Hi Phil and Ed,
Thanks for sharing your views.
We thought long and hard about backward-compatibility issues before
concluding that a change in the FT8 protocol was highly desirable.
Among the most important motivations were these:
1. Message formats optimized for North American VHF contests, European
VHF contests, RTTY contests, and ARRL Field Day have been frequently
requested by users.
2. Nonstandard and compound callsigns were a perpetual nuisance with the
older protocols. The new capabilities make them a breeze.
Neither of these objectives could be met with the original FT8 and
MSK144 message payloads.
Our planned changes were publicized well in advance. We sent internal
details and source code to developers of the derivative programs JTDX
and MSHV well in advance. These guys are fully on board with the changes.
A number of other relevant considerations were spelled out very
effectively by Ed, W0YK, in a previous message.
Upgrading to WSJT-X 2.0 will not be a big imposition. Download, click
to install over your older version, read and pay attention to the
Release Notes, and away you go.
-- 73, Joe, K1JT
On 11/28/2018 2:37 PM, Ed Muns wrote:
Hi Phil.
This question is really for the WSJT development team to address. But, my
personal opinion as a user differs a bit from yours. I'll offer it here as
another perspective.
In general, I agree with your stated principle of backward compatibility.
At the same time I tolerate breaking the principle for good reason. And, in
this case, I believe there is good reason.
First of all, WSJT-X is not a commercial product and the developers aren't
compensated much (tongue-in-cheek) for their tremendous efforts. Second,
this mode was invented 1-1/2 years ago and should rationally be considered
as still in development. Third, the use cases for this wonderful mode are
very diverse so a lot of conflicting requirements are being juggled.
Fourth, the WSJT-X source code is fully open for others to use. There is no
monopoly.
I am delighted to be able to participate as a user in this state-of-the-art
development and believe the developers try hard to maintain backward
compatibility when they can. The exception we're traversing now is
acceptable to me, even though it is a bit inconvenient and perhaps even
annoying to some.
When I start using a mode that is still being actively developed, my
expectation is that there well could be migration bumps and other
inconveniences. That's been my frequent experience when I choose to be an
early adopter. My alternative would be to stick with a digital mode like
RTTY that is unlikely to have backward compatibility issues.
I think the FT8 backward compatibility issue is exacerbated by the explosive
popularity of the mode on HF. I'm sure the WSJT-X developers understand
this reality and respect user convenience balanced with striving to make FT8
the best it can be.
Ed W0YK
-----Original Message-----
From: Phil Sussman [mailto:psuss...@pactor.com]
Sent: 28 November, 2018 03:09
To: Ed W0YK
Cc: 'WSJT software development'; r...@groups.io; 'NCCC Reflector'
Subject: Re: [RTTY] "FT8 Roundup" mock contest [Two Sessions]
Importance: High
I am concerned that transition to Ver. 2.0 without backwards compatibility
to
previous versions is a serious shortfall. I do NOT plan to change because of
the lack of compatibility. There is a principle involved.
Not everyone is going to make the transition and I've spoken to others who
feel WSJT software is trying to monopolize the mode. (Those using JTDX and
some others.) Personally I don't care; however, as I mentioned backwards
compatibility is a must. Complexities aside, it's a basic concept that
should
be respected.
As someone who works with commercial software (e.g. Motorola, Harris, etc.)
all can be upgraded, but is always backwards compatible. Of course, that
makes future software revisions more complex, the price of maintaining a
base
of satisfied users who rely on support.
Thanks for reading and understanding.
73 de Phil - N8PS
---
Quoting Ed W0YK <e...@w0yk.com>:
In addition to this practice contest just prior to the actual FT8 Roundup
next weekend, there will be an identical practice on Wednesday evening NA
time (0200-0300 UTC Thursday, 29 November).
Don and I feel another practice will be useful since we all need to ensure
we have installed and configured WSJT-X 2.0, rc5 correctly. (rc4 will
also
work, but rc5 is preferred since it has improvements and bug fixes beyond
rc4.)
