FT-8 WSJT-X work decoding CW???

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bobruzzo

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I downloaded the program WSJT-X and would like to decode CW but there is no option in the "mode" list for cw. Am I missing something or not seeing a CW option?
 

alcahuete

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I downloaded the program WSJT-X and would like to decode CW but there is no option in the "mode" list for cw. Am I missing something or not seeing a CW option?

WSJT-X does not decode CW.

"WSJT-X implements communication protocols or "modes" called FST4, FST4W, FT4, FT8, JT4, JT9, JT65, Q65, MSK144, and WSPR, as well as one called Echo for detecting and measuring your own radio signals reflected from the Moon. These modes were all designed for making reliable, confirmed QSOs under extreme weak-signal conditions."

MRP40 and CWSkimmer are good for decoding CW, though neither are free.
 

KN4EHX

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You can attach your radio to your computer with Fldigi to receive and send CW. If you don’t want to go wired you can use your mic from you computer to acoustically read the incoming CW. It works oddly well. There is probably 200 variations of digital methods you can use from Fldigi it is quite the tool of you ever feel the need to pass a word file through the air. I did attempt it over DMR once but didn’t have any success. Works great over 2 meter FM.
 

bobruzzo

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OK I am able to get fldigi to copy cw. I want to be able to SEND as well but can't figure it out. I also downloaded "omnirig" but too confusing. What I want to do is simply send and recieve both RTTY and CW using keyboard. I am unfamiliar with all this newer technology and terms. The last time I did anything digital was back in 2000 when I ran vhf packet. I have been out of the hobby since then but recently decided since I am retired, I have more time for the hobby. I have a new IC-7300 with LDG Z-100 plus tuner. Antenna is G5RV. So now in addition to being able to communicate via VOICE, I also would like to do RTTY and CW via keyboard. But I am having great difficulty finding a straighforward instruction. Too many other things that I wont use that confuse things more. I am only familiar with CW and RTTY cause we used to do alot of that with pk-232 back in the 90's. All these newfangled modes (psk32, etc) I am unfamiliar with. I tried aprs but it bored me. So anyway I have a working flgigi program, which is not quite completely set up. I am using a filtered USB cable from radio to PC and installed the software from ICOM so the radio and PC communicate. My port is com6 and baud rate set to auto on the radio and 9600 in fldigi. The frequency readout in fldigi doesnt correspond with whats on radio though and I dont know why. I configured in settings according to instructions for my particular radio. I dont know what to do next. I attempted to press the send (tx) button which apperas to be a macro sending out "cq cq cq de w1av" a couple times but no transmit from radio. I pushed the "transmit" button on radio but still not sending anything thru fldigi. Sorry for rambling but I am trying to give as much info as I can. Maybe someday I can try those other new modes but for now I just want to be able to communicate using cw and rtty using keyboard.
 

tweiss3

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OK I am able to get fldigi to copy cw. I want to be able to SEND as well but can't figure it out. I also downloaded "omnirig" but too confusing. What I want to do is simply send and recieve both RTTY and CW using keyboard. I am unfamiliar with all this newer technology and terms. The last time I did anything digital was back in 2000 when I ran vhf packet. I have been out of the hobby since then but recently decided since I am retired, I have more time for the hobby. I have a new IC-7300 with LDG Z-100 plus tuner. Antenna is G5RV. So now in addition to being able to communicate via VOICE, I also would like to do RTTY and CW via keyboard. But I am having great difficulty finding a straighforward instruction. Too many other things that I wont use that confuse things more. I am only familiar with CW and RTTY cause we used to do alot of that with pk-232 back in the 90's. All these newfangled modes (psk32, etc) I am unfamiliar with. I tried aprs but it bored me. So anyway I have a working flgigi program, which is not quite completely set up. I am using a filtered USB cable from radio to PC and installed the software from ICOM so the radio and PC communicate. My port is com6 and baud rate set to auto on the radio and 9600 in fldigi. The frequency readout in fldigi doesnt correspond with whats on radio though and I dont know why. I configured in settings according to instructions for my particular radio. I dont know what to do next. I attempted to press the send (tx) button which apperas to be a macro sending out "cq cq cq de w1av" a couple times but no transmit from radio. I pushed the "transmit" button on radio but still not sending anything thru fldigi. Sorry for rambling but I am trying to give as much info as I can. Maybe someday I can try those other new modes but for now I just want to be able to communicate using cw and rtty using keyboard.

