a pretty new ham(licensed just over 1 year) however I've got a
pretty strong passion for digital modes and think this would be a pretty
awesome project to tackle. I've written my own 2m Android+PC protocol for
the fun of it( https://github.com/vvanders/simplelink ) but HF and WSJT
opens up so many more awesome things. It's been pretty frustrating to see
the state of digital on 2m(APRS has no FEC, sheesh!) so I'd rather
contribute where the ham community is.
I've been doing Android development professionally since the initial
release of Android on both the native and Java side of things so that's an
area I know really well. Doing some sort of FFI from Fortran to C++ doesn't
scare me too much. I've been really impressed with the ham community(esp
the WSJT and SOTA ones!) and would love to contribute back with what skills
I can. I also fully recognize that this is a pretty massive undertaking and
wouldn't expect to have something functional for a few months(between my
day job and other commitments).
Thoughts? Ideas? Am I crazy for taking this on?
Totally welcome to any guidance or direction that more experienced members
of WSJT have.
Val
KI7EST
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