73,
Ed W0YK
Don AA5AU
-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Taylor [mailto:j...@princeton.edu]
Sent: 26 November, 2018 13:55
To: WSJT software development
Subject: [wsjt-devel] "FT8 Roundup" mock contest
Hi all,
Another one-hour "practice contest" is scheduled for Saturday, December
1, 0200-0300 UTC (that's Friday evening, Nov 30, NA time). This session
will serve as a final tune-up opportunity for those planning to operate
in the "FT8 Roundup" on December 1-2 (more details below).
DIAL FREQUENCIES
----------------
The practice event will use dial frequencies 7.080-7.100 and
14.130-14.150 MHz in 2 kHz increments -- the same as recommended for the
FT8 Roundup and the ARRL RTTY Roundup (January 5-6, 2019). Start at the
low end, dial frequency 7.080 or 14.130. If/when the lower sub-bands
fill up, QSY upward in 2 kHz increments (7.082, 7.084, etc.). (Use
keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+Shift+F11 and Ctrl+Shift+F12 to move dial
frequency down/up by 2 kHz.)
Everyone works everyone. Do not use a compound or nonstandard callsign
in this event.
To participate you must use WSJT-X 2.0 RC5 (or RC4, but RC5 is
preferred). Installation packages for RC5 in Windows, Linux, and macOS
can be found near the bottom of this web page:
https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html
A revised "Quick-Start Guide to WSJT-X 2.0" for RC5 is posted here:
https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/Quick_Start_WSJT-X_2.0.pdf
Be sure to read this entire document before using WSJT-X 2.0.
PREPARATION FOR THE MOCK CONTEST
--------------------------------
Detailed setup instructions for the FT8 Roundup are posted here:
https://www.rttycontesting.com/ft8-roundup/preparation/
They serve equally well for the practice session.
Rules for the FT8 Roundup specify 100 W maximum power output. We
recommend the same limit for the practice session.
OPERATING PROCEDURES
--------------------
Best operating practices for FT8 in contests will surely evolve as users
gain experience. As initial suggestions we recommend procedures
slightly different from those used for everyday FT8 operation. CQing
stations ("Run" stations) should check TX EVEN/1ST and HOLD TX FREQ, and
select audio Tx frequencies 200, 400, 600, ..., integral multiples of
200 Hz. Search-and-pounce (S+P) stations should uncheck TX EVEN/1ST and
HOLD TX FREQ and should call a CQing station at 0, 60, or 120 Hz above
the CQ frequency. These procedures should help to contain the
mini-pileups around Run stations to relatively small frequency ranges.
S+P stations can use Shift+F11 and Shift+F12 to move their Tx frequency
down/up by 60 Hz.
If a 2 kHz segment becomes too full of stations, users should QSY upward
in 2 kHz increments, thus establishing new operating sub-bands. Again,
you can use Ctrl+Shift+F11 and Ctrl+Shift+F12 to QSY between
dial-frequency sub-bands.
THE FT8 ROUNDUP, DECEMBER 1-2
-----------------------------
The FT8 Roundup starts at 1800 UTC on Saturday, December 1 and ends at
2359 UTC on Sunday, December 2, 2018. Power limit is 100 W output: no
high-power amplifiers! Full contest rules are posted at
https://www.rttycontesting.com/ft8-roundup/ .
LOOKING TWO WEEKS AHEAD
-----------------------
We are planning to make the full General Availability (GA) release of
WSJT-X 2.0 on or before December 10, 2018. The necessary transition
from from WSJT-X v1.9.1 to WSJT-X v2.0 protocols for FT8 and MSK144
should take place by the end of calendar year 2018.
THEREFORE: As soon as possible after December 10, and certainly by
January 1, 2019, everyone should be using WSJT-X 2.0 or a compatible
v2.0 version of derivative programs such as JTDX or MSHV. As of today,
PSKreporter statistics show roughly 3000 users of WSJT-X versions older
than v1.9.1, 9500 users of v1.9.1, and 3000 users of v2.0-rc#. Please,
everyone, help us to spread the word that upgrading to v2.0 after
December 10 is very important. There will be no looking back!
-- 73, Joe, K1JT
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