[PBARC] New Version of WSJT-X coming soon

[Glenn]

>  
> 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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