Free text limitation

[ZB2ham]

I have asked questions before, and I have made suggestions. The responses have always been prompt and of excellent quality. Issues I have flagged have also been dealt with, either by an explanation (when I have not understood) or by software improvements. Many thanks - an excellent product!

I have another query. I note that the max free text message length is said to be 13 characters, and when I have attempted to send longer messages, these have been cut after the 13th character. It is also the case however that messages longer than 13 characters appear frequently in FT8 exchanges, for example;

AA1AAA BB2BBB RR73

This valid exchange is 18 characters long! Why is free text limited to 13 characters when messages clearly can be longer? What is the REAL max message length, and why is THAT not the free text limit?

Many thanks, Ken

[bg7yoz]

hi, @ZB2ham

FT8的消息只有77位，所以它所能传递的信息是有限的。有些消息看起来超过13个字符，其实是这些信息使用特定的算法标记的。建议您阅读Joe Taylor的《The FT4 and FT8 Communication Protocols》。

73 BG7YOZ

[ZB2ham]

Dear BG7YOZ

I hope you don’t mind me writing to make comments and suggestions. All my issues have been resolved, and I am very happy with the way FT8CN works.

I have one operational issue which is not a problem with FT8CN – it is entirely mine, but the solution lies in software and I have zero skills there. I suspect it is an issue that arises from having a relatively rare callsign, so perhaps I am not the only operator who experiences this.

Occasionally during operating, I get so many replies that I simply cannot keep track. Even when I select "simple messages" to maximise the lines on the screen, the issue persists (I use a 10-inch tablet and see up to 29 message lines per screen). Not only do I have the lines relating to the station I am working, but I also have lines occupied with information regarding the QSOs going on with stations I have worked, and those lines occupied by the other stations calling me. In some cases, after a receive period, I get more lines occupied than the screen can hold and it overflows. I then have 15 seconds to try to find the reply from my QSO partner and choose how to reply. One or two cycles later, with increasing numbers of stations calling, it is too much for me and I have to switch off.

I have an idea, and I appreciate that it may be too much effort to implement. Please refer to the line below.

[image: Untitled.png]

1. Much of the information displayed here need NOT be displayed. All the operator needs are the two callsigns, and the locator or the signal report or response. In fact, as the operator of ZB2MD, even THAT need not be displayed – I know what my callsign is, and my callsign can be replaced with another symbol. I would suggest the “registered” symbol, ASCII alt+169, ®. As far as I know, this symbol is not used elsewhere in FT8 and would stand for “the registered callsign”. This line could be replaced with “® OZ8ABA JO55” and show NOTHING ELSE. A Lot of screen space has been saved.

2. Message lines could then be sorted horizontally, according to the caller’s callsign, and the progress of the QSOs would occur vertically;

QSO 1 QSO 2 QSO 3 QSO 4

® G4SGF 1O91 ® K2DRH EN41 ® OZ1QZ JO45 ® BG8PN -14

G4SGF ® -12 K2DRH ® -4 OZ1QZ ® -19

® G4SGF R-8 ® K2DRH R-6 ® OZ1QZ R-10

G4SGF ® RR73

® G4SGF 73

           A major headache has been removed. I can see that I have

completed a QSO with G4SGF. K2DRH and OZ1QZ both need an “RR73” response and I have yet to reply to BG8PN.

3. Now, additional mouse functions come into play….

When I right click on “QSO 1” or “QSO 2” etc, additional menu choices might be..

Delete this QSO This I would use once the QSO is over, eg the QSO with G4SGF. This QSO disappears from the screen, and the remaining columns move to the left.

Block this caller This I would use if I have no desire to have a QSO with that individual during this session eg I have called CQ DX (from Europe) and I get a reply from a station in Europe. That caller disappears from the columns, the remaining columns move to the left, and even if that caller persists in calling his calls are not displayed – similar to the “excluded callsign prefixes” that exists currently.

Respond with… This would replicate the menu available in the message line currently displayed, except NOT option 6, the CQ call. That is only for general use and not specific to a QSO

4. The icing on the cake.

I suggested above that two QSOs were being conducted simultaneously. This can be done now, but at the expense of time taken. If I am in QSO with K2DRH and OZ1QZ simultaneously, a reply to one means no reply to the other. Yes two (or more) QSOs can happen simultaneously, but at the expense of a longer time taken.

Q. Is there any reason why two (or more) tones cannot be transmitted at once? The spectrum shows very many audio tones are in use simultaneously, several more should not be an issue in the RF spectrum, all the radios are coping with this all the time. In such a case, several QSOs could be handled simultaneously and take no longer than a single QSO would take.

This feature would be particularly advantageous to “rare” callsigns, DXpeditions, and competitions.

One additional feature that would be useful in FT8CN as it is, with or without the changes described above, would be a button on the calling screen or in settings, to stop FT8CN from autocompleting replies. While FT8CN does not take the initiative away from me as often as it did, it continues to do so to an annoying extent and I find at times I cannot continue with the QSO I want to because FT8CN decides for itself I should be in conversation with someone – anyone – else.

Many thanks for your patience,

73s

Ken, ZB2MD

On Sun, 3 Mar 2024 at 15:19, bg7yoz @.***> wrote:

hi, @ZB2ham https://github.com/ZB2ham

FT8的消息只有77位，所以它所能传递的信息是有限的。有些消息看起来超过13个字符，其实是这些信息使用特定的算法标记的。建议您阅读Joe Taylor的《The FT4 and FT8 Communication Protocols》。

73 BG7YOZ

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