First thing to note is the firmware is 1.02. I'm unsure how to upgrade it, but I saw there was a topic on it, so I'll try that.
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Second thing to note is that most of the interface chrome is working most of the time. My issue is that the radio just stops working. Audio stops, the waterfall stops, the decode window stops. Nothing besides a reboot helps. It seems to be caused by raising the frequency. I have it on 7.046.330, and I'm trying to tune up to 7.047.5, to try and tune in W1AW. I have a strong signal in the right third of the waterfall, and it doesn't stop to let replies go, so I'm thinking this may be W1AW. The decoder is not decoding it properly. I'm not sure why W1AW would be so offset, but it seems about 700hz low. Is that a factor of the offset affecting the frequency of the station? That seems odd to me.
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For some reason, the radio portion would just stop. I've tried to adjust it more slowly, in case loading of the processor was too much for it, but I don't know that it was having that effect.
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I've got a decent signal at 7.052 that is decoding well. It's a slower signal, around 12-15wpm, but that's good, because I can follow along in my head for some of it. Once in a while I hear the station in Texas he's talking to. I'm not sure where he is. But now it seems to be working.
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I need to update my time in this lovely beast, but am totally unsure how. It doesn't have a GPS. I'll have to see if I can find one and figure out how to get the value into the radio. Until then, my FT8 just isn't decoding anything. I hope a manual will be out sometime soon, I'm one of THOSE who needs to read the fancy manual!
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Gwen NG3P
Gwen Patton