WSJT-X version 2.7.0 RC-4 can be downloaded from the sourceforge.net repository.
WSJT-X 2.7.0 RC4, released on March 11 2024, brings improvements primarily aimed at Fox-mode operators and enhancements to the QMAP companion program. Notable updates include QMAP’s ability to decode Q65 submodes with varying T/R sequence lengths, automatic adjustments of dial frequency and submode when clicking on stations in the Active Stations window, and a more compact file format for wideband data files. Users can now export a 3 kHz portion of a wideband data file as a standard WSJT-X *.wav file and send integer kHz dial frequency requests to WSJT-X with CTRL+click on QMAP’s waterfall. Minor User Interface enhancements have also been implemented. Additionally, WSJT-X now supports the decoding of MSK144 from the jt9[.exe] executable and includes modifications to handle issues arising from short callsign hashes in standard FT4/FT8 sub-bands. These updates streamline operations and improve the overall user experience for amateur radio enthusiasts.
WSJT-X 2.7.0-rc4 Release notes
Marc 11, 2024
WSJT-X 2.7.0 Release Candidate 4 brings some improvements for Fox-mode operators, new features for companion program QMAP, and a number of relatively minor enhancements and bug fixes.
QMAP enhancements — of particular interest to EME operators:
– QMAP now decodes Q65 submodes with both 60-second and 30-second T/R sequence lengths. Clicking on a resulting line in the WSJT-X Active Stations window automatically sets dial frequency and working submode as needed to call that station.
– QMAP operates in 60-second receive sequences, and its Q65 decoder starts at t=19.5, 30.0, 49.5, and 58.5 s into the sequence. Most decoded messages are displayed well before the end of the relevant time slot.
– A new, more compact file format is now used for wideband data files. A “Save decoded” option has been added to the Save menu.
– An option has been added to allow exporting a 3 kHz portion of a wideband data file as a standard WSJT-X *.wav file.
– CTRL+click on QMAP’s upper waterfall sends an integer kHz dial frequency request to WSJT-X.
– With focus on the WSJT-X main window, hit Alt+A on the keyboard to clear the Active Stations window.
– Many minor enhancements to the User Interface.
WSJT-X: – Enable decoding of MSK144 from the jt9[.exe] executable.
– Several changes to reduce problems experienced when (contrary to our recommendations) messages with short (10-bit) callsign hashes are used in standard FT4/FT8 sub-bands.
About Release Candidate versions
A release candidate (RC) version is a pre-release version of a software product that is considered to be feature-complete and relatively stable but may still undergo further testing before the final release. Release candidates are typically made available to a wider audience, including beta testers and the general public, to gather feedback and identify any remaining issues or bugs.
About WSJT-X
WSJT-X is a computer program designed to facilitate basic amateur radio communication using very weak signals. The first four letters in the program name stand for “Weak Signal communication by K1JT,” while the suffix “-X” indicates that WSJT-X started as an extended branch of an earlier program, WSJT, first released in 2001. Bill Somerville, G4WJS, Steve Franke, K9AN, and Nico Palermo, IV3NWV, have been major contributors to development of WSJT-X since 2013, 2015, and 2016, respectively.
December 12th, 1901 is certainly a date with a historical relevance in radio transmissions.
In fact, at 04.30 GMT of that day, Guglielmo Marconi succeeds in sending the first transatlantic wireless communication.
Succeeding in this contact, Marconi demonstrate that radio waves transmissions could be transmitted even across the Atlantic ocean.
With this success Marconi, in addition, disproved detractors who told him, that the curvature of the earth would limit transmission to 200 miles or less.
The station in Cornwall, England instead was composed by a twenty-four ships’ masts each 200 feet high, and the transmitter was powered by a 32 brake horsepower engine driving a 25 kilowatt alternator.
History says that detractors were correct when they declared that radio waves would not follow the curvature of the earth.
In fact today we know that radio waves had been headed into space from England when they were reflected off the ionosphere and finally bounced back down toward Canada.
Science demonstrated and explained this contact, made thanks to Radio wave propagation, just a few years later.
Therefore thinking in terms of amateur radio logic, we should consider this experiment as the first DX contact ever.
If you are interested in Marconi’s experiments and history, probably you can find interesting arguments and further details about this story here:
