Hi Joe, The plan for enhancing rover operation for WSJT is indeed welcome news! Of course, we will be on hand with K2EZ/R to help you test it out. I’ll be following this closely.
73, Ria, N2RJ > On Jul 24, 2018, at 4:32 PM, Joe Taylor <j...@princeton.edu> wrote: > > Hi Mike and all, > > On 7/23/2018 7:37 PM, W0MU Mike Fatchett wrote: >> First of all I want to thank everyone for this great advancement in the >> hobby! > > ... (however, ...) > >> The CQ WW VHF was my first exposure to contest mode and it was a very >> frustrating 27 hours. > > Thanks for all the messages about contest mode. Of course we are well aware > of the issues experienced when using WSJT modes in North American VHF > contests. To summarize, there are two main problem areas: > > - Decoding of messages with two callsigns followed by "R " and a > 4-character grid, and the related auto-sequencing, depend of proper > and coordinated setting of a checkbox at both stations. > > - There is a crying need for transparent support of "/R" (Rover) > callsigns in all standard messages, during contests. > > Here's some background information aimed at relative newcomers and casual > users of WSJT, followed by a brief preview of program features we plan to > make available in Version 2.0 of WSJT-X. > > > Contest Mode > ------------ > > Standard JT-style messages (those used in all of the structured WSJT modes) > have 71 information bits: two 28-bit callsigns and a 15-bit grid locator. > The 15-bit field can alternatively convey a signal report (with optional > "R"), or "RRR", "RR73", or "73". One additional bit re-purposes the 71 bits > to carry a 13-character free test message. In a 72-bit packet there are NO > free bits available to insert "R " before a grid locator, or "/R" after a > callsign. > > The "NA VHF Contest" checkbox presently in WSJT-X is a stop-gap feature added > in 2016 to the MSK144 mode, and later to FT8. These modes conventionally use > 15-second T/R intervals and offer semi-automated message sequencing. NA VHF > contests require the exchange of 4-character grid locators. Signal reports > are OK, but not required. Contesters wanted a way to send messages like > "K1ABC W9XYZ R EN37", thereby increasing their QSO rates by eliminating some > transmissions from the standard minimal-QSO sequence. > > > Rovers > ------ > Rovers move from grid to grid and must append "/R" to their callsign during > the contest. These hardworking folks definitely need some help if they are > to use WSJT modes effectively. > > All structured modes currently supported in WSJT-X permit messages like these: > > CQ K1ABC/R FN41 > DE K1ABC/R 73 > > ... but you can't use a second callsign in place of the "CQ" or "DE". Once > again, there is no room for such information in a 72-bit packet. > > Some time ago we created workarounds that enable QSOs using a "/R" callsign > or an "R+grid" message fragment. But these capabilities are limited and > necessarily somewhat clumsy. Users must understand what's possible and > what's not, and they must be careful about some necessary program settings. > Decoding "R+grid" messages requires ticking a checkbox, and if someone else > sends you standard signal reports you need to uncheck the box or manually > edit your messages. Also, for reasons explained in the WSJT-X User Guide, > this feature cannot work well when world-wide propagation is possible -- as > it has been recently on 6 meters. > > All in all, it's not a happy situation -- especially when considering the > typical presence of many casual operators who happen upon a contest and just > want to make a few QSOs. > > > Recently K9AN, G4WJS, and I have been developing enhanced versions of the > MSK144 and FT8 protocols that extend the message payload to 77 bits. For a > taste of what's to come, here's a brief list of things made possible by the > extra bits: > > 1. NA VHF Contest operation with full support of grid exchanges and > "/R" (Rover) callsigns > > 2. EU VHF Contest operation with the exchange of 6-digit grids, QSO > serial numbers, and "/P" (portable) callsigns > > 3. ARRL Field Day operation with standard Field Day exchanges > > 4. ARRL RTTY Roundup operation with standard contest exchanges > > 5. Better and more user-friendly support for compound and nonstandard > callsigns > > 6. A special "telemetry" message format for exchange of arbitrary > information up to 71 bits > > 7. The existing FT8 DXpedition mode will be supported, and a more > powerful DXpedition mode may be offered as well. > > All of these features work seamlessly and automatically. No "contest mode" > checkboxes are needed. In most situations decoding sensitivity will be > slightly better than at present for FT8; for MSK144 it will sometimes be > about 0.5 dB worse. Occupied bandwidths will be the same as they are now, > and false-decode rates will be significantly lower. > > Much of the necessary programming is finished. Many of the new features have > been tested on the air, and we find them to work well. > > Don't rush to download something -- these capabilities are not yet publicly > available. There is more testing and code optimization to do. With summer > vacation plans, etc., our current plans call for a beta-testing period > probably starting in mid to late September. A full release should then be > possible a couple of months later. > > In particular: we are planning to make WSJT-X Version 2.0 available in time > for you to read its new documentation and practice using it before (for > example) the ARRL RTTY Roundup, January 5-6, 2019, and the ARRL VHF > Sweepstakes, January 19-21, 2019. > > THIS IS IMPORTANT: The new protocols cannot be backward compatible with the > existing ones. We will probably provide some temporary "bi-lingual" > capability for FT8, but not for MSK144. It will be essential for users to > upgrade to Version 2.0 in order to use the new features and communicate with > others who have made the upgrade. > > We will provide plenty of advance notice about a transition interval and an > essential "must upgrade by" date. > > -- 73, Joe, K1JT > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Check out the vibrant tech community on one of the world's most > engaging tech sites, Slashdot.org! http://sdm.link/slashdot > _______________________________________________ > wsjt-devel mailing list > wsjt-devel@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wsjt-devel ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check out the vibrant tech community on one of the world's most engaging tech sites, Slashdot.org! http://sdm.link/slashdot _______________________________________________ wsjt-devel mailing list wsjt-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wsjt-devel
