Just installed the latest beta release of WSJT-X and for FT8/FT4 users there are a few interesting new features:

• Now there are buttons on the main screen that allow us to switch easily between modes
• There’s also a button that lets us switch between F/H and normal modes
• Instead of the Call 1^st checkbox, there is now something called CQ:, which has options of None (no auto-response to someone answering your CQ), First (just like before), and Max Dist.
• Max Dist calculates which of the multiple (sometimes it happens!) callers is the farthest away.  This was added to enhance contest operating where points are awarded based on distance, like the new ARRL International Digital Contest.  But this feature might be of use in regular operation as well, if we’re interested in working stations farther away.
• A new window, called Active Stations, will list all the stations for which a grid can be discerned over the last N minutes.  It displays the station, grid, S/N, etc., and does it sequenced by distance.  You can double-click on stations in that window and it will go ahead and call them.  Again, this was created to support distance contests but I find it useful for finding rare grids.
• If any of you have tried using the ALL.TXT file to look at the log of activity, you’ll have realized that before too long this file gets huge and unwieldy.  There’s now the option of having that file split monthly or yearly (look for it in the Save menu option).

If anyone has discovered any other new useful features in the release, please let us know.

You can find the appropriate download for 2.6.0 here: https://physics.princeton.edu//pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html

73, Pete, K2PS