I agree with Martin and others, but let me suggest a slight compromise.
Instead of changing the default sequence for all FT4 QSO's, change it for
FT8/FT4 in WWDIGI contest mode only, and advertise the change. This won't
disrupt anyone's ideas about how general FT QSO's should be done;
contesters will understand the change, and appreciate it. 2021 WWDIGI is
August 28-29; should be time enough to implement it.
In more detail:
1. Eliminate Tx5, “73”, from the default QSO message sequence. Its use
should be discouraged in WWDIGI (and in fact in all FT4/FT8 contests). It
is not needed for the exchange and acknowledgement of required information,
and – because its use is not widely understood not to be required -- just
leads to longer QSO’s on average, and general confusion about whether a QSO
has been completed which increases NIL’s.
Since in WWDIGI the only exchange info is callsigns and grids, the
default QSO -- exchanging and acknowledging all required information --
could be as short as 3 transmissions. Examples:
1. Answering a CQ:
CQ WW W0YK DM97 Tx6
W0YK K6PO R DM12 Tx3
K6PO W0YK RR73 Tx4
2. Tailending a QSO. K6PO has already copied W0YK’s grid. Then:
W1AW W0YK RR73 Tx4
W0YK K6PO R DM12 Tx3
K6PO W0YK RR73 Tx4
3. Tailending a QSO. K6PO has not yet copied W0YK’s grid. Then:
W1AW W0YK RR73 Tx4
W0YK K6PO DM12 Tx2
K6PO W0YK R DM97 Tx3
W0YK K6PO RR73 Tx4
2. Automatically log the QSO sending *or receiving* Tx4, “RR73”. One
reason sending Tx5, “73”, is currently in the default QSO sequence for
WWDIGI is that this triggers automatic logging of the QSO from WSJT-X. Tx5
is never sent in examples 1a-1c above, and so one QSO partner would need to
manually log the QSO in each case (i.e. hit the “Log QSO” button in WSJT-X,
and in the case of 1b, perhaps also manually enter the copied grid). If
automatic logging is desired, triggering it on sending *or receiving*
Tx4 would accomplish that.
3. Note: in some of the examples above, part of the contest exchange
(the grid) is not explicitly sent from the first QSO partner (W0YK) to the
second (K6PO). Some might object to this, but note that it is copied by the
second QSO partner as part of the first partner’s CQ or other transmission,
and so this is as much or more in the spirit of 2-way over-the-air
communication as commonly used contest techniques like call history files,
giving your call only once every few QSO’s in a run, etc.
73, Paul K6PO
On Thu, May 6, 2021 at 1:34 PM Martin Davies G0HDB <marting0...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> The FT4 mode was introduced in WSJT-X version 2.1.0 in 2019; the release
> notes and announcements state that the mode is intended for use in HF
> digital contesting where 'quick-fire' exchanges such as those achieved
> using RTTY are desired. I'd like to suggest a change that would help
> achieve this aim a bit better; the following applies to v2.1.0 and all
> subsequent versions up to and including v2.3.1 (I haven't yet tried any of
> the RC versions of v2.4.0).
>
> An FT4 (and an FT8!) QSO generally looks something like the following:
>
> CQ K1JT FN20
> K1JT G0HDB IO82
> G0HDB K1JT -10
> K1JT G0HDB R-08
> G0HDB K1JT RR73
> K1JT G0HDB 73
>
> Currently, the logging window only pops open on my screen to prompt me to
> log the QSO when the final (Tx5) '73' message is being sent - this is to
> all extents and purposes superfluous because the QSO has been successfully
> completed when K1JT has sent his RR73 (and I've received it). My sending
> the superfluous '73' message extends the overall duration of the QSO by
> adding a further Tx period at my end of the sequence so I can't move on to
> trying to start the next QSO.
>
> I'd like to suggest that the logging window is opened when I've *received*
> the other station's RR73 message and that sending the final Tx5 '73'
> message is either removed from the sequence altogether or is made
> optional. This would help to improve the overall throughput of FT4 QSOs.
>
> The code to open the logging window on receipt of an incoming 'RR73'
> message and to desist from sending the Tx5 '73' message must already exist
> within the app because that's what already happens when I operate as a
> Hound in FT8 Fox & Hounds mode - when I receive the Fox's 'RR73' the
> logging window pops open and my system doesn't send the unnecessary Tx5
> '73' .
>
> I'd actually like to see the logging window open in any mode when I either
> send *or receive* an RRR or RR73 message - in my opinion that would align
> the prompting to log the QSO much more closely with the completion of the
> exchange of the essential information for the QSO and would leave the
> sending of a final '73' as an optional nicety.
>
> --
> 73, Martin G0HDB
>
>
>
> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient>
> Virus-free.
> www.avast.com
> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient>
> <#m_5594500180972591790_m_2824095932175533984_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
> _______________________________________________
> wsjt-devel mailing list
> wsjt-devel@lists.sourceforge.net
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wsjt-devel
>
_______________________________________________
wsjt-devel mailing list
wsjt-devel@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wsjt-devel
