[AK-VHF] Fwd: [Moon-Net] Coming soon: WSJT-X 2.2.0-rc1

[Edward R Cole]

>To: moon-net at mailman.pe1itr.com
>Date: Tue, 5 May 2020 12:17:57 -0400
>
>Subject: [Moon-Net] Coming soon: WSJT-X 2.2.0-rc1
>
>Hi all,
>
>This message is to let you know of some 
>important WSJT-X development plans.  We plan to 
>make a first candidate release of WSJT-X 2.2.0 next Monday, May 10.
>
>WSJT-X 2.2.0-rc1 will be a beta-quality release 
>candidate providing a number of new features and capabilities.  These include:
>
>   - Improvements to the decoders for five modes:
>
>       FT4: Corrected bugs that prevented AP decoding and/or multi-pass
>       decoding in some circumstances.  The algorithm for AP
>       decoding has been improved and extended.
>
>       FT8: Decoding is now spread over three intervals.  The first
>       starts at t = 11.8 s into an Rx sequence and typically yields
>       around 85% of the possible decodes for the sequence.  You
>       therefore see most decodes much earlier than before.  A second
>       processing step starts at 13.5 s, and the final one at 14.7 s.
>       Overall decoding yield on crowded bands is improved by 10% or
>       more.  (Systems with receive latency greater than 0.2 s will see
>       smaller improvements, but will still see many decodes earlier
>       than before.)
>
>       JT4: Formatting and display of Averaged and Deep Search decodes
>       has been cleaned up and made consistent with other modes.  JT4
>       remains the digital mode of choice for EME and other extreme
>       weak-signal work on microwave bands.
>
>       JT65: Many improvements for Averaged and Deep Search decodes and
>       their display to the user.  These improvements are particularly
>       important for EME on VHF and UHF bands.
>
>       WSPR: Significant improvements have been made to the WSPR
>       decoder's sensitivity, its ability to cope with many signals in
>       a crowded sub-band, and its rate of undetected false decodes.
>       We now use up to three decoding passes.  Passes 1 and 2 use
>       noncoherent demodulation of single symbols and allow for
>       frequency drifts up to ±4 Hz in a transmission.  Pass 3 assumes
>       no drift and does coherent block detection of up to three
>       symbols.  It also applies bit-by-bit normalization of the
>       single-symbol bit metrics, a technique that has proven helpful
>       for signals corrupted by artifacts of the subtraction of
>       stronger signals and also for LF/MF signals heavily contaminated
>       by lightning transients.  With these improvements the number of
>       decodes in a crowded WSPR sub-band typically increases by 10 to
>       15%.
>
>  - New format for "EU VHF Contest" Tx2 and Tx3 messages
>
>       When "EU VHF Contest" is selected, the Tx2 and Tx3 messages
>       (those conveying signal report, serial number, and 6-character
>       locator) now use hashcodes for both callsigns.  This change is
>       NOT backward compatible with earlier versions of _WSJT-X_, so
>       all users of EU VHF Contest messages should be sure to upgrade
>       to versiion 2.2.0.
>
>  - Accessibility
>
>       Keyboard shortcuts have been added as an aid to accessibility:
>       Alt+R sets Tx4 message to RR73, Ctrl+R sets it to RRR.
>
>       As an aid for partial color-blindness, the "inverted goal posts"
>       marking Rx frequency on the Wide Graph's frequency scale are now
>       rendered in a darker shade of green.
>
>  - Minor enhancements and bug fixes
>
>       "Save None" now writes no .wav files to disk, even temporarily.
>
>       An explicit entry for "WW Digi Contest" has been added to
>       "Special operating activities" on the "Settings | Advanced" tab.
>
>       Contest mode FT4 now always uses RR73 for the Tx4 message.
>
>       The Status bar now displays the number of decodes found in the
>       most recent Rx sequence.
>
>Release candidate WSJT-X 2.2.0-rc1 will be available for beta-testing
>for one month starting on May 10, 2020.  We currently plan a General
>Availability (GA) release of WSJT-X 2.2.0 on June 1, 2020.
>
>For those looking even farther ahead: We are well along in the
>development of two new modes designed for the LF and MF bands.  One
>mode is for WSPR-like activity and one for making 2-way QSOs.  Both
>use Low-density Parity Check (LDPC) codes, 4-GFSK modulation, and
>two-minute T/R sequences.  The QSO mode reaches threshold SNR
>sensitivity around -31 dB on the AWGN channel, and the WSPR-like mode
>better than -32 dB.
>
>With best wishes,
>
>         -- Joe, K1JT, Steve, K9AN, and Bill, G4WJS
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>

73, Ed - KL7UW
   http://www.kl7uw.com
Dubus-NA Business mail:
   dubususa at gmail.com