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I realize this is a development/experimenter's radio, but I assume it is also meant to be used in regular ham radio operations.? ?I have watched YouTube videos on using it with FT8, but my unit does not act in the same fashion as shown. I made a video of what I am experiencing and hope it will upload.? If I cannot attach it to this post, I will try to upload it to the files section.? I would appreciate it if someone can view it and tell me what is going on.? It did seem to be working when I first used it but I then did an update/build, which is when something changed.
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We usually swap videos my uploading them on youtube but keep the sharing to only those who have the link. - f
On Fri, Aug 4, 2023, 12:38 AM Carl Rimmer W8KRF < w8krf@...> wrote: I realize this is a development/experimenter's radio, but I assume it is also meant to be used in regular ham radio operations.? ?I have watched YouTube videos on using it with FT8, but my unit does not act in the same fashion as shown. I made a video of what I am experiencing and hope it will upload.? If I cannot attach it to this post, I will try to upload it to the files section.? I would appreciate it if someone can view it and tell me what is going on.? It did seem to be working when I first used it but I then did an update/build, which is when something changed.
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Yes, I am having issues with FT8 as well, and would like to see your video. My FT8 sends twice, the first time when in the other station's time slot.
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Loaded to YouTube at?.
Carl?
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If this is happening to you also it must be a problem with the build.? Who else is having problems with the timings in FT8?? ?I have downloaded a new image and updated and recompiled and it is still doing the same thing.? I am a POTA hunter and have not been able to make any Qs with the sBitx V2 using FT8.? SSB, yes.? I need some suggestions.
73,
Carl?
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Watched your video. I am having the exact same problem. Looks like a logic bug in the software
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I'm having some issues as well.? Calling CQ seems to work fine except when a station skips the grid and goes straight to the signal report it won't respond.? When answering a CQ I get an initial response and that's usually as as far as it gets, but it occasionally it goes through. I'm limited to a crowded 20 meter band using a marginal antenna but it still seems like somethings amiss.? I'll start checking for timing irregularities and report back.
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Yes, same issue here. Has anyone looked at the script that runs this? ? When I call CQ it works fine, just when I try to answer someone else’s CQ
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Mine is doing the same thing. I’m not a big FT-8 fan, so I assumed it was operator error. I’m glad others are noticing this and speaking up.?
de WB4NCT
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I've noticed the same thing. When you click on a station calling CQ, the sBitx software waits to the next time slot before responding so that you are transmitting the same time the calling station is transmitting (so they won't hear you). ?WSJT-X does not have this problem. If you click on a CQ, even if it's 5 seconds into the decode, WSJT-X will transmit for the remainder of the current 15 second time slice.
Here's a detailed timeline:
sBITX
station calling CQ at :00
sBitx decodes and displays around :15
CQ'ing station listens at :15
user clicks on CQ at :16
sBitx waits until :30 and transmits
CQ'ing station retransmits at :30 (sBitx and CQ'ing station are transmitting at the same time)
WSJT-X
station calling CQ at :00
WSJT-X decodes and displays around :15
CQ'ing station listens at :15
user clicks on CQ at :16
WSJT-X transmits at :16 (for remainder of :15 time slot)
CQ'ing station hears WSJT-X - contact made
--
73,
Mark, N8ME
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I think the confusion is the time?displayed for the distant station is ending time and the time displayed for the sbitx?transmisssion is the start time. I hooked up the ubitx with wsjt-x and it works as you describe but I still didn't complete many contacts. I guess I need?to look at my antenna.? The following is a snippet from index.html.
//what we receive on 0 or 30th was actually started on 45th or 15th
//so the time stamp of last digit being zero is actually an odd slot
//we have to respond on the even slot
if (isNaN(parseInt(token_list[0])) == false){
//if it ended on 45th or 15th, then start the reply?
//on 15th of 45th, not the 1st or even (0/30)
if (parseInt(token_list[0]) & 1 == 1)
message_slot_1st = false;
else
message_slot_1st = true;
}
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I have been having this issue since I installed the the V2 build in my DE in June.? If I call CQ, things work perfectly fine.? If I respond to a CQ, it refuses to finish the contact.? It hangs up with signal report exchange.? No one has been able to offer a solution yet, which stinks.? I'd like to use this for POTA, but most POTA ops won't log an FT8 contact until a 73 comes through.??
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This issue of Bad Timing was fixed in the last update. Try running update again and see?if it works?
I have been having this issue since I installed the the V2 build in my DE in June.? If I call CQ, things work perfectly fine.? If I respond to a CQ, it refuses to finish the contact.? It hangs up with signal report exchange.? No one has been able to offer a solution yet, which stinks.? I'd like to use this for POTA, but most POTA ops won't log an FT8 contact until a 73 comes through.??
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Carl, I saw your video very carefully. Here is what I think is happening: First, a caveat: Let's look at the recording timeline on your youtube video rather than the timestamp. The timestamps can be misleading as the time on the received decodes is the time at which it ends (not the time of start of the message) and the timestamps of the sent signals are marked for the time the transmission starts. 1. In your video, THE N6PE signal pops up on the display at the 00:20 mark, it would have started at 00:05 and finished by 00:00:020 (timing as per? youtube's timeline) 2. As a result, we can now accept that N6PE is transmitting every 00:05 to 00:20 and then after 15 seconds, from 00:35 to 00:50.? 3. N6PE will be listening to any responses?for his CQ between 00:20 to 00:35 and between 00:50 to 00:005.? 4. Those are the slots that we are transmitting on. as you can see. 5. We don't hear him the next alternating slot at all.?
Then I went to website and searched for N6PE. I downloaded his log file and here is the extract of his log for those few minutes is attached to this email. He didn't make any contacts at all! Neither with carl or anyone else. He proobably was looking for specific countries. I checked out N6PE on , he is a formidable dxccer. He was probably running JTAlert and didn't bother much with regular QSOs. -f?
On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 7:47?PM Ashhar Farhan via <farhanbox= [email protected]> wrote: This issue of Bad Timing was fixed in the last update. Try running update again and see?if it works?
I have been having this issue since I installed the the V2 build in my DE in June.? If I call CQ, things work perfectly fine.? If I respond to a CQ, it refuses to finish the contact.? It hangs up with signal report exchange.? No one has been able to offer a solution yet, which stinks.? I'd like to use this for POTA, but most POTA ops won't log an FT8 contact until a 73 comes through.??
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I did the update and still have issues.? When replying to a CQ the Tx1st box would toggle
and then we were transmitting at the same time.? I commented out lines1527 to 1530 and I can
now go all the way to the 73 queue (dark blue entry) but it never sends 73. It's time to put
my 76 year old butt to bed. i'll start again tomorrow,??
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I agree, Barry.? I have done the update and build several times with no change.? I am not a C programmer, but I have read up on it, have been looking at the code, and cannot figure out how to get it to transmit as soon as I click on the CQing station.? That is what WSJT-X does, regardless of where it is in the time slot.? Why is sBitx waiting for two slots before transmitting???
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In index.html I commented out lines 1527 - 1530 as well as lines 1539 - 1543 because they were
toggling the Tx1st condition. It still wouldn't; send 73 because the logging information blocks were
cleared before the actual transmission had taken place,? I commented out lines 1544 - 1546 to
prevent the automatic logging from clearing these blocks and it now sends 73 but I have to press
the log button manually. Unlike WSJT-X it waits for a full time slot to transmit.
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Ashhar,
Thanks for responding.? The problem happens all the time, not just with N6PE.? He just happened to be the station I called during the video.? I haven't done coding since I left IBM in the '80s and I never coded in C.? We must start transmitting immediately when we click on a CQing station since we are already in the +15-second slot from the decoded message.? Does that make sense?? ? I love the sBitx V2 and have been having fun with it in other modes, but FT8 is my mode of choice and the main reason I invested in the radio.? I thought it would be ideal for POTA.??
73,
Carl
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I am working at it (immediate tx). I have a conference to attend tomorrow, I will get back to this soon after. - f
On Thu, Aug 10, 2023, 7:57 PM Carl Rimmer W8KRF < w8krf@...> wrote: Ashhar,
Thanks for responding.? The problem happens all the time, not just with N6PE.? He just happened to be the station I called during the video.? I haven't done coding since I left IBM in the '80s and I never coded in C.? We must start transmitting immediately when we click on a CQing station since we are already in the +15-second slot from the decoded message.? Does that make sense?? ? I love the sBitx V2 and have been having fun with it in other modes, but FT8 is my mode of choice and the main reason I invested in the radio.? I thought it would be ideal for POTA.??
73,
Carl
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I just found a comment in modems.c (around line 82):
4. For transmit, the text block received by ft8_tx() is encoded quickly (as encoding is much
simpler and quicker code) into a temporary file at /tmp/ft8tx.raw. On the next 15th second
boundary, this file is read and returned as samples to the SDR. Once done, the temp file
is deleted.
This may be the cause of the delay when answering a CQ. -- 73, Mark, N8ME
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Carl Rimmer W8KRF
Mark Erbaugh