I too have a 7300, and I have fldigi setup, but I run it through N1MM, and I had to have another program to split the port. I used a different program for RTTY. If you want, I can share my setup and settings this evening. It was very specific, but you can key CW via program.
 

ka3jjz

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For support with FLDigi, go here...


Mike
 

bobruzzo

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OK so I signed up on the Windigi groups but there is no way to POST a message! I am going crazy looking for an icon or some way to post my question but no way to do it. I see some new messages that others have posted but HOW???
 

AK9R

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FLDigi is designed to key your radio's transmitter and send an audio signal which your radio then transmits over the air. This works well for "sound card digital modes" like PSK31 or Olivia. It can also work with RTTY using AFSK (audio frequency shift keying). I suppose this would also work for CW transmitted as MCW (modulated continuous wave).

However, when you put most radios into CW mode, the radio is looking for on-off keying using a "send" or "PTT" command with no audio signal. When your radio transmits CW, it turns the transmitter on and off so that the carrier goes on and off. RTTY using FSK (frequency shift keying) is similar except that in addition to the "send" command, there will also be some sort of "shift" command that causes the radio to change the carrier frequency by the amount of frequency shift you are using, usually 170 Hz for amateur radio RTTY.

The problem here is that I don't think FLDigi understands how to do this on and off keying in order to modulate the carrier. As I said, it wants to key the radio and then send an audio signal which modulates the carrier. [I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.]

FLDigi can be used to decode CW and to decode RTTY and to send RTTY using AFSK. But, for sending CW or sending RTTY using FSK, you need another program like MRP40 for CW or MMTTY for RTTY.
 

AK9R

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I am still getting lost on here......I dont see how to post a message
You have to be logged into Groups.io, you have to actually be in the group (based on your post, think you are at the main Groups.io menu), and you have to have posting privileges in the group. Most moderators have their groups set up to require manual authorization for posting. When you are authorized to post, you'll see a "New Topic" menu item on the left like this:

1617229314606.png
 

ka3jjz

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And you won't get any trash from groups.io like you did with Yahoo....setting up an account is free and safe. Mike
 

bobruzzo

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You have to be logged into Groups.io, you have to actually be in the group (based on your post, think you are at the main Groups.io menu), and you have to have posting privileges in the group. Most moderators have their groups set up to require manual authorization for posting. When you are authorized to post, you'll see a "New Topic" menu item on the left like this:

View attachment 101547
OK I was finally able to get it to post, thank you.
 

bobruzzo

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FLDigi is designed to key your radio's transmitter and send an audio signal which your radio then transmits over the air. This works well for "sound card digital modes" like PSK31 or Olivia. It can also work with RTTY using AFSK (audio frequency shift keying). I suppose this would also work for CW transmitted as MCW (modulated continuous wave).

However, when you put most radios into CW mode, the radio is looking for on-off keying using a "send" or "PTT" command with no audio signal. When your radio transmits CW, it turns the transmitter on and off so that the carrier goes on and off. RTTY using FSK (frequency shift keying) is similar except that in addition to the "send" command, there will also be some sort of "shift" command that causes the radio to change the carrier frequency by the amount of frequency shift you are using, usually 170 Hz for amateur radio RTTY.

The problem here is that I don't think FLDigi understands how to do this on and off keying in order to modulate the carrier. As I said, it wants to key the radio and then send an audio signal which modulates the carrier. [I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.]

FLDigi can be used to decode CW and to decode RTTY and to send RTTY using AFSK. But, for sending CW or sending RTTY using FSK, you need another program like MRP40 for CW or MMTTY for RTTY.
OK I underrstand. I will no doubt have to use another kind of program to do what I want to do. It's been YEARS since I dabbled in ham radio and everything is so different. It was much easier with those PK 232 multi mode decoders, cause thats what we used and it did a handful of modes. But all these new modes are confusing and I did read up on WSJT but still not understanding any of it. About all I could make sense of was you have to set your rig to digital mode. On my 7300 its "USB-D" then you have to look for signals on specific frequencies. But I dont know what those modes even sound like so looking for them is like a needle in as haystack. And how does radio know you want to use FT8 or any of those other ones? I need to talk to a neighbor who is also a ham, a younger guy who uses these new modes so maybe he can demonstrate.
 

wa8pyr

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However, when you put most radios into CW mode, the radio is looking for on-off keying using a "send" or "PTT" command with no audio signal. When your radio transmits CW, it turns the transmitter on and off so that the carrier goes on and off. RTTY using FSK (frequency shift keying) is similar except that in addition to the "send" command, there will also be some sort of "shift" command that causes the radio to change the carrier frequency by the amount of frequency shift you are using, usually 170 Hz for amateur radio RTTY.

The problem here is that I don't think FLDigi understands how to do this on and off keying in order to modulate the carrier. As I said, it wants to key the radio and then send an audio signal which modulates the carrier. [I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.]

The latest versions of FLDigi have an interface described in the manual which takes the CW audio tones from FLDigi and converts them to hardware key closures so that CW mode on the radio works as intended. There's also an improved version of the interface at:


And how does radio know you want to use FT8 or any of those other ones? I need to talk to a neighbor who is also a ham, a younger guy who uses these new modes so maybe he can demonstrate.

The radio doesn't know or care which mode is which; just set your radio to USB-D and the software does the rest. Once you've listened awhile you'll get the hang of which mode is which. JT65, FT8 and similar modes are relatively easy to pick out as a group due to the musical-sounding nature of their signals.

This site may help, though: FT8 - Signal Identification Wiki
 

tweiss3

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FYI, if you are doing RTTY, use the RTTY mode on the radio and pull up the RTTY decoder, it will aid you in tuning the signal to align with the decoder for consistency.
 

wa8pyr

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FYI, if you are doing RTTY, use the RTTY mode on the radio and pull up the RTTY decoder, it will aid you in tuning the signal to align with the decoder for consistency.

But if you're using the RTTY mode, the radio is still expecting to see hardware keying for true FSK. Supposedly the KK5JY interface will work for that also.
 

AK9R

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Supposedly the KK5JY interface will work for that also.
Yuck. If I was intent on doing FSK RTTY, I think I'd rather use a program that keys the radio directly rather than using an audio signal to key the radio through some external interface. That interface only has one "send" output, so I'm not sure how it would provide a "shift" output for RTTY.

The Mortty interface would seem to be a better choice: Mortty – Ham Radio Projects
 

bobruzzo

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The latest versions of FLDigi have an interface described in the manual which takes the CW audio tones from FLDigi and converts them to hardware key closures so that CW mode on the radio works as intended. There's also an improved version of the interface at:




The radio doesn't know or care which mode is which; just set your radio to USB-D and the software does the rest. Once you've listened awhile you'll get the hang of which mode is which. JT65, FT8 and similar modes are relatively easy to pick out as a group due to the musical-sounding nature of their signals.

This site may help, though: FT8 - Signal Identification Wiki
OK I am in wsjt-x and on 14.075......listening to a weird signal I never heard before...kind of warbling sound. But how do I know which mode it is to switch to it to receive it in the program?? Or is it supposed to figure it out on its own? I dont see anything coming thru. Here are my radio settings...not sure if they are right except for the type of radio, the port, . All that other info on there is default so some might need to be changed.
I checked the wiki for signal Identification...looks like I am exactly on freq for 20 meters (14.074) for mode FT8 only nothing being decoded or showing up on screen....signal meter shows strong signals though. If I click the "decode" button nothing happens.
 